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LINCOLN
Iwish I could say I didn’t know when my life became so complicated, that I couldn’t pin it down to the reappearance of a single human. Somehow it seems like that would make all of this feel less… chaotic. Chaos is not something I accept in my world. Not since initiation. I work fucking hard to ensure that my ducks stay in a row, that I have control of the shit in my life. But somehow, since Octavia came back into my life, my ducks have morphed into fucking rabid squirrels.
I have no idea what I’m going to do about my father pushing Georgia on me. He keeps hinting at me taking it further with her to secure his deal with her father. That’s on top of the whole ‘East isn’t a Saint’ bullshit, Octavia’s stalker, and the documents Finley found. And because I need another fucking squirrel in this circus, Indi has been taken by the Rebels and if anything happens to her, Octavia will likely take my balls.
Which is how I find myself dialing Alexander’s number before I do anything else this morning. I lean forward, resting my elbows on my desk, and pinch the bridge of my nose, hoping it helps the headache that’s forming. It’s too early in the day to feel this shitty.
“Lincoln! Cuz! How you doing? It’s been a minute.” Alex’s cheery voice filters through and I smirk a little at how alike he and Indi are.
“I’d be better if my balls weren’t about to be in a vise because your guys took my girl’s ride or die.”
His laughter on the other end of the phone is about the response I expected. Life has always been a game to Alex. He’s a Knight, but he’s not Conclave, so his initiation was substantially different from mine. Though I always thought he’d be better suited to life on the Conclave than I am. He lives for the darker side of life. Which is hilarious considering his sunshine demeanor.
“And here was me thinking I was the dramatic one in the family. I assume you’re talking about the fiesty, purple-haired demon the boys brought in last night?”
“The one and only.”
“Well shit, Linc.” He pauses as voices sound in the background. He murmurs something to whoever it is before continuing. “What do you need?”
I roll my eyes, unsure how I can be more clear about what I need. “I need her back.”
“That’s not going to work. Wish it could, but the Donovans owe a debt and until we get what’s owed, the girl is collateral.” He actually does sound apologetic, but that doesn’t help me right now. “But, since it’s you… I can make sure nothing happens to her. She’ll be treated as my guest rather than a prisoner.”
I laugh dryly, because of course that’s his offer. “Sounds like you’ve taken a few steps up the food chain.”
“You could say that. The city is mine, Cousin.”
I lean back, eyes wide. Well that could work in my favor at some point, I tuck the information away for later and get back to the task at hand. “Congratulations, I guess?”
“You know I’m a sucker for positions of power.” I can practically hear his grin.
“That I do. So I have your word Indi will be okay and returned in the same condition you received her? Which, last I checked, was in one, unharmed, disturbingly sunshiney piece. I like my balls where they are and Octavia will take them if anything happens to her.”
“Oh shit, V’s back? And this is her best friend? Well, life just got a little more interesting. Unfortunately, she’s not quite in one piece, but I’ll make sure to patch her up.”
I groan. What the fuck does that mean? With him, it could be anything from a skinned knee to missing digits…
Alexander always did like games.
Though he sounds far more interested in Octavia than I’d like. “Yes she is, and yes, that’s her best friend. Don’t fuck me over, Alexander. I’ll owe you one.”
“And I’ll likely come calling. I’ll keep you updated, gotta run.” He hangs up the phone before I get a chance to say another word and I take a deep breath. This is either going to end really well, or really fucking badly.
Ryker has to know that Alex is my cousin. He’s not stupid, it’s not a secret, and that would definitely explain some of the extra hostility coming from him lately. As if the Knight bullshit wasn’t enough.
Fuck my life.
Why is nothing ever simple?
I drop Luc a message to check in on East, letting him know I’ll be there soon, before making my next bullshit call of the day.
Fiona.
What fun this should be. I press her name on the screen and put the call on loudspeaker. My headache can’t take her usual screeching directly into my ear today. It goes through to voicemail, as usual, so I leave her a message telling her to call me and leave it at that.
Luc still hasn’t responded, so I decide to just head to the hospital. There’s no point in reaching out to Harrison to call a meeting with the Conclave this early in the day because he won’t answer the phone. Instead, I wrestle my limbs out of my sweats and hoodie and grab a quick shower, trying not to think about the girl who haunts every waking—and sleeping—moment of my day.
She’s the end game for me, so I need to get her back, and in one piece. Today is fucking Valentine’s Day, and she’s not even here. We had surprise plans for her last night and everything. That, quite literally, got shot to shit.
