Alissa
I knew Augusta quite well. I’d lived in the city for five years. I knew the most dangerous places, the places where the gangs might be hiding out. We were taking a big risk going into a city overrun by gang violence. The military were doing all they could, but in order to end the gang wars, the government would have to do a lot more than they were now.
Darcy was apparently hiding out in a building only a few blocks away from the Spartans’ warehouse. That was a dangerous area. Violence was an every-day occurrence there. I wouldn’t dare venture there alone, but I had six warriors with me. Six hunky dregs.
I smiled. I couldn’t believe Nate had conceded to let me come along. Even though I’d never met Darcy, I already didn’t like her. But I was sympathetic to her plight. If Romeo had hurt her, then I could relate. I was coming along because I wanted to help. I was willing to do this for Nate. And for the other dregs. They did deserve their freedom. Their own happiness. And if I could help them achieve that, then I would. We needed to get their files from Darcy.
Nate called Darcy as we were heading through the forest toward Eatonton. I tried to listen from my seat in the back of the vehicle while Nate spoke to Darcy, but I could only hear his side of the conversation. Tony was silent in the passenger seat, staring out his window. The other dregs had come in separate vehicles.
“We’re coming,” Nate said into his phone. “We’ll be there in a little over an hour. I’ll call you when we get there and you can let us in.” He paused while he listened to her response. “Yes. We’ll get you out of there if you give us our files.” He paused again and listened. “Don’t fuck with me, Darcy. If we go in there and risk our lives to get you out, then you damn well better do what you said.” He listened again, then tossed the phone into the center console.
“What did she say?” I couldn’t resist asking.
Nate glanced at me in the rearview mirror. “She said she lied about having paper files. All she has is an electronic copy. All the information is on her computer and she doesn’t have a way to copy it right now.”
Tony snorted. “Then we take the entire computer.”
“Yes,” Nate agreed. “Unless Noah has one of those flash drives on him. Call him and give him the heads up. He’ll know what to do.”
Tony turned away and swiped his phone, calling Noah.
Nate’s gaze met mine in the rearview mirror again. “I’ll say this again, Alissa.” His gaze turned serious. “I would feel better if you stayed here. I can drop you off at your friend’s in Eatonton and pick you up on our way back.”
I shook my head. “No. I want to help. I’m coming. I’ll be fine. You guys will be with me.”
Nate jerked his gaze back to the road. A muscle ticked in his jaw, letting me know he wasn’t pleased by my stubbornness. While I did want to see Grace again, now wasn’t the time. I would visit her again soon, and let her know what was up. But right now, I was going to help the dregs.
I could always call her. “Can I borrow your phone?” I asked Nate.
He tossed it back to me.
Tony ended his call with Noah. “Noah said he’s got a couple of those flash drives on him. He’ll take care of it when we get there.”
I typed Grace’s number into Nate’s phone. It went to voicemail, so she was probably at work. I left her a message. “Hi Grace. This is Alissa. Just wanted to let you know I’m with Nate and things are going well. We’ll catch up soon. Take care. Bye.”
I set Nate’s phone back in the center console.
We all grew silent after that, lost in our own thoughts.
A little over an hour later, we neared Augusta. Nate had sped the entire way. I’d been worried at first that he might get a ticket, but there was no traffic except us, and no cops anywhere in sight.
“Let’s get this done.”
I pulled my gaze to Tony, who’d spoken. It was obvious Tony was itching for some action. And eager for the information in his file. Was Nate feeling the same way? Though Nate and Tony were dreg partners, they were completely different people. Nate was kind, thoughtful, a thinker, while Tony was rude, impatient, and blunt. Tony seemed to be fighting inner demons, his mind constantly in turmoil, the way he fidgeted in his seat, tapping his fingers against his thigh, an obvious indicator of his inner struggle. While in sharp contrast, Nate was outwardly calm and collected. Was Nate fighting demons too, but just managed to hide it well? Or was he as calm inside as he appeared outside?
These guys lived for danger. It got them all pumped up. They were soldiers, after all. Once a soldier, always a soldier. I strongly believed that every one of the dregs was a good person underneath. Even Tony. I sincerely hoped this mission was successful and each of the dregs were able to be free someday and managed to find their own happiness.
We finally reached the military barricade on the outskirts of the city, and the soldier on duty let us pass without incident. Ten minutes later, we neared the area where Darcy had set up her facility. We slowly passed by the Spartans’ warehouse with the fighting octagon. Several guards were stationed around the building. Nate and Tony were both alert, watching for danger as we turned down another street. Nate pulled the Escalade into a dark parking lot a few blocks away from the Spartans’ warehouse. The other dregs followed in their vehicles. Everyone gathered in a huddle in the parking lot with plenty of weapons and discussed what they would do.
