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Bringing Jude out here right now wasn’t the plan. I was really hoping I’d find out who’s working with him before I brought him in for interrogation, but after the call from my dad, I knew I needed to hurry things along.
With any luck, he’ll tell me everything I need to know.
ChapterFourteen
SCAR
“Such a jackass,”I grumble, passing by Neo, who’s got Jude thrown over the sled like he’s a sack of potatoes.
Snickering, he pulls Jude’s feet, dropping his body in the snow. “Someone's bitter.”
“No shit, we’re bitter. It’s freezing out here,” I snarl, dragging my eyes up and down Neo’s body. “Look at you in just your hoodie and jeans. Oh yeah. You didn’t have to trek through snow on foot.” The sarcasm in my tone is apparent, and he eats it right up. Neo lives to make others miserable.
“Please don’t hurt me,” Jude whimpers from where he’s lying on the ground.
I slouch to where he’s at, elbows pressed to my knees as I peer over him. “Hurt you?” I chuckle maliciously. “We’re gonna do more than that. Once we’re through with you, you’re gonna wish you were never born a Beckett.”
“I’m not…my last name is Stanton.”
“Liar,” I shout directly in his face. “And such a terrible one at that. Did you really think you wouldn’t get caught?”
He’s trembling in fear, as he should be. This guy has no idea what’s coming. When we’re done with him, we’ll know all his secrets.
When Neo tugs Jude’s feet, dragging him through the snow, I stand up and dust my legs off.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Riley. She’s facing the trail, chewing haphazardly on her thumbnail. I give Neo one last glance, hoping he can get Jude down the ladder on his own.
“You okay?” I ask Riley, now at her side.
She turns to look at me, her thumb still lodged between her teeth, and she shakes her head no. Finally removing her hand from her mouth, she drops her tense shoulders. “Are we sure it’s him? I feel so bad. What if it’s not and we’re—”
“It’s him, Ry. There’s no one else it could be.” I press my lips into a thin line, hoping she sees that this isn’t all for nothing.
Her sad eyes show me the reflection of mine as I look at her. “But what if it’s not?”
I put an arm around her shoulder, leading her to the open trap door to the tunnels. “Then I guess we really fucked up.”
By the time we get there, Neo has Jude’s legs untied and he’s following him down the ladder.
I’m looking down when Neo looks up. He stops mid-step. One foot on the step below the other.
“What?” I huff the question, wondering why he’s putting his attention on me and not Jude.
“Nothing.” He shakes his head and continues his descent.
Neo is so weird sometimes. The word weird can have so many different meanings. At least to me, it can. It can mean awkward, confusing, strange, fantastical, creepy, mysterious. My reference to him as weird is most definitely confusing.
He can be a total douchebag—the absolute worst. Then there are moments like this when I look at him and convince myself he’s not that bad. I try to justify his actions in my head and it works for a while. That is, until he shows me his true colors again. Black is the one I see most. Which also happens to be my favorite color.
I’m halfway down the ladder, Riley just above me, when Jude takes off running.
I hit the ground and watch. Jude’s at least six feet ahead of Neo, glancing over his shoulders, but still frantically running. Neo is chasing him while screaming profanities.
“Should we help?” I ask Riley, eyes still on the guys as they fade into the darkness of the tunnels. Only a glimmer of light shows the way from the sconces on the walls, but they’re so far down now, I lose sight of them.
“Nah. He can’t go too far. Neo will catch him.”
We take our time walking to Jude’s lair. It’s a good fifteen minutes by the time we get there and find Neo sitting on Jude’s back, tapping into his phone.
