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“Not HQ?”
She shook her head. “He doesn’t want her to know where HQ is,” she replied. “He said his address is public record.”
“And Grayson?” Victor asked.
“Yeah,” Sofia said, her gaze darting toward a tied-up, wide-eyed Miranda. “He’ll meet us there. We clearly need to talk.”
Chapter Fifteen: Jace
“Alright,let’ssecureherand get going,” Victor said, his voice low and focused. We quickly moved to bind Miranda’s feet with zip ties, expertly tightening them to ensure she wouldn’t be able to escape. Her hands were already tied up.
“Sorry, I don’t wanna hear your shit,” I said, sticking duct tape over her mouth.
She squirmed and mumbled through the duct tape, but it was no use; we had perfected this technique over years of dangerous encounters.
“Keep an eye out for any trouble,” I instructed Victor as we loaded Miranda into the back of our black SUV.
He nodded silently, his eyes already scanning the surroundings for any potential threats. The sense of urgency hung in the air like a thick fog, choking us with the knowledge that one wrong move could mean disaster. If Miranda was feeling brave enough to break into one of our properties, that meant that other people probably were too.
And that was going to be a huge problem.
As we began our journey to Teo’s house, Sofia sat next to me, her gaze fixed on the road ahead. I could see the wheels turning in her head, no doubt crafting the perfect argument to persuade Teo to go along with her plan.
“Remember, we need to be cautious and vigilant,” I muttered under my breath, glancing at the rearview mirror to check on Victor, who sat in the backseat with a watchful eye on our captive. “We don’t know who might be watching.”
“Understood,” Sofia replied quietly, her brown eyes flickering with determination. Her hands were clenched tightly in her lap, betraying the nerves she tried so hard to conceal.
The city streets blurred past us in a haze of neon lights and shadows, the darkness of the night providing a sinister backdrop for our mission.
“Is this your turn?” Sofia asked at a stoplight.
It was. As we approached the imposing, heavily guarded residence, my heart pounded in my chest, the weight of our task settling like lead in my stomach.
“Here goes nothing,” I murmured to myself, gripping the steering wheel tightly as we pulled up to the entrance. The tension was nearly suffocating, but I knew that we had to see this through – not just for Sofia, but for the safety and survival of the Mercy Blades.
“Let’s just hope Teo sees reason,” I thought as we came to a stop, preparing to face whatever consequences lay ahead.
The heavy iron gates creaked open as we approached, allowing us entry into Teo’s housing complex. It had always made me laugh that he lived in a gated complex full of old, wealthy people, but it didn’t seem funny now.
His neighbors would see us dragging a girl out of the car and they would probably have plenty to say about that.
As soon as I parked the car in front of his house, the automatic lights came on. We waited for a beat then they went off again.
Clearly, we needed to do this in the shadows.
“Let’s go,” Victor muttered, his voice low and cautious as he opened the door, carefully easing Miranda out of the vehicle. Her hands were bound securely, her movements restricted by the ropes that encircled her wrists and ankles. Sofia punched in the code at Teo’s door and we all filed in, one after the other.
Teo wasn’t in his living room. He was sitting in the back, on the pool deck