“I want two sentries to remain outside the door to warn us of any approaching danger,” Nate said, glancing around the group.
Ryan announced, “Luke and I will be the sentries.”
Nate nodded. “The rest of us will go in to meet with Darcy. I want her to feel intimated so she won’t put up a fight. I want her to just give us the information so we can get out of here.” Nate glanced at everyone. “Be sure your communication devices are working properly.”
Everyone checked their earpieces and each dreg spoke into his microphone and the others all confirmed that their devices were working correctly.
“We’re good to go.” Luke lifted his rifle.
“Let’s move out.”
I followed close to Nate’s heels as he slipped down the dark alley to the door to Darcy’s building. He made some kind of hand signal to the others, then swiped his phone and spoke into it. “We’re here.”
There were no gang members in sight, which meant that Darcy probably hadn’t lied. They had indeed abandoned her. Either that, or she had lied, and the gangs were hiding inside with her, waiting to ambush us.
Nate had handed me a small pistol for protection earlier, and I held it in front of me, ready to defend myself if necessary. Grace had taught me how to shoot after my attack three years ago, forcing me to go to the gun range with her. I was glad now for that training, as I might need it tonight.
A loud screeching noise came from inside the building, as if someone was pushing a large object away from the door. Then a bolt turned. A lock clicked. And the door opened a crack.
A blonde-haired woman peered out. Her eyes widened briefly at the sight of all the dregs. Then she opened the door all the way and waved us inside.
“Hurry,” she whispered. “It’s not safe.” Her eyes were red-rimmed, as if she’d been crying.
Everyone followed her inside, except for Ryan and Luke, who remained outside of the door as sentries.
The door closed behind us. I glanced around. It was a large warehouse, and along the far wall a bunch of boxes were stacked on a table, as if she’d been packing and getting ready to move. Darcy was the only person in the room.
“I think my phone is being tapped,” she murmured, looking at Nate. “That’s how the shareholders found out I had hired the gangs to protect me. Either that or they just offered the gangs more money to back off. The Spartans visited me last night.” Her bottom lip quivered and I imagined all sort of horrible things Romeo and his thugs might have done to her. Sympathy tugged me. I’d been where she was at. I could relate. She lifted her chin and continued, “They slapped me around a bit, made my lip bleed. Romeo threatened that if I didn’t leave, they would come back and kill me. He said we no longer had a deal, that he was working for someone else now. So I hurried and got all my stuff packed.” She swung her arm toward the boxes on the table. “If you guys would help me get it all out of here that would be great.”
Tony snorted. “We’re not a moving van, lady.”
Darcy’s eyes went wide. “You’re my brothers. My siblings. Family helps family.”
Tony chuffed in disbelief. “You’re not our family.”
She reddened and blinked several times, then glanced back at Nate. Noah and Logan walked around the room, checking everything out, their weapons at the ready.
“I’m so sorry,” Darcy whispered, her eyes filling with fresh tears. “I messed up. I thought I could do this on my own, but I obviously can’t.”
Nate sighed. “If you step into the river, you’d better be ready to get wet.” A hint of sympathy came through in his words. “Looks like you got in over your head, and now you’re drowning.”
She swallowed hard. “Yes. I admit I’m way out of my league here. I made a mistake trusting the Spartans.”
Nate sent Tony a look, then glanced back at Darcy. “Where’s the information you promised us? We don’t have time to chat. We need to get out of here.”
“It’s all on my computer over there.” She pointed to a table near the far wall where a desktop computer perched.
Noah paused at the computer. He set his gun on the table and grabbed the mouse, clicking something on the monitor. Logan moved to stand next to Noah, watching as his partner went to work.
Darcy glanced at me. “Who are you?” She didn’t seem like an evil person at all. Just a nerdy scientist. And a woman who’d been hurt by Romeo. Just like me.
“Alissa.”
Her gaze narrowed on me, contemplating. Then her eyes widened. “Alissa Draco? The Alissa Draco? Oh my God! I always thought you were so gorgeous! So fashionable!” Her gaze traveled down my body clad in black leggings and a gray hoodie sweatshirt. She faltered. “Um…” Darcy jerked her gaze back to mine. “Well.”
I let out a soft snort. “Yeah, I’m not so fashionable today.” I smiled, and she smiled back. “I don’t model anymore. I gave that up three years ago.”
“Oh,” she murmured. “I guess that’s why I haven’t seen your face on the cover of my favorite fashion magazines in a while.”
Nate cleared his throat. “We’re not here to discuss fashion, ladies.” He glanced pointedly at Darcy. “You said you stole all your father’s records when you fled. Do you have information on all the shareholders other than what you gave us?”
Darcy focused her attention on Nate. “Our father. And no. That information was erased before I got my hands on the files. Either that, or it never existed in the first place. I gave you all the information I had on them. Sorry. That’s why I need the shareholders exterminated before they kill me.”
