Dark Vengeance by Kristi Belcamino (electric book reader .txt) 📕

where I bought my bike was set on fire. Luckily the owner was around and put it out before it did too much damage. A clerk at the market was beaten and left on the side of the road with a broken leg. And something had gone down at the vet’s house, but they weren’t sure what it was.

As soon as I heard that, I took off running for the road and my bike.

While I ran, I dialed the vet on my cell. No answer. Straight to voicemail.

Motherfuck.

16

My bike kicked up dust as I shimmied sideways down the gravel driveway to the vet’s house, trying to keep my balance navigating the curves and then skidding to a halt in front of the house. From the front, everything looked fine. But then I rounded the corner to go to the office entrance and saw the door was hanging by one hinge. Medical instruments, shards of glass, shredded paper, dog treats, and other unidentifiable debris littered the ground outside.

Inside, the exam table was upended and there was more broken glass.

And blood.

Asahi was bent over holding a small dustpan and broom. I could only see him from behind, but I could see that one of his hands was bandaged.

“Doctor?”

He jerked back, and I felt awful. My throat felt clogged.

Then I got a good look at his face and felt even worse. He had a swollen and black eye and a scrape along his jaw.

I rushed over to him. “Are you okay?”

He met my eyes and solemnly nodded.

“This isn’t the first time X has tried to bully me.”

“Oh, my God. I’m so sorry. This is all my fault.”

He shook his head. “No,” he said and pressed his lips firmly together.

I waited.

“He has gone too far this time,” Asahi said. “He has been unchecked for too long. Everyone on this island lives in fear of his wrath. No more. I will not live in fear anymore.”

“Don’t worry, I’m going to stop him,” I said, but then felt idiotic. I’d been saying that for days and hadn’t done jack shit.

I glanced around. While I was concerned about the doctor and his injuries and the destruction of his office, I couldn’t help but look for Dylan.

Asahi saw my glance. “I’m so sorry. Dylan is gone.”

“X took him?”

He scrunched his forehead. “No, someone took him earlier. We came home from my mother-in-law’s house, and I went to check on him but he was gone. The door wasn’t forced or anything. In fact, it was still locked.”

He scratched his head.

“Rose,” I said.

“I think so,” he said. “Some bandages and antibiotic cream were missing. If they wanted him dead, they wouldn’t have taken medical supplies.”

“Thank God for that.”

“I think X heard she was back and knew she would come for the dog,” he said. “I think when he showed up too late, he destroyed everything in a fit of anger. And probably to try to teach me a lesson.”

I looked at his face. “Is that what happened? You tried to stop him?”

“Them. It was dark, but there was more than one. The others ran when I walked in, but I cornered one guy and he had a knife or something that cut my hand. I had knocked it away, but when I did he managed to land a punch on my face,” he said wryly.

“You’re pretty brave.”

“I’m done cowering in fear. Next time I will have a gun.”

I shook my head. It was total bullshit that a vet, someone who cared for and loved animals, would have to live in fear because he does something good.

“I’m so, so sorry,” I said. “I will pay for all of this.”

He shook his head. “No.”

“Yes, I insist.”

He didn’t argue again, and I was relieved.

There was the sound of a truck behind us. We both turned.

“They’re here to fix my door,” Asahi said.

“I’ll be in touch,” I said.

Before I got on my bike, I spoke to the contractor who had arrived and arranged to pay for the door but also for him to put a state-of-the-art alarm system on the entire house.

17

I didn’t realize until I pulled up at the surf camp that I’d been gripping the bike’s handles so hard my fingers ached.

I was furious. But part of me was hopeful.

Maybe Rose had grabbed Dylan and gone back to her hut.

A quick glance inside revealed that nobody had been there since I left it.

I headed down the beach toward the bonfire area.

There were a few people gathered around it.

When I got closer, Makeda stood.

A quick scan of the heads told me Rose wasn’t there.

“I thought she might be here,” I said. “She came back to get her dog.”

“We haven’t seen her,” she said. “We’ve got other problems now.”

I lifted an eyebrow and waited. “Matteo went after Keiki. He’s gone to X’s house. It’s bad.”

“Damn fool,” someone else said and spit on the ground.

“I’ll go get him,” I said. “I’m heading there anyway.”

Makeda focused her green eyes on me and nodded. She wouldn’t try to stop me.

Back at the hut, I looked around for anything I could use as a weapon. There was nothing. I hopped on my bike and headed toward town. No gun. No knife. Not even a stick I could use as a weapon, just my bare hands and rusty martial arts skills.

Drinking all day, every day, in Cannes recently had not helped my physical prowess. Thinking of Cannes makes me think of the young people I met there. Young lives taken too soon.

I’d tried to help, but by the time I’d left the South of France, three of them were dead by murder-suicide and three others grieving. It seemed somehow unfinished even though there wasn’t a killer on the loose.

I also thought of Ryder and the brief time we spent in his Cannes apartment. His text last night had thrown me.

The anger I’d felt was gone. Instead, I felt nostalgic. I missed him. Even though I’d only known him a few days, we’d connected on a