Tess
Fifteen minutes earlier…
“Okay, okay!” Jace wiggled his way through the seats and repeated our order to himself.
“Don’t fuck it up, prospect, or the next round is on you.”
“Hysterical.” He flipped Rail the finger, and I shifted at the nerves eating away at my core. Trigger was on the bench in a zone, while Langley yelled a bunch of things that couldn’t be heard over the roaring crowd.
“Oh.” Jace’s hand landed on the back of my seat. His eyes closed, and he looked almost sick by the way he swayed on his feet.
“You good, Jace?”
“Yeah.” He took a deep breath through his nose then started up the ramp we came down. The doorman glanced at his ID badge and let him out. The door swung wider as someone came in with a cart, and I saw Jace double over on the floor.
“Oh, my God!” I leaped from my seat and raced out the door before it closed. My knees hit the floor hard as I pushed someone out of the way.
“Jace!” I shook his shoulders. “You okay?”
His eyes fluttered open, and he looked at me strangely. “Oh,” his hand landed on his head, “I feel like shit.”
“Well, you look like it, so that would make sense,” I joked, but I looked around for a place to prop him up. I scrambled to my feet and tried to help him up. I wasn’t strong enough, and he fell back down.
“Shit, let me grab Brick.”
“No.” He grabbed my hand again and tried to rise, and just as his legs began to give out, someone caught him under the arms.
“Damn, dude, what’d you drink?”
“Nothing yet,” I replied for Jace. “I think he may have eaten something.”
Jace shook the man’s hands off him and glanced around. “I just need the noise to stop.” He grabbed my shoulders and sagged into me. “Help to the manager’s office. He knows me. He’ll let me crash for a second.”
“Okay.” I tried to smile at the man. “Thank you.”
“Yup.” He stepped away and shook his head like he was annoyed.
He’s not drunk, dude.
I pushed the door open and found a room littered with trophies and medals, a rusty desk, no windows, a small door in the far wall with pictures framing it, and a leather couch. I nearly dropped Jace onto it and rolled my shoulder to relieve the muscle strain from his weight.
“Fuck, that’s better.” He rolled to his side and pulled his knees up to his chest. “What the hell was in that burrito?”
“If you insist on eating street meat, you get what you deserve.”
“Stop parenting me.”
I chuckled. “Stop acting like a child, and I wouldn’t have to.”
He rolled his head to look at me but didn’t move his body. “This won’t count for much later, but thank you.”
“Why won’t it count later?” That was a strange comment, but I couldn’t focus on Jace anymore. The noise of the crowd told me the fight had started, and I needed to get back to the arena.
“I’m sorry, Tess.”
“You’re losing it, Jace.” I stood and gave a little wave. “I’m going to grab Brick, okay?”
“Tess…”
Just as he said my name, I turned to find Zay standing in the doorway.
Huh? No!
I mentally kicked myself for believing the piece of shit in front of me knew my family. He was that prickle up my spine sometimes when I was out in public. He was the one who watched me from across the street or at the pier. How did I not remember his face? Stay calm, Tess.
“Jace, go get Trigger.”
“No, not you, Jace?” I wanted to cry. Not my friend, not the mole. Please, no.
“Now,” Zay pulled on a pair of leather gloves, and I almost laughed out of pure fear, “we need to leave before they arrive.”
“Who?” I jumped when Jace grabbed my arm, looking much better than before, and pulled me toward the door. I couldn’t look at him, I was so hurt. I had been there for Jace after Ty was killed. We had formed a bond, and this was where it got me. “Don’t fucking touch me!”
“She runs,” Zay checked his gun clip, “shoot her.”
“Shut up, Tess,” Jace warned as I tried to wiggle out of his hold, but he latched on tighter and pushed me out the exit door to the outside. “Just do as they say.”
Fucking cliché line, Jace.
“Help!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. “Someone help me!” Zay flipped around and slammed the butt of his gun into my stomach and knocked the wind right out of me. Before I could think, I was shoved into a limo, and as the door shut, I heard Gus’s voice. I scrambled to my knees and tried the doors and windows.
“Take me too.” He waved his arms. “Two for one. We are all he cares about, Zay. You know that. Why not hit him where it hurts the most? Family.”
Holy shit, what was he doing?
“Gus! No!” I hardly recognized my tone, it was laced with such terror. He wouldn’t be able to handle this.
A thick dose of panic rippled through me like an earthquake. What were they going to do?
“Just fucking grab him, man!” Jace screamed. He seemed amped up, unlike the Jace I knew and became friends with.
Zay put a radio up to his ear and looked all around. I went for the handle of the door when it clicked open, but Jace beat me to it. He shoved me back hard as he sat next to me.
“Don’t make me hurt you, Tess, please.” He covered his face and whispered, “Shit, this is so fucked up.”
“Jace,” I reached over, but he jumped at my touch, “please, please don’t do this.”
