Cursed Ecstasy (Cursed Series) (2 page)

Her mouth drops open and she looks at me like I’ve grown another head.

As I clear my throat, she bats her lashes and regains her composure.

“Well, I’ll need a name to see if your friend is here. But I can tell you now that if you’re not immediate family, I won’t be able to provide you with much information.”

I stare the woman dead in the eyes with the most hateful glare I can muster. Sucking in a deep breath, I take a moment to calm my nerves. I understand that she’s just doing her job, but at the same time it’s my best friend that could be on the other side of these walls.

The text message said to hurry, I could be too late…too fucking late for what?

“Sir, I’ll need a bit more information from you if you want me to see if your friend is here.”

Leaning down on the counter in front of the glass window, I let out a sigh of frustration.

“I’m not sure. You see, I got a text message from my friend Linc’s phone, but I don’t know that it was him that sent the text.”

I grip the edge of the counter with my hands, my knuckles turning white.

“Look, I understand that you’re upset and want some answers. Give me your friend’s full name and I’ll see what I can find out.”

As I’m about to speak, the automatic doors open alongside of me and Etty is walking toward me.

I turn to face her as she comes straight to me and into my arms. A feeling of relief courses through me now, knowing that Etty is safe.

“Oh my god, Dault, I’m so glad you’re here. I’ve been texting you all night.”

Her small body falls in closer to mine. She’s shaking and her sobs are heavy.

I push her away from me to see that there’s a huge bruise forming on the side of her face. Her lip is cut and swollen and a bandage surrounds the back of her head.
What the fuck happened tonight?

“Etty, what’s going on?”

She looks up to me with tear stained eyes. Bringing her hand to her face she wipes away the tears with the back of her hand.

“It’s Jo and Linc. They’re here, and oh my god, Dault…it’s all my fault.”

I stare into her green eyes, unsure of what’s going on. How could this possibly be her fault? My heart aches for the pain she’s going through and I still have no idea of what’s happened.

“What’s your fault, Etty? What the hell happened?”

She begins to shake her head back and forth as the tears fall faster down her cheeks.

Her gaze turns and she moves away from me.

I rotate on my heels just as Steve walks through the doors. She rushes to him as he pulls her up against his chest, rubbing his hands up and down her back.

It pisses me the fuck off that she just walked away from me to him, why I don’t know.

Looking up at me, he shrugs his shoulder and mouths,
what’s going on?

I move back to the window and give the nurse Linc’s full name.

She punches some button on the keyboard and looks back up to me.

“I can’t tell you much, but I will say that he’s here.”

“Please, lady, that guy is like a brother to me. You have to give me more than that.”

“I’m sorry, but unless you’re his family I can’t say more.”

Fuck
.

I move back toward Steve who still has Etty wrapped up in his arms.

“Etty, you have to tell me what happened and what’s going on.”

She removes herself from Steve’s arms and turns to face me. Her blue hair is spiked in all sorts of directions and her green eyes are rimmed in red.

“Rick found me. They both had a gun, Dault.”

“Who, what….come on, Etty, you
have
to give me more than that.”

My tone is stern, filled with anger. The longer it takes to get this out of her, the more pissed off I’m becoming.

“Dault, relax, she’s just as upset as we are about this. Calm down and give her time to tell us what happened.”

My eyes move from Etty to Steve. The glare I’m passing through him could cut a thick piece of glass.

“Dault, I’m so sorry,” she cries.

I pull Etty from Steve and wrap my arms around her. As much as I want to shake this out of her, I can see that she’s upset.

Leading us over to a set of chairs, I gesture for her to take a seat. Setting myself down beside her, I tuck a few loose strands of hair off of her face and behind her ear.

“Talk to me, Etty; tell me what’s going on. What happened tonight?”

Fidgeting with her hands, she looks up at me and stares deep into my eyes.

I have a feeling that what she’s about to tell me is going to hurt; it’s going to send me over the edge.

Bracing myself for what I’m about to hear, I take her hands in mine.

This girl means a lot to Linc, and well, after yesterday, me too. I need to show her that I’m supporting her, at least ‘til she tells me the whole truth of what’s going on. I’ll decide later how much I want to like or hate her.

Chapter 2

My heart is racing; my palms are sweating, and my eyes burn from the tears trailing down my face.

I know I should be lying down on the bed in the emergency room, but I had to try one more time to text Dault.

Thank god he’s here now.

Staring into Dault’s baby blues, I can see the pain he feels. He’s scared, and the moment I tell him what happened tonight, he’s going to freak out on me.

My body trembles from the mere thought of how he’s going to react.

This is my fault. Had I not come to Birmingham, none of this would’ve ever happened. I can’t even
begin
to fathom what took place tonight.

It’s still a shock to me…I’m lost and confused as to why Rick came to our house tonight. There are so many answers that I need, but I have to be here for my friends.

The police did their best to question me, but I was too preoccupied with what the paramedics were doing. They kept asking me the same things over and over again. I just wanted them to leave me the hell alone; I needed to be with Linc and Jo. The police didn’t understand how much I needed to be there for them.  

The majority of what has occurred in the past few hours is a blur. I can remember being dragged down the stairs, falling and watching as Linc came into the living room. Everything else seems to be a jumbled mess.

I can’t believe this is happening to me.

Dault’s hand grips tighter onto mine and I’m broken out of my trance. He’s intently staring at me and I know what I have to do.

Taking in a deep breath, I attempt to release the buildup of anxiety filling my chest.

“I don’t know where to start,” I whisper.

