Striker: A Dark Bully Romance (Redwood Rebels Book 1) Rachel Leigh (the reading list book .TXT) 📖

beep, then a voice on the other end of the receiver the officer is wearing. “I’m here now,” he says, while holding down a button. When he releases it, he looks to Talon. “Talon Porter?”

I try to remain calm, even though my heart is galloping inside of me and I’m pretty sure all the color has drained from my face.

“That’s me,” Talon says, calm and collectively. How does he remain so composed? If that officer does so much as look at me with suspicion, I’ll probably pass out.

“I’m Officer Klein, and I just have a few questions.” He moves his attention to me. “And you are?”

Oh shit. 

“Marni,” I manage to choke out with wobbling legs and dazed confusion. “Marni Thorn.”

“Ah, Anderson’s little girl. How have you been, hon?” he asks with a smile.

My nerves calm a tad. “I’ve been good. Thank you.” I have no idea who this man is, but I’m not surprised he knows my dad.

“I’m sure you’ve both heard that a student from Redwood High has gone missing. Josh Moran, does the name sound familiar?” he asks, as his eyes dart back and forth from me to Talon.

I just nod. It’s all I can do. I can’t speak out of fear of saying too much or not enough.

“Yeah, I heard about that. Did ya find him yet?” Talon asks, as he stuffs his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

“Not yet, but we’re working hard to track down his whereabouts.” He pulls out a small notepad and pen, giving the pen a click, he presses it to the paper. “This is your home, correct?” He poses the question to Talon.

“Yes, Sir,” Talon responds, respectfully.

“And Zed King lives here with you?”

Taken aback, Talon’s tone shifts. “Zed stays here. Why do you ask?”

The officer begins writing something down and then lifts his head. “We spoke with his father, Martin King, and he mentioned that Zed hasn’t been home in months and that we might find him here.”

Confused, I speak up. “What does Zed have to do with Josh’s disappearance?” Talon shoots me a look that pretty much says shut up.

Completely ignoring me, he continues to talk to Talon, “Can you tell me where Zed was on Halloween night?”

 “Easy. He was with us. We had a party right here at my house.”

He looks at me with his pen still pressed to the paper. “You can attest to this, Ms. Thorn?” When I nod, he continues writing.

“Can you tell us why you need to know where Zed was?” I ask, warranting another glare from Talon.

Officer Klein closes his notebook and sticks it into the pocket on the front of his uniform. “Josh’s sister mentioned that she may have seen someone matching Zed’s description driving his car that night. She gave a couple names of possible guys. Zed was one of them. Thanks for clearing it up.” He gives a nod and walks to his car.

We both watch as he gets in his car and does a U-turn. I stand frozen until his brake lights let up, and he disappears out of the driveway.

Releasing the breath that I was holding, I bend over with my palms pressed to my knees. “Holy shit.”

When Talon wraps his arms around me and stands me up, I collapse into his arms. He holds me for what feels like minutes, though it’s only seconds. Pulling back, he tucks a stray strand of my hair behind my ear. “You did good.”

I close my eyes and bite my lip, hoping and praying that this was our only visit from Officer Klein.

“Hey.” He cups my face in his hands. His touch feels warm, comforting, and like something I might actually want. “It’s gonna be ok.” He blinks slowly, trying like hell to give me the comfort that I need. It looks painful for him. Like he’s fighting some inner demon who wants him to push me away; yet, he doesn’t. He stands here exposing a vulnerable side that I don’t think the world has ever seen. A side that I didn’t even know existed.

His eyes widen. Surprising himself at his momentary lapse of treachery. He tries so hard to be stone cold, but little by little, I’m chipping away his layers of ice. Unfortunately, no matter what side of him I see, there is no happy ending. Talon doesn’t give a damn about me. All he cares about is making sure my lips stay sealed.

14

Without a word, I walk away.

Something inside me does this weird like flicker, which I blame on not eating today. As if there is a string attached from her to me, I turn my head around, feeling the pull of her eyes on me. She stands there looking all innocent, and I want to scream at the top of my lungs that she’s not. So loud that maybe I’ll actually believe it. She’s an attention-crazed, spoiled rich brat. She’s got Daddy’s money, her mom’s hot as hell looks, and her brother’s holier than thou attitude. She’s no angel. She uses her body to tease the fuck out of men, just to get high on their want for her. But the truth is, they don’t want her—they want her body.

She’s the only one to blame for the mess she’s in. If she would have kept her legs shut and her life private, I would have never even targeted her, and I would have never tasted her. I’d give anything to rid myself of this uncontrollable desire to explore every inch of her body and uncover every single scar inside.

She’s a weapon! Get her out of your fucking head! 

I slam the door shut so hard that the ten-foot painting of Gothic City rattles on the wall and threatens to fall down. I push it upwards and set it back in place, before the door swings back open. Without even taking my eyes off the painting, I know it’s her. I can smell her. It’s like my scent has found home on her body, and