Abigail

The blood on the floor stopped me cold.

There were dark, fresh smears staining the hardwood right inside the doorway of our old apartment.

My heart leapt to my throat, and I shoved the door open quickly, stepping in while it creaked behind me.

"Annette?" My voice cracked. "Annie?!"

I was met with silence. My bag slipped from my hand to the floor at the sight before me.

The living room was destroyed.

The cushions were slashed open, drawers yanked out and emptied, papers scattered everywhere as though a storm had torn through the building. That wasn’t the worst of it all.

"No," I whispered, my eyes following the trail of blood. It was a gruesome path leading toward the kitchen, ending at the fridge where a knife pinned a note to it.

"You know where to find me or say goodbye to your bestie. I’ll advise you come alone, make a wrong move, and I’ll gut her."

Terror struck me. Icy, paralyzing fear made my knees buckle. I gripped the fridge to steady myself, my breath coming in short, panicked gasps.

He took her! He took Annette.

What if... what if he killed her like he killed Cole?

No. Not her. Please, God, not her.

Panic flooded my blood, thick and suffocating. My hands shook violently. My mind spiraled — images of Annette being hurt, bleeding, terrified, alone with that psychopath, that bastard, that— I wheezed, sinking to the floor. I couldn’t breathe.

My chest felt too tight, like something was crushing my windpipe. Tears burned my eyes as I stumbled forward, searching the apartment.

"Annette!" I screamed, my voice breaking. "Where are you?!"

I got nothing but the echo of my terrified voice back. I knew he took her but I just didn’t want to believe it.

How could he? How dare he hurt her! The panic clawing my throat flared into white-hot fury that cleared the fog in my head.

"That fucking bastard!" I screamed, pushing off the floor.

That piece of shit who had already taken so much from me. He thought he could use my best friend as bait? He thought he could threaten her, and I would just roll over?

I was going to kill him!

I wouldn’t trust the police. They had failed me before. Even if they arrested him, he would be set free to roam around. No. It ended here. It had to fucking end here!

I scrambled to the living room and grabbed my bag, fumbling out my phone with trembling fingers to check the tracker on Cole’s phone.

The dot was blinking. It was actively pinging Gavin’s location. It was a rundown warehouse area around the industrial district. He was waiting for me.

"Good," I whispered, my voice shaking with anger. "I’m coming for you, coward."

Storming to the bedroom, I grabbed a baseball bat and stormed out of the building to my car.

I turned the key in the ignition and drove like a madwoman through the city, my heart pounding, tears streaming down my face. Every minute without knowing what was happening to Annette felt like a knife twisting in my chest.

When I reached the rundown warehouse, the place was dark and silent except for a single flickering light inside. I gripped the bat tighter, my knuckles white, and pushed the heavy door open.

Gavin stood in the center of the space, grinning like some stupid predator that had finally cornered its prey.

Annette was slumped unconscious at his feet, blood trickling from a cut on her forehead, her face already bruising.

"Annette!" I screamed, rushing forward without thinking.

Gavin laughed. "You really are a pain in the ass, Kellerman. You just don’t know when to quit, do you?"

"What do you want?" I demanded, my voice shaking with fury as I raised the bat. "Let her go, you bastard!"

He only grinned wider, eyes gleaming with madness. "You don’t know who you’re messing with."

Then he lunged for me. I swung the bat with everything I had. It connected with his shoulder with a sickening crack.

He roared in pain but kept coming, seizing the bat and wrenching it from my hands. I staggered back, but not fast enough — his fist caught me in the side, knocking the air out of me.

I gasped, doubling over, but rage kept me moving. I hated him. I fucking hated him. All I wanted was to find who the fuck killed my parents. I had already lost Cole. I sure as hell, sure as the skies, was not losing my best friend!

I tackled him, clawing at his face, kicking wildly. We crashed to the ground in a tangle of limbs. I landed a solid punch to his jaw, snapping his head back. He cursed and drove his elbow hard into my stomach, sending me rolling away.

Annette stirred on the floor, her eyes fluttering open. "Abby... run..."

Gavin turned on her with a snarl. "Shut up, you stupid bitch." He kicked her hard in the side, then started punching her, raining brutal, vicious hits down on her face. Blood sprayed. Annette cried out, trying to shield her head with her arms.

I saw red.

"Annette!" I screamed, blinded by rage.

I hurled myself at him again, tackling him off her. We rolled across the dirty floor. I clawed at his eyes, sank my teeth into his arm when he tried to grab me, and dug my fingers into his eyes.

He punched me in the ribs, the pain exploding through my side, but I didn’t stop. I drove my knee into his groin, making him grunt and loosen his grip.

"You fucking whore," he snarled, fisting my hair and slamming my head against the concrete. Stars burst in my vision.

Annette, bloody and battered, suddenly lunged from the floor and grabbed his leg, trying to pull him down. "Don’t you touch her!"

Gavin turned and started pummeling her again, fists raining down mercilessly. "You were cute. We could’ve been good together. But you chose her, you dumb bitch."

I screamed Annette’s name and charged one last time, tackling him with everything I had left. We crashed into a pile of old crates.

I grabbed a loose piece of wood and swung it at his head. It connected with a crack. Then he pulled out a gun.

"I’ve had enough of this shit!" he snarled, leveling it straight at me. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Annette, barely conscious, tried to crawl toward him. "No... leave her alone..."

Gavin kicked her hard, then raised the gun again. I lunged to grab it. A gunshot rang out through the warehouse.