“You think I want this? You think I had a choice?” he nearly screamed. “I’m a goddamn prospect. I do as I’m fucking told.”
“Wait.” I tried to understand. “Trigger asked you to take me?”
“No!” He shook his head. “Him.” He nodded, and for the third time in my life, I had the devil in my sights. Trigger’s father.
Zay pointed his gun at Gus, and I snapped back to what was happening. I screamed and clawed at the window for him to stop. Not Gus, not someone as sweet and harmless as Gus. The boys popped into my head, and I wanted to cry and take his place. No kid should go through life without parents. They needed him. Shit, I needed him. He filled a void I hadn’t even known I had.
“If that’s her reaction, imagine Trigger’s.” Zay snickered. “Get in, old man.” He grabbed Gus by the shirt and tossed him inside.
“Jesus Christ, be careful,” I snapped at Zay. He tried to elbow me in the throat, but I ducked out of the way. He slammed the door, and I helped Gus to the seat and held his hand.
“You okay?”
“Why would you make them take you? What about the boys?”
He rolled his head to face me. “I’m your only hope of getting through this.” He lowered his voice. “And that ain’t saying much.”
He snapped his gaze over to Jace, who looked to have lost three shades of color. They exchanged some kind of look, almost an understanding that we were royally fucked.
My phone vibrated against my leg, and I shifted to pull it free.
Oh, my God!
Gus bumped my knee to get my attention and mouthed, “One, two, three.”
“Savi!” I screamed in a desperate plea, and Jace’s head whipped around in confusion. “Savi! Allen took us. Gus and I are in—”
Jace lunged for the phone, but Gus tossed his body weight at him.
“Tess! Where are you right now?”
“Vegas! Outside the fight. Trigger is still inside!”
“You stupid bitch!” Jace grabbed my leg and tried to pull himself upright. “Give me that!”
“Savi, you need to tell Trigger that Jace is the mole and—”
“Listen to me,” she said to stop my mad chatter. “Where are they taking you? Did they say?”
Just as I was about to answer, Jace knocked the phone from my hands and scooped it up.
Gus huffed with his arm wrapped around his stomach and struggled to get back into the seat.
“You’re fucking insane, Tess!” Jace quickly turned it off, but I noticed he didn’t toss it away. He just tucked it in his pocket. “You’re going to get me into trouble.”
“Yes, and we wouldn’t want that.” My voice dripped with sarcasm as my heart dropped into my stomach again. Did I fuck everything up by showing I had my phone? Did I just lose our one lifeline? Gus was still holding his side. One eye opened, and I saw him peel back his fingers to show me he had his phone on, and it was on a map.
Sneaky old man.
Jace was staring out the window, and when he suddenly sat up straight, I knew things were about to get a whole lot worse.
He rolled down the window. “They’re here.”
Blue and red flashing lights filled the inside of the limo and flooded the main parking lot.
Zay waited as a blue car rolled up, and out stepped an officer I hadn’t seen before. I squinted to read his patches. Why wasn’t I surprised to find a Santa Monica cop here? A flashlight skimmed his name tag, and I caught the first few letters. DOY.
engine started, and we peeled out of the driveway and onto the street. I turned to see the lights of the building slowly trickle away like so many fireflies.
Gus shook his head at Jace. “What the fuck did you guys do?”
***
Trigger
“Where is she?” I screamed over the crowd as people tried to grab at me from every direction.
I was wild and drunk for his kill. I needed to smell his blood, to watch as it drained from his body and circled my feet. I wanted to remove his eyes, teeth, and burn off his fingerprints so he didn’t exist anymore. I wanted so much more, but he was gone, like so much fucking smoke and mirrors.
I tore myself away from the darkness, but it felt like I had left a layer of my skin behind.
Focus.
“Find him,” I barked at Rail, who had fought his way over to me.
“On it.” He ducked under the sea of people and disappeared.
I had my father inches from the reaper’s grip. He was there in the flesh, ready to be taken out, but I lost my focus, once again trapped by betrayal. I yanked the door back and screamed with frustration.
“Where is she?” I boomed at Cray, and he put his hands up so I wouldn’t hit him. I heard my men come up behind me, but nothing mattered.
“Hang on!” He tried to stop me, but I was five strides ahead. “Trigger, before you flip out, you need to hear this!”
I ignored him and tore open my door and saw the room was empty. I went on to the next, and the next, and every empty room elevated my anger.
“Nolan!” my mother squealed. “I saw what happened.”
That stopped me.
“I saw them take—”
My hands snapped around her neck and pushed her into the wall. Brick appeared on one side of me and started to shout, but nothing made it through the demons’ cries for more. They were savages and slowly taking over.
Cray and Cooper came up with their weapons drawn, ready to do what was necessary.
Her fingers clawed at my arms while her face turned bright red.
“Allen. He took…her.”
