Shattered (Dividing Line #5) Read Free Page A

skin streaked with grime.
    “I take it the warehouse is sorted?” said Mikey.
    Riley nodded. “There were only a couple of coppers guarding the front entrance. It went up quickly, most of it was gone before the fire brigade even got there but the bodies had already been moved.”
    “They won’t find anything of us on them. Thanks mate.”
    “You’re welcome. I had a call from Ryan. He said I’m to stay here.”
    “Sure. Your room’s the third door on the left. For God’s sake take a shower, you stink. There are spare clothes in the wardrobe.”
    “Thanks.”
    Riley walked into the living area and found Beth on the couch.
    She looked up at him, eyes heavy with grief. “Hi Ryan.” She turned back to the television before her head snapped round again. “Sorry, Riley. I saw you at the warehouse. You’re Ryan’s half-brother?”
    He nodded.
    “Thanks for helping get us out of that hellhole. I’ll be eternally grateful to you, to all of you.”
    “There’s no need.”
    She gave him a nod before turning back to the television, although it was clear she wasn’t watching it.
    Riley understood exactly what she was going through, that the person she loved had been killed right in front of her and he wanted to offer her words of support and comfort, knowing the agony that was eating away at her inside. In Beth he saw a kindred spirit, someone who understood that pain but he couldn’t find the words so he walked past her and into the bathroom. He shut the door and locked it behind him before sinking to the floor. Zoe’s death replayed itself before his eyes, her screams echoing in his head. He recalled the two Lucifer’s Shadow MC members lying on the floor of the warehouse, shot to death and satisfaction flooded him. Jasper White was involved in this. Finally his time had come.
     
    Ryan had never seen his father-in-law so scruffy before. His thinning hair was all over the place, the collar of his shirt was stuck up and he was unshaven. Battler and Bruiser followed him into Rachel’s hospital room and all three were appalled by the state she was in.
    “Rick,” said Ryan, getting to his feet.
    But Rick’s attention was entirely focused on his daughter, who was fast asleep. Tears filled his horrified eyes. “What has that animal done to my little girl?”
    “The surgeon said she’ll be okay,” Ryan told him.
    “Battler said Alex stabbed her.”
    “He did but nothing too deep.”
    “Why is there a bandage around her neck?”              
    Ryan sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He hadn’t even told Battler about this, thinking it wasn’t news that could be broken over the phone. “He cut her throat Rick.”
    “He…he…” Rick trailed off, looking like his heart was breaking.
    “It’s okay, he didn’t get the arteries, which is why she survived.”
    “Oh Christ Ryan, I’m sorry,” said Battler. “I should have stayed closer, I shouldn’t have let her run off.”
    “I don’t blame you,” replied Ryan, watching as his father-in-law collapsed into the chair by his daughter’s bedside.
    “Tell me everything he did to her,” said Rick.
    “We don’t have all the details yet, Rachel hasn’t been strong enough to tell us. Mikey’s gone to talk to Beth, she was there too.”
    “I thought she’d run off with someone called Nick.”
    “She did but Alex caught them. Nick was betrayed by his brother. Alex executed Nick in front of Beth.”
    “That poor girl. How is she?”
    “I haven’t seen her myself but apparently she’s very traumatised. The kids were there too.”
    “They saw someone being killed?” he said, aghast.
    “No, they were locked in another room but they heard everything, including Rachel being beaten.”
    “This is horrific. I didn’t think even a Maguire was capable of such atrocities. I’m told the bastard is still alive.”
    “He is. You should know they’ve put him in the room just across the hall,” said Ryan, gesturing to the window.
    Rick