Nate and Tony exchanged a glance. There went that plan. It looked like they might have to kill after all. I was hoping they’d find another way.
Noah lifted his gaze to Darcy. “What’s your password, sis?” He winked.
Darcy flushed, then she lifted her chin. “I’m not telling you. You have to get me and all my stuff out of here first.”
Tony snorted. “Don’t you know he’s The Hacker? Give him long enough, and he’ll not only crack your password, but he’ll have access to everything on your hard drive, every internet search you ever performed, every online account...nothing is safe from Noah.”
Darcy paled. “I don’t want any trouble, you guys. Just do what I ask, and I’ll hand over everything I promised.”
Noah kept typing away. Then he turned to us with a smirk. “I’m in.”
“What?” Darcy rushed to his side. “No! You can’t have cracked it that fast! I was very careful not to use any personal information!”
Noah typed something else, then reached for the mouse. Nate, Tony and I all joined the others around Noah.
“Ah ha,” Noah murmured. “There it is.” He reached into his pocket and withdrew a flash drive. He plugged it into the computer’s USB port and began copying the files.
Darcy gasped. “You can’t do that! Come on! Who carries a flash drive with them everywhere?”
Logan chuckled. “Noah. He probably has another one too. And some of those micro devices or whatever they call them in his pockets.”
Darcy folded her arms across her chest. Her bottom lip trembled. Tears welled in her eyes.
Sympathy tugged at me again. All Darcy’s plans had just crashed down at her feet. I stepped forward and squeezed her arm. “Don’t you think these guys deserve to have their personal information? From what I hear, the company stole their lives, erased their memories. The least you could do is let them know about their pasts.”
Darcy sniffled, then wiped at a tear. “But I need them to get rid of the shareholders for me. I’m not a soldier. I don’t even know how to use a gun properly! If I just hand over their information, they won’t help me.”
A tense silence followed.
“They already are helping you,” I pointed out.
“There are a lot of files on here.” Noah glanced at Darcy. “It’ll take a while to copy them all. What’s in them?”
“Everything,” Darcy admitted. “I copied it all off the server before I fled.”
Tony stiffened all of a sudden, his hand going to his earpiece. “Roger that.” He and Nate exchanged a glance.
Noah glanced up at Logan, and something passed between them, some kind of silent communication. Noah turned back to the computer, impatiently tapping the desktop while he waited for the files to copy.
What was going on?
I glanced at Nate. “What’s going on?”
“Ryan said a carload of gangsters just pulled up at the other end of the alley. He said it looks like the Spartans. We have less than a minute before they’re here. He and Luke will hold them off as long as possible to let Noah finish copying the files.”
Darcy went white. “Oh God! They’ve come back to kill me! I knew it! The shareholders must have bought them off.” She let out a sob. “Please don’t let them hurt me again.”
“Hey.” I gently shook her arm. “You’re with six warriors. You’re with the dregs, remember?” I smiled at her. “They won’t let anything happen to you.”
Tony harrumphed, sending Darcy a fierce scowl that made her gasp softly and step back. “H-he wants me dead.”
“Damn right.” Tony’s face darkened. “You tried to blackmail us. You could have just asked us to help you in exchange for our files, but instead you had to play hardball. So guess what, sister? You’re about to strike out.”
Gunshots exploded from outside.
Nate grabbed my arm, tugging me away from Darcy, and urged me down on the floor. “Stay low. I’m going to help Luke and Ryan hold them off. If I don’t come back for you, then go with Noah. Don’t be afraid to use your weapon.” He turned away, heading for the door with Tony right beside him. Logan joined them, rifle at the ready, while Noah remained at the computer, waiting for the files to copy. I hunkered down near Noah’s feet as more gunfire came from outside.
No one bothered to help Darcy. Honestly, I didn’t blame them. She’d tried to blackmail them. She glanced around, her eyes wide, then dived to the floor next to me. More gunshots exploded from outside.
Nate, Tony, and Logan all slipped out the door. Darcy and I waited, crouched on the floor, while Noah finished copying the files. It seemed to take forever. Seconds felt like minutes. Minutes felt like hours. I had no way of knowing how much time actually passed, but I guessed it to be at least five or ten minutes.
At last, Noah rose to his feet, stuffing the flash drive in his pocket. “Let’s go, ladies.” He turned and pointed his gun at the computer.
“No!” Darcy screamed. “That’s all my research!”
Ignoring her, Noah pulled the trigger. Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!
The monitor shattered. The hard drive tower exploded into several different pieces, completely destroying the computer.
Darcy sobbed. “No!”
“You didn’t make another copy?” I asked in disbelief. Certainly she wasn’t that stupid.
She hitched in a breath. “I had an extra copy saved to a flash drive, but Romeo took it from me last night after he…” she trailed off with another sob.