My grip tightened as I fought to stay in the present, but Nolan was fading fast, and so was Tess.
No. This wasn’t happening.
“His fucking assholes jumped me!” Rail held his broken nose and limped as he came into view. “I’m sorry, man. Allen’s gone.”
What the hell?
“You did this, didn’t you? You played me! You know I love her, and you took her from me!”
If I couldn’t kill my father, my mother was the next best thing.
“No.” Tears streamed down her terrified face. “I don’t even know her. But I can help you find her.”
“Trigger!” The familiar voice cut through my rage, and a small body slammed into mine. I didn’t move. I was stone, but I broke the hold on my mother, my fist still raised, about to pound.
“Listen to me!” Fin’s face was bright red, and tears pooled around his cape Tess had helped him make to support the fight. So much terror was held in such a tiny face. “Stop fighting and find her!” He started to sob, and I broke. I scooped him up and buried my face in his neck. He shook as he sobbed and held onto me tight. I knew that fear. It was that of a boy who just lost his mother.
A feeling I knew and held onto for many years.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “We’ll get her back, I promise.”
“Oh, my God.” Brick covered his face as he turned around, looking about ready to puke. I reached out and grabbed his shoulder. Anchor to anchor.
“Where’s Gus?” I barely heard Cray ask.
I glanced at Minnie and handed Fin to her. I started to scan the hallway. He was slower than the rest of us.
She moves, shoot her.”
“Yeah, okay.” I noticed Brick as he tucked a gun into the waist of her pants, careful not to show Fin.
“Trigger?” Morgan nearly ran into me and turned his phone to face me.
Mike: Jace is your mole! Get Trigger to call me now!
What? That sucked the breath right out of me.
“Jace.” He shook his head, the betrayal deepening the creases around his eyes. “He took her. He’s the goddamn mole!”
Motherfucker! I clenched my fist, and my muscles quivered with the need to kill something. I should have known. Jace and Tess became close quickly. He burrowed his way into her trust, only to rip it away.
He betrayed me—no, us—his fucking family that fed and housed him.
I am done.
My head tried to keep ahead of the demons. I wanted so much to give in and let them take over, so I could get through this without the terrible ache that held my body prisoner.
“Trigger!” Big Joe burst around the corner. His face was broken out in a sweat. “You need to see this.”
“Joe, if this has something to do with Tess, you need to—” Brick couldn’t finish the sentence, and I didn’t want him to.
“No.” Big Joe motioned for us to follow him. We raced down two hallways, through the lobby, and down another hall. He held open the door, and we rushed in and our boots were covered in…blood?
“Holy shit.” Brick glanced around at the five twisted bodies. One’s neck had been snapped, an ear looked like it had been ripped off another, and the smell of bleach almost took our breath away. “Who?”
“Stripe Backs.” I pointed to the lime green eyes staring back at me as the rest of the guys joined us. Minnie covered Fin’s eyes and hurried back out with my mother on her heels. “Trigger.” Brick turned with a haunted look, and I nodded. It looked like one of my kills.
“Get Rich to call Sam,” I quickly instructed Rail. I had a sinking feeling we’d need our lawyer. He went to pull out his phone but stopped when we felt someone come in.
“You mean your prospect?” One of the men who carried our bags in before the fight suddenly appeared next to Cooper. “Yeah, man, he left, like, ten minutes ago with that girl Trigger had on his arm.”
What the fuck?
“With who?”
“Shit!” Big Joe jumped back, and a team of police held their weapons on me.
“Oh, my God!” My mother snagged my attention as she stared at her phone, not the police.
“Everyone freeze!” one cop shouted, clearly taken over by fear.
I raised my arms, ready to fight. The sound of their weapons filled the room as most of the guns pointed in my direction.
“Stop.” My mother stepped forward, almost as if to shield me. “Let me say goodbye to my son.”
I couldn’t help but feel a strange ripple run through me at the word son. Before anyone could say anything, she wrapped her arms around me and whispered, “They have Gus. He has his tracker on.” She slipped the phone into my hand. She stepped back and blocked the SWAT team’s view of the phone. I watched as the little blue dot moved farther and farther away from me. I couldn’t believe it.
“Nolan Vineyard, Matthew Montgomery, and…” Officer Doyle stepped into the room with a rag over his nose, and my blood went wild. He turned to Rail. “Silas Hunter, you’re under arrest.”
No.
Morgan sidestepped behind me and pulled the phone from my grip as Doyle went on.
“For the mass murder at the Final Temptations Strip Club in Santa Barbara four years ago, and,” he paused, and I saw him smile behind the rag, “the murder of these five Stripe Backs.”
My blood ran cold as I made the connection that I had indeed been played by one of my own. But it wasn’t only Jace who’d betrayed me. I slowly shifted and locked eyes with my second mole.
Nolan disappeared into dust as the cold steel clamped down around my wrists.
The End