Thorn
I woke up gasping from another dream about Jess. It wasn't even a very graphic dream — I had just dreamt of her trapped in a room there, pleading with me for help — but it had tugged at my guilty feelings nonetheless. It had been a week now since the fiasco at the national headquarters, and I still had yet to come up with a plan to get her out.
Dorian wanted me to go back home and forget about all of this, but I wasn't able to do that. I knew better than to outright disobey him, but we were stuck in a strange sort of limbo at the moment, tiptoeing around one another and both too stubborn to give in to what the other person wanted.
“It's not just about Silas,” Dorian said over breakfast, glancing up at me from the bagel that he was spreading cream cheese on. He shrugged a little. “I mean, Silas is undoubtedly the one who has Jess trapped, but it all goes back to Katia in the end. You know once she gets out, she'll be gunning for your life.”
“She won't,” I argued, shaking my head. “She got her packages delivered. She got everything that she wanted. There's no reason for her to come after me.”
“Katia Sin doesn't need a reason to go after you,” Dorian said patiently. “And anyway, you have given her a reason. You showed up in her prison and directly defied her orders. She's got to be pissed as all hell about that.” He shook his head. “You've gotten yourself as mixed up in all of this as I'm going to allow. I'm sorry, but it's time we were headed back home.”
I ducked my head a little, feeling like a chastised kid. “Dorian, you don't understand,” I said, shaking my head. “I got Jess mixed up in all of this. I can't just leave her there with Silas; it's not right.”
“You have feelings for her. I understand that,” Dorian said. “But what you did was stupid. And although you enabled her to get involved in all of this, it ultimately was her choice. You have to leave her alone to deal with the consequences.”
“...the notorious Katia Sin.”
I whipped my head around, staring up at the TV which was currently spitting out the morning news. Sure enough, there was Katia Sin on the screen. And the headline? She had escaped from prison.
I swallowed hard, my heart sinking. If she was out already…
“We've stayed here for too long already,” Dorian muttered, shaking his head as he watched the story as well. He eyed me consideringly. “I don't like the way the Sigma Saints has gone lately,” he said succinctly.
“You're not the only one,” I muttered.
“I know,” Dorian said. He cocked his head to the side. “Now that Katia is out of prison, she's just as much a target as you are.”
I frowned at him, wondering if he could possibly be suggesting what I thought he was suggesting. “Are you saying—”
“If you're going to stick around here,” Dorian said very deliberately, “you're going to need to take out your biggest rival.”
“You want me to kill Katia Sin?” I hissed, looking around. I knew that she had had me followed before. If there was anyone around who could overhear this conversation… What Dorian was suggesting was just…
“You know you can do it,” Dorian said, shrugging a little. “Strike now, while she doesn't expect it. She'll be feeling invincible; she just escaped from a federal prison. Before she can get her feet under her again, before she can sort out Silas and everything else—everyone who stepped up and took some of her power while she was in jail—you need to strike before she is ready for you.”
I found myself nodding, even though I knew this plan was absolutely insane. Dorian seemed to believe that I could do it, though. And if I took out Katia, maybe I could figure out some way to get Jess free from Silas before the chaos settled.
“Okay,” I agreed. “Okay.”
Dorian smiled at me, the edges tinged with sadness. “I always thought you were smarter than all of this, Thorn,” he said. “You never really struck me as the kind of brash and impulsive person who would get tangled up in something like this.”
I shrugged a little, unable to meet his eyes. “Yeah, well.”
“Gabi will be coming by this afternoon to help you brainstorm. She says Rian may have uncovered some things that could help you out.”
I blinked at him. “Okay,” I said, surprised to hear that. “I thought Gabi was out of this as soon as the packages were delivered to Katia in prison. Now that Katia's free, can't she wash her hands of all of this?”
Dorian shrugged a little. “I suspect there's quite a bit of a need for revenge there. Anyway, she's in law enforcement. For all that she did to get Katia the packages, I imagine she also wants to set things right in the world.”
I frowned at him and then shrugged as well. It would be good to have her help. Especially when I knew we could rely on Rian for insight into Silas's character and behavior.
We went back upstairs after breakfast and settled in to wait for Gabi to arrive. My phone started ringing, and I stared down at the unfamiliar local number, debating whether or not I should answer it. It could be something to do with Jess, though, or something to do with Katia. Finally, I answered it, pressing the plastic to my ear.
I didn't expect it to actually be Katia on the other end of the line, that's for sure.
“Thorn Riley,” she said in her silky voice. “So nice of you to pick up my call. I have a deal to make with you.”
I quickly changed the phone over to speakerphone, knowing that Dorian would want to hear this as well. “What sort of a deal do you want?” I asked suspiciously.
Katia laughed a little. “Well, as you may have heard, I've flown the coop. I'm out of jail. And that means that I'm here with your lovely little fuck-buddy, Jessica Harper. And I have a feeling you want to continue to ensure that nothing too horrible happens to her.”
I swallowed hard, trying my best not to let my temper get the better of me. “What sort of deal do you want?” I repeated, an edge to my voice.
“Well, I figured I'd make you an offer — her life in exchange for your life. We all know that she's innocent, and you, on the other hand … well. I'm feeling generous, and I think that you might be more of service to me than she is. She makes for good entertainment, but there's nothing like having a good, strong man by your side...”
“Her life for mine,” I repeated flatly. “How could I ever believe that you were going to let her walk free, though? You weren't going to let Rian Gonzalez free, even if Gabi and I delivered the packages to you in prison.”
“Well, Silas was having a lot of fun with her,” Katia said dismissively. “I couldn't take away his fun.”
“You might say the same about Silas and Jess,” I pointed out.
“Oh no,” Katia said, and I could just imagine her tossing back her long, flowing hair. “He refused to sleep with the girl — says he doesn't need your sloppy seconds. Of course, she's still providing quite a bit of entertainment, but he won't mind being done with her. He'd rather have you here, paying for the humiliation that you've caused him.”
“Fine,” I said, even though I knew I shouldn't be agreeing to anything like this. I could see anger on Dorian's face out the corner of my eye, but I knew Katia wasn't going to make the offer again, and she wasn't going to give me time to think things over or anything like that. It was now or never here, and I couldn't leave Jess trapped in whatever fate had befallen her over the past week. “Fine, I agree.”
“Good, good,” Katia said cheerfully. “You'll need to meet me here, at our regional headquarters. Tomorrow, at noon. Make sure that you're alone; I don't need you trying to play the hero and making us all do extra work to take you in. There will be no escaping.”
“I understand,” I told her, nodding my head grimly even though she couldn't see it. “I will see you tomorrow at noon.”
Without bothering to say goodbye, Katia hung up the phone, leaving me staring down at the blank screen. As soon as she had hung up, Dorian exploded, cussing me out in three different languages. “For fuck's sake, Thorn!” he finally cried, shaking his head. “And here I thought you couldn't do anything more stupid than you already have done!”
I shrugged a little, staring out the window at the view. “As much as I'd like to say that there is another way to do this, you and I both know that there isn't. This is the best chance that I have to ensure Jess's freedom. Whatever else happens after that, we'll deal with it when it comes to that.”