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“No,” I admitted, but then I thought about Kelly’s diary. Between that and Meech’s testimony, I was sure we could summon enough information to do something about it. “But I’m going to get it if it’s the last thing I do.”
30
ZANE
The minute the metal doors opened, I felt my blood heat and cool at the same time.
As I walked into the humid dungeon, I heard the roars all around me. Their facial expressions were a combination of awe and disbelief, and the chants echoed in my ears.
“He’s back!”
“Fucking shit! Viper was right!”
I walked forward, ignoring the smell of metal and blood that was so familiar that it grated. So was the hunger in their eyes, the pure bloodlust. Almost everyone here was either drunk or high off some shit. I didn’t delude myself into thinking any of the people currently screaming my name gave a fuck about me. They all came for the same reason, to see people get fucked up.
I was the one they thought would do that.
They didn’t yet know it would be my blood on the floor.
The fury was drumming up in my blood, but I told myself to stay calm. I couldn’t lose my rationality here. Because I had to be on alert for any of Viper’s dirty tricks.
And also for Toby.
Viper would keep him close. He would be expecting me to double-cross him somehow or stage an ambush, and it was for that exact reason I didn’t. It would be worthless anyway because he would find out, and then he would kill Toby.
So, instead, he was going to kill me.
Charlotte didn’t speak to me this morning before I left. She just gave me a tear-filled kiss, and I could feel her fingers clutching me tight. It took everything in me to pull away.
“Don’t come,” I told her, staring deep into her eyes. “Under no circumstances should you be there. Do you understand?”
Her lips trembled, and she clutched me tighter. But then she nodded.
I kissed her on her lips to stop the protest that I could see building and forming. The kiss might have lasted for a few minutes, but it wasn’t enough. It would never be enough.
I wanted to hold her forever.
As I walked through the crowd now, hands reached out to touch me, and I resisted the urge to break the hands off. I knew I could if I wanted to. Anger wasn’t a bad thing here. It was welcomed, of course, and I needed some of the rage to survive.
But I needed to keep a rational mind.
“Have I mentioned this idea is fucking insane?” Meech grumbled next to me like he’s been doing the entire way here. I’d tried to avoid having him come by leaving an entire hour earlier than I was supposed to, but Meech saw it coming. He came to the house right as I was pulling out of the driveway and then blocked my car with his body.
“You’ll have to run me over first if you think you’re going alone, you damn fool,” he’d yelled, and knowing the stubborn bastard, he would do it too. So I didn’t have a choice but to let him come along.
“Seriously,” Meech said. “Just look at him.”
Meech gestured with his chin, and I followed his gaze. I spotted Viper immediately, even with the crowd surrounding me. The tall motherfucker stood a head above the rest and sat with that shit-eating grin as if he already won. And I knew he had.
I was ready to get this fucking over with.
But I needed to figure out where Toby was first and send Meech to go and get him.
“Hi, my friend,” Viper sneered as I walked toward him. I noticed the people with him were watching me with a particular sinister stare in their eyes. “I thought you would chicken out at the last minute.”
“I’m not you,” I responded snidely. “Are you going to keep to your end of the deal?”
His eyes flickered a little as he smiled, and I thought he was looking at something, but it was too dark to really tell. But I knew one thing for sure. Toby was here.