After he beat her, most likely.
Noah scowled at her. “So now The Spartans have all The Company files, too?”
Darcy blanched, then she nodded.
Noah raked a hand through his short hair and turned away in disgust.
I grabbed her arm. “Let’s go. Come on.”
Noah urged us toward the door. “Let’s get out of here.”
We cautiously went out the door and into the alleyway. The other dregs were all spread out, hunkered down along the wall, shooting at the Spartans down at the end near the street.
Nate saw us, then made some kind of hand signal to the others, and we all moved forward, slipping down the alley.
More gunfire exploded. A bullet whizzed past my head. I screamed and ducked down, my heart pounding. Darcy gasped behind me, following me down to the ground.
Noah grabbed my arm, yanking me to my feet. “Let’s go.”
Guns went off all around while the dregs battled their way past the Spartans. Noah stayed close to me, constantly urging me forward, then down, then forward again. Darcy followed, barely managing to keep up. At last, we all reached the parking lot where they’d left their cars. Nate and Tony were already in the Escalade, waiting for me. I leapt in the backseat and yanked the door closed behind me while Noah went to Logan’s truck. Darcy hesitated, glancing from vehicle to vehicle. Taking pity on her, I shoved open the back door of the Escalade. “Come on.”
She scrambled inside and closed the door.
With bullets flying all around us, we sped away.
“You all right?” Nate asked from the front seat.
Was I all right? Right now I was still on an adrenaline high. What would happen when I crashed? “I’m fine.”
Tony sent Darcy a black stare. She reddened and looked out her window.
“Noah blew up my computer,” she whispered, glancing at Nate.
“Of course he did.” Nate met her gaze. “We couldn’t leave anything behind.”
I cleared my throat. “Apparently Darcy had another copy of the files, but Romeo took it from her last night.”
Tony spun his head around, his fierce glare skewering Darcy. “Seriously?”
Darcy lifted her chin. “Well, I didn’t know they were going to turn on me. And it was kind of hard to hold onto it when it was me against all of them.”
Tony let out a snort of disgust. His gaze met Nate’s once again. Something passed between them that I couldn’t decipher.
We raced down one street, then another, heading for the military barricade at the edge of the city. The Spartans didn’t follow us for long. The bullets stopped after we turned down the second street.
When we arrived at the military barricade, another war was going on. Flashes of gunfire banged repeatedly across the sky like a Fourth of July fireworks celebration.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom! Boom, boom! Boom!
The barricade was wide open, the soldiers crouching low with their rifles, shooting back at the enemy.
“Fuck,” Nate murmured. “This isn’t good.” He slowed the vehicle, then pulled over to the side of the road behind the military barricade. “Let’s go check it out.” He turned to me, ignoring Darcy. “Stay put. Lay low. Don’t unlock the doors for anyone. I’ll take my remote and unlock the car when I get back, okay?”
I nodded, my heart racing. “Be careful.”
He and Tony climbed out and disappeared somewhere into the darkness. I peeked out the back window. The other dregs were parking their vehicles behind us and slinking out to investigate, as well.
“This is scary,” Darcy whispered.
Yeah, it was.
More gunfire erupted everywhere. Shots. Bangs. Several bullets pierced the back windows, shattering glass and whizzing past us. I let out a soft scream and flattened myself against the seat. Darcy did likewise, her eyes wide with fright.
Then the doors unlocked.
They were back.
Tony pulled open my door and reached behind the seat to grab Nate’s medical bag.
My heart dropped.
“Is Nate hurt?”
“No. He’s helping some wounded soldiers. Stay here.”
Tony left, locking the doors with the key fob as he walked away.
Darcy and I waited, peering out the windows. It was hard to see what was going on in the dark.
More gunshots.
We ducked back down, staying low.
Ten minutes passed.
Fifteen.
What was taking Nate so long?
Twenty minutes passed.
Then thirty.
Worry crept in. What if Nate had been shot? Killed? I should go find him. See if he needed help.
The gunfire ceased.
Silence.
Darcy and I exchanged a glance.
Another five minutes passed.
Then something slammed into my window.
I gasped and scrambled down onto the floorboard, my heart pounding.
Another bang. And a third crack.
Someone was beating on the window, trying to get into the car. They must have seen us. We needed to get out of here and run.
Another crash and the glass exploded around me. I cringed onto the floor as an arm came inside the broken window, reaching for the door handle. Darcy screamed beside me as someone broke out the glass on her side of the car. She backed into me, trying to get away. I backed into her.
We huddled together in the center of the car.
Trapped.
The door on my side yanked open and a dark face loomed in front of me.
I gasped.
Enrique Vasquez glared at me, his eyes black with malice. He reached for my arm, yanking my wrist up to his face.
His lips twisted in a sneer. “Numero veinticuatro.”