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“He's not done with us,” I said finally, “That much is clear.”
“Yeah but what does he want?” Jace asked, his voice echoing off the sterile hospital walls. “He’s not on the side of justice, right? He’s a murdering psychopath who does it for, what, sexual gratification? Everything else…the arms dealing, the human trafficking, I mean, he’s just bankrolling himself.”
I let out a harsh laugh, the sound echoing emptily in the sterile room. "You're looking for logic in a madman's actions, Jace. There is none to be found.”
We were so far past sense and order, and it felt like we were spiraling deeper into chaos with each passing second.
"Logic or not, we need to figure out his motive. And we need to do it fast," Jace retorted, his voice steady. He was right, of course. It was clear that time was slipping through our fingers like grains of sand in a desert storm. The longer we sat here trading theories, the further Sofia was being dragged away from us.
“I mean, he doesn’t like Teo, right?” I asked. “He never has.”
“He doesn’t like Teo because Teo has been protecting Sofia and her brother from the beginning.”
Jace shook his head. “You’re not listening. They didn’t have to come into our orbit at all.”
"Unless they were meant to," I mused, my heartbeat quickening at the implication. "As pawns in his game? Is that what you're getting at?"
Jace sighed, rubbing his temples. "Hell, I don't know, Grayson. But we have to acknowledge the possibility. I mean, we talked about it, right? About how Sofia’s presence could be a trap?”
“But it wasn’t.”
“Or it was,” Jace said. “Just a long term play.”
“Fuck.”
"Yeah, 'fuck' about covers it," Jace agreed, slumping back in his chair and looking even more worn than before. A fresh wave of exhaustion washed over me. Everything felt so heavy.
“So why do you think he’s after us?”
“Honestly, I think the simplest answer is usually the correct one. He wants someone to frame when shit inevitably crumbles around him. And it’s going to happen. He might have the Orlando Police in his pocket, but he doesn’t have the entirety of the feds in his pocket, right? But if he makes it look like we’re involved in those things he’s involved in…I mean, we do sketchy stuff, sure, but we don’t do things like that.”
"So we're the fall guys?" I asked, my voice rough with a mix of grating anger and bone-deep despair. "A smokescreen for the feds while he continues his reign of terror."
“I mean, we’re perfect fall guys. And then Teo falls in love with his daughter and he has a reason to go against the Viper, who really wasn’t on our radar before. And now Teo’s worried about him, and the Viper is particularly angry. See what I mean?”
I sighed, scrubbing a hand down my face as the implications of Jace’s words hit like a sucker punch to the gut. The pieces were falling together, forming a picture that was grimmer than I ever imagined. We were in deep and it felt like we were sinking faster by the minute.
"And what about Sofia? She's just collateral damage?" I asked, my voice vibrating with barely concealed rage. A tick started at the base of my jaw as I glared at the opposite wall, picturing his face for the umpteenth time.
“Yeah, and bait too,” he added softly, “She’s caught up in this because of us, Grayson.”
“Right. Okay,” I said. “I get all of this. But why take Victor, too?”
“Well, Sof would do anything for any of us, and if she does anything, then Teo won’t be far behind,” Jace said. “Even if he’s actively dying in a hospital bed.”
I looked behind myself. “He’s getting better.”
Jace shrugged, a hollow chuckle escaping his lips. "Better or not, he ain't gonna be much use in the state he's in. Not for a while at least."
"He better," Jace said, his gaze hardening. "Because we're going to need him."
"And what are we supposed to do in the meantime? Wait around until Teo's back on his feet?" My voice was sharp, frustration seeping into each word.
"What choice do we have?" Jace countered evenly, his words an echo of my own thoughts. He was right. As much as it galled me, he was right. We were outplayed, outnumbered and outgunned. And the enemy held all the cards.
"But Sofia..." I started, my heart aching at the thought of her alone with that...maniac.
"Is strong," Jace finished for me, his voice filled with a conviction I wished I could share. "She's proven that time and again."
