Rock Me Deeper (Licks of Leather #5) - Jenna Jacob Page 0,2
the guys and I had enjoyed an old-fashioned, bloody brawl.
“What are you waiting for?” Ozzy prodded, dragging me from my ruthless fantasy.
“Making sure the place is empty.”
“It is,” Oz assured.
“Busting out that window all but raised the dead,” Ross mumbled. “Nobody’s inside.”
Turning the knob, I opened the door. Glass crunched beneath our boots as we crept through the kitchen toward the front of the house. Thanks to Mia’s memory, we quickly located Zattman’s ostentatious office and the wall safe hidden behind a huge portrait of the arrogant predator.
Ozzy glanced at the keypad on the face of the safe before turning a worried scowl my way. “You said you can crack open any safe. What about this one?”
“Piece of cake,” I assured.
I pulled the heavy neodymium magnet, tucked inside a sock, from my pocket and held it against the metal by the keypad. A couple seconds later, I yanked the handle down and pulled the door open.
“Holy shit. You did it,” Burk said with awe. “What’s in the sock?”
“A magnet. It works faster than a hooker spreading her thighs.” I smirked.
Ozzy moved in closer. Like me, he ignored the copious piles of cash lining the safe and homed in on the tall stack of manilla envelopes inside.
Jesus, if each one of them contains photos of his victims…
I wasn’t naïve or weak of heart. As a kid, I’d lived on the streets. Slept in alleys. Seen and sometimes participated in violent acts. But as I gaped at the quantity of envelopes, the magnitude of Zattman’s depravity turned my blood to ice.
Mentally steeling myself, I lifted one from the safe. As I ripped the seal open, I turned and used my body to shield Ozzy from seeing inside. Lifting the contents, I saw several photos of a redhead—who’d probably been striking before Zattman got ahold of her—naked and tied to a bed. She was covered in bruises and dried as well as fresh blood and her eyes were swollen shut. My stomach pitched. Bile burned the back of my throat as an unholy rage flooded my veins.
“Motherfucker,” I croaked, wanting to tear Zattman apart with my bare hands.
“Is it Mia?” Ozzy asked.
“No. And you got no business opening any of those envelopes.”
“I don’t want to, man. I have to.”
“No. I’ll go through them for you.”
“Give me some,” Ross instructed. “I’ll help.”
“It’ll take hours to sort through that stack,” Burk reasoned. “We don’t have time.”
We didn’t. We’d been inside the house too long already.”
“Christ, how many women has that sick fuck abused?” Darren asked, eyeing the safe. Clearly, he wasn’t keen on seeing for himself.
“Too many,” I answered in disgust.
“Grab them all,” Ross instructed gruffly. “After we find Mia’s photos, we’ll give the rest to Reed Landes. Hopefully, he can track down Zattman’s other victims, then find a way to—”
“Send the cocksucker to hell,” Darren growled.
In unanimous agreement, Ross reached over my shoulder and extracted the envelopes in a beefy fist. Darren’s eyes grew wide, and he exhaled a curse that was interrupted by the chime of Ozzy’s cell phone.
After grimly glancing at the screen, Oz raised his head. “Iris’s meeting with Zattman just ended.”
“Time to haul ass, ladies,” I said, stating the obvious.
“Wait. Grab the cash,” Ozzy instructed.
“We don’t need his fucking money,” Darren scoffed.
“No, but we don’t want him using it to pay some sleazebag lawyer who’ll get him off scot-free, either.”
“Take it,” Ross barked. “Reed can divvy it out among Zattman’s victims.”
I pocketed the magnet and started tossing stacks of cash to the others, then closed the safe. I slid Zattman’s portrait back in place and followed the others into the foyer. As I reached the entrance to the family room, a loud thump came from the darkened hallway on my right. Freezing in my tracks, I held my breath, cocked my head, and listened intently.
“Syd, what the fuck are you doing?” Burk hissed. “Come on man, we gotta go.”
The thump sounded again, causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end.
“Someone’s here,” I murmured.
“All the more reason for us to get the fuck out,” Burk insisted.
“What are you fools doing?” Ozzy barked.
“Someone’s here,” I repeated.
“Then let’s haul ass before we’re spotted.”
“What if he’s got another girl tied up down there? What if he’s going to do to her what he did to Mia?” Not waiting for his reply, I flipped on the light and charged down the hall. “Hello? Is someone here? Do you need help?”
The series of furious thumps was all the answer I needed.