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I hum and nod my head. “So good.”
Cooper smiles, his face lighting up with my compliment. All of my guys love the hell out of feeding me, and I don’t mind it myself. If I never have to lift a fork again, I’d be fine.
“I’m glad you—” The power shuts off, cutting off Cooper’s words.
Sawyer hops to his feet with me in his arms and pulls out his com device from his pocket. He taps the screen a few times, too quickly for me to keep up. The soft glow from the others’ com devices lights the small sitting area in Sawyer’s room.
“The grids are off all over the city. Looks like the leadership has decided to play dirty. Only their towers have power.” Sawyer growls with his words, his rage heating him up and warming over me in the process.
“Those bastards. They can’t do this.” Monroe paces in a quick circle, staring at his com device without waking up. The soft glow sharpens his features, and his eyes flash silver. “It’ll take me about an hour to get the backup generators online. It’s been a while since we’ve tested them.”
“We need to call everyone for a meeting. Shit’s about to go down.” Sawyer hands me to Knox. “Gather the Gemstones and take them to the panic room. We need to make sure they remain safe first. They’ll be the biggest target. Asshole Aris will take advantage of this, considering he has to know that we retaliated and sentenced the health keeper to death.”
The mention of Alexander sends a wave of fear through me. It’s been three weeks since we took care of that mess, and I was hoping that he would just realize that the Bella Crew is far more powerful than he gives them credit for.
The world blurs as the guys break into action. I cling onto Knox, wishing with every fiber in my being that we wouldn’t separate. I feel better when we stay together. The Bella Hotel is huge and anything could happen if someone manages to infiltrate.
“We’re going to be fine. Even without power, no one will be able to get into the hotel. We have a ton of different resources and strategies in place. If it were that easy to take us down by cutting the power off, then the leadership would have done so long ago. This is just a scare tactic. They’re trying to flex the little power they still have left. But they won’t get away with it. There are far more crews than there are covens, and they know this. They are the ones who are scared.” Knox strokes his hand along my back, smoothing out my shivers.
He’s absolutely right. If the Bella Crew could be destroyed, somebody would’ve done it already. They might not have the title of a coven, but they have something far better. A family. They are a crew. The donors want to be here and will fight alongside us to ensure we have a great future. The leadership can’t take that away from us no matter how hard they try. They will see. They will be the ones begging for mercy at the end of this. We just need to get ahead of them. I need to figure out the best way to take them down without taking down a ton of innocent donors in the process. It doesn’t help that each hotel is basically like a prison. It’s intended to keep people in, but it also doesn’t help that no one wants to get out with how the Strip dwellers are. I think that they are purposely left starved to ensure the donors don’t fight. It’s all so twisted. I spent my whole life believing that Alexander was protecting me. I’m sure there are many others like me.
“I know you guys have your strategy, but I feel like there has to be more that we can do. More that I can do.” I snuggle my face into the crook of his neck, inhaling a deep breath of his delectable scent. “I know you guys don’t want to put me in that line of fire, but I can handle it. I think it’s time that they learn who I truly am.”
The world slows around me, and we stand outside the suite to where the Gemstones have been living together. None of them except for Mya wanted their own rooms, which I can’t blame them. I would be with them if I wasn’t with my guys.
Knox taps on the door. “It’s Knox and Hayley. We’re coming to check on you guys. We’ve put the panic safeguards into place.”
Muffled voices hum from within the suite, and the door cracks open. Mya and Jasper stand beside each other, their expressions hard with lines. I peek past them at the other Gemstones huddled together in the corner of the room as if they expect some monster to come breaking in to devour them. They’ve been so traumatized by Alexander that I can’t exactly blame them. If I didn’t feel so safe with Knox, I would be the same way. It’s just something I can’t forget but have learned to deal and to live with.
“We’re not under attack. The leadership cut off the power to nearly the entire city. We will have the backup generators working in no time. Okay?” Knox projects his voice loud enough so that the other Gemstones can hear him.
“Why would they do this?” Topaz asks, breaking away from the group of girls. “Don’t they realize that they are just going to upset everyone and make it worse?”
Knox flexes his muscles, tightening and relaxing his jaw. “You would think. But the leadership has proven that they are more brawns than brains. You guys should be the ones running the city. I bet you could whip it into shape in days.”
Knox’s comment eases the tension in the room, and Topaz grins and looks over her shoulder at her sister. “Is there anything we can do to help? Hiding in this room drives me crazy. I prefer to know what to expect.”
I never knew or expected that any of the Gemstones would carry that kind of desire. They’ve always been taken care of, doing what they were told in exchange for their needs being taken care of. Food, safety, shelter. But now they’re saying there’s so much more to life than that. It gives me even more hope for our future.
Knox steps into the room with me and sets me on my feet, closing the door behind us. “If that is something you want to do, we can talk to Tate. We’ve been a bit cautious with you all because of everything you’ve been through. We were waiting for you to come to us.”
“I just want to perform. I don’t care if it’s for only five of you or whatever. I have to feel like I have a purpose, and as much as I like being away from Alexander, I feel useless.” Emerald gets to her feet and stretches her leg over her head, showing off with the move. “What do you think? Is that something you guys would consider?”
I knew they were as antsy as me and practicing in the gym just doesn’t compare to the adrenaline we get from being on stage in front of an audience, performing together and having an amazing time while doing so. It wasn’t always easy once I became the headliner, but now that I wouldn’t have to worry about Alexander or any of that bullshit, I can relate to the others’ feelings.
“I think we can talk about it. The donors here could always use some cheering up. We could be the only show on the Strip exclusive to them.” Knox side-glances me, a smile tightening his mouth. I don’t know how that could even work out, considering that I’m not even sure people would watch us or if they would come regularly if they were already here, but I guess it’s something we can find out.
Mya claps her hands, her face lighting up. “That would be amazing! I want to be in charge of the choreography.” She’s always been on the back end of things, pretending as if she’s not mega-talented, but Mya could definitely be a headliner. She’s just never wanted that kind of attention under Alexander’s control.
“I can’t wait. The leaders need to stop being dicks and give electricity back to us.” Jasper rolls his shoulders. “Though, if there are enough flashlights, we could still manage at least some floor routines. Keep us busy while we wait things out.”
Knox shakes his head. “It’s going to have to wait. We are going into lockdown right now, and everyone has to stay here with me. Just until Monroe gets the lights back on. We want to keep you guys safe. With the threat of Alexander and the renegades—” Snapping his mouth shut, Knox pulls his com device away from his face, hiding his frown.
“Threat? What kind of threat?” Pyrite asks from besides Pearl.
I guess Mya hadn’t told them what happened to me. Telling them about the pregnancy would only complicate things more and endanger all of us. Because they can have their minds manipulated at any time.
“Alexander wants an heir,” Mya says, speaking up for us. “He tried to send some asshole to get to Hayley, but they were unsuccessful. That’s what happened to Pearl. Remember, when we were attacked?”