“Tell me what happened, Etty,” Dault replies in a sincere yet stern tone.

I nod my head and pull his hands closer to me.

“I don’t know why or how he found me, but Rick and your old tenant Michael came into the house.”

“Who is Rick? Why would Michael come back? How did they get in?”

His questions fire at me and I’m taken aback by the assault of his intensity. I’m beginning to feel numb, tears falling from my face and a lump lodging itself in my throat.

Looking down at our intertwined hands, I whisper, “Rick is the reason I left Oregon. He’s the man I needed to run away from, and now, it’s because of
me
that he did this.”

Dault pulls his hand from mine and tilts my chin to face him.

“Look, Etty, I’m sorry he came here looking for you. Right now I don’t want the details; I need to know where my family is. You need to be strong for me and tell me what the fuck happened.”

Gripping my hands in my lap, I look to the floor, to Steve, and back to Dault.

“The guys had guns. Rick fought Linc to the ground and Jo came running into the house…the last thing I remember is the sound of the gun going off.”

Dault’s expression changes from fear to absolute panic. His jaw drops and his head falls into his hands.

“Are…are they okay?” he stutters.

“I don’t know much, Dault. Please don’t hate me,” I cry.

“Etty, I’m not concerned about how I feel about you right now. I need to know that Linc and Jo are okay.”

I bite down on my lower lip, the taste of dried blood sitting on my tongue. His reaction was something I was worried about, but seeing his fears, the pain and hurt…it’s killing me.

Trying to fight the anguish that is raging inside my chest, I continue to tell him what I know.

“We were taken in different ambulances to the emergency room. I could hear the doctors talking when they placed me in my room, but the details are fuzzy.”

“Shit, Etty, c’mon, think really hard. I need to know the rest of the story.”

“I’m sorry, Dault, but someone is gone.”

“What?!” he screams.

My eyes dart to Dault as he stands and begins to pace the small space beside me. Steve gets up to stand beside him and stops him in his tracks.

“Dude, we’re all in a stage of panic not knowing what’s going on. Etty really needs to get back to her room and let the doctors watch over her. This isn’t easy on any of us.”

The death stare Dault gives Steve sends a chill down my spine….he hates me.

“You’re right, I’m of no use to either of you,” I say, moving in my seat.

Dault’s large hand grabs my arm and I’m stunned by the sensation that drives through my extremity.

“Etty, if you hear anything you
need
to tell us. They won’t give me anything since I’m not family.”

I nod my head and watch as his firm grip releases from my arm.

“Dault, tell them you’re her fiancé and I’m her brother. At least that will get us back there.”

My eyes jump to Steve and back to Dault.

“That’s the furthest from the truth. She just said someone is gone…who the fuck is gone, Etty?”

Steve slaps him upside his head, “There’s no need to be a fucking prick right now, Dault, just do it.”

Dault’s gaze shifts to me and then back to Steve.

“Fucking hell, let’s do this. I need to know what’s up with Linc and Jo.”

Without a second thought, I stand from my seat, the pain in my head and neck growing with each step. Walking toward the triage nurse’s station, I signal to the nurse to let me through the doors.

The automatic doors open and I walk through, not even looking back to see if Steve and Dault are behind me.

Doctors and nurses are scattered throughout the large space as I make my way back to my room.

“Gretchen,” a voice says from behind me.

I turn to the deep sound and see the nurse that has been tending to me.

“You really shouldn’t be up and walking around in your condition. You took a hard hit to your head and should be lying down in your room.”

I look to him, his deep brown eyes set with a fierce gaze.

“I’m on my way back there now; I needed to find my…brother.”

“I see,” he says, reaching for my arm and I allow him to escort me back to my bed.

Once I’m settled onto the most uncomfortable bed, the nurse takes my vitals and enters the information into his tablet.

“I need you to stay put. An orderly will be in here within the next few minutes to take you for a CT scan. Don’t leave this room unless it’s for a medical reason…got it?”

Nodding my head, he looks to me with a smile and leaves the room.

“I’m going to walk around to see if I can find anything out, maybe
someone
can give me better answers than you.”

God, he hates me.
I can’t even look at him. The tone of his voice is now filled with anger and hatred directed at me. It’s bad enough I feel like shit and I’m placing all the blame on myself, I don’t need
him
to dish me more hell.

“Dault, chill the fuck out. You’re taking this all out on Etty. It’s not like she
planned
this to happen.”

“She said it herself…this is all her fault. If her fucking issues hadn’t followed her here, we wouldn’t be sitting in the ER, scared to shit over what’s happened to our friends.”

Steve looks to me as the tears begin to fall from my face again.

Grabbing for Dault’s arm, Steve walks him out of my room and shuts the curtain.

Resting my aching head back on the pillow, I try to remember what the hell happened to lead me to this place.

Visions of tonight play through my mind.

Not sure what was happening, I got up from my bed and moved to the door. Before I could make it across the room, it swung open.

From the light of the hallway I could see two men standing next to one another. My eyes were still sleepy and I couldn’t focus on their faces.

My heart was pounding through my chest as one man walked toward me, grabbing on to my arm.

His hands were rough against the skin of my arm. I wanted to fight him and run, but I had no clue what I was up against. The other guy hadn’t come into the room yet. The fear of what was about to happen scared the shit out of me.

He pulled at my arm harder and pushed me down on the bed.

I pleaded with him not to hurt me; I would have given them anything to just leave me alone.

My eyes moved to the other guy, who was starting to move into the room. A glare from the hallway light cast a shadow behind him, but I couldn’t make out his face.