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JACE
“It’s fucking insane out there,” João said as I parked my car behind Kai’s motorcycle. He looked behind him at the smoke coming from two streets down and cursed under his breath, glancing around the street. “Where the fuck is Landon?”
Needing to see Allie, I walked into the house without him and down the creaky steps to Kai’s underground hideout, gun parlor, whatever the fuck he wanted to call it.
I banged on the heavy metal door three times. “Open up. It’s Jace.”
When nobody answered, I banged again.
João grumbled under his breath and typed in a code into the lock. “If they’re in the back room, they won’t hear you.” When the door clicked, he shoved it open with his boot.
All the computers and monitors were on, some with the local news, others tracking social media, like Facebook, Instagram, and even Redwood Academy news activity, which was blowing up with articles about the police force already, the hashtag #SaveNicole trending across the entire state, not only the town anymore.
“Allie!” I shouted, hurrying into the back room to see her arms around Kai.
Overcome with so much fucking annoyance over tonight, I ripped Kai off her and took her in my arms. She widened her eyes and hurried back over to make sure that he was okay.
“What the fuck, Allie?” I asked her through gritted teeth.
“He’s my brother, Jace,” she snapped, then turned back to me, regret written across her face. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you. I just … he’s my brother.” She looked over her shoulder at Kai and gently grabbed my hands. “My dad had another kid, I guess … I still can’t wrap my head around it.”
I glanced over at Kai. “You’re Allie’s brother?”
Kai gave a half-smile and looked at Allie. “You know, I always hated that Dad lived with you and not my mom and me, but after he died … I, uh … I realized that we were both the same—both lost a parent, both grew up on the bad side of town, both had mothers who kinda spaced out after he died.”
Allie smiled at him. “I’m still mad that nobody told me sooner, but I’m glad you did.”
“Yo, enough with this lovey-dovey shit. Where the fuck is Landon?” João asked Kai, lighting up a cigarette.
Kai shrugged and placed Allie’s father’s gun back on the shelf. “Probably fucking Imani somewhere. I don’t fucking know. I’ve been here, making sure the video is out and going viral. He hasn’t called.”
“It’s fucking crazy out there already, dude.” João paced around the room and shook his head. “If they don’t get back here in the next five minutes, I’m going out there to find them.”
Kai walked back into the monitor room, and we followed to sit somewhere that wasn’t surrounded by ammo. Kai sat down on a swivel chair and kicked one leg up onto a table.
“Does the one guy who hated Imani the most now care about her?” Kai asked, lips curling into a smirk. “Cute.”
João growled and cut his eyes to Kai. “Don’t push it.”
Pacing around the room, João ran a hand across his face.
I leaned closer to Allie, resting my head on her shoulder. “I’m glad you’re okay. I don’t know what I’d do without you, Allie.” I kissed her temple, watching as she looked over at me with big eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m worried about Nicole,” she said, gnawing on the inside of her cheek. “What if her father finds her at Jamal’s and … and does something worse than rape her? What if he kills her, Jace, and we never find her body? She disappears out of nowhere?”
“If anything, her father will come here before he checks Jamal’s house,” Kai said, typing something on his keyboard. One of the screens that showed the local news channel changed into a live feed of a camera outside of Jamal’s house, the screen split to see both the front and back doors. “And I got it covered.”
I blew out a deep breath and relaxed back against the couch. This was all going to be over soon. I wouldn’t have to worry about Allie, Allie’s mom, or Dad killing us all. After all this chaos, there would be nothing but peace, and we could finish our senior year without the constant threat of murder.
“All right, I’m fuckin—” João started.
The door opened, and Landon walked in with Imani, who looked up and smiled at him.
“I hate you, you know that?” she said to him, then stopped and turned to us. “Why is everyone staring at us? What’s wrong?”
After Landon shut the door behind them, João clenched his jaw and glared at him. “Answer your fucking phone next time and get back here sooner. It’s fucking crazy outside. She shouldn’t be out there.”
Allie moved closer to me and giggled—actually giggled—in my ear, the sound giving me butterflies, even now. “They’re so in love with her. I never thought that I would say this, but it’s actually cute.” She reached for Imani’s hand and pulled Imani down next to us. “I’m so glad that you got back safely.”
“You too, girl. I already texted Maddie and Vera. They’re safe with Maddie’s brother and some of the guys on the hockey team.” Imani glanced between Allie and me, brows furrowed together. “Have you spoken to Nicole? How is she? I saw that video … and …” Imani choked up. “And I feel so bad about this entire thing.”
“You saw the video?” Kai asked, then turned to Landon. “I told you not to show her.”
Imani hopped up. “It’s not his fault. I snuck a peek at it while using the bathroom.”
Feeling the tension, Allie tugged on my hand and pulled me up to my feet. “We should go back home. I don’t want Harlan alone with Mom.”
“You should wait a little bit,” Kai said. “If Nicole’s father finds any of us out there, he’ll do God knows what to find Nicole. Wait a couple hours until he has other shit around Redwood that he has to deal with—angry rioters, murders, fires. You can’t go now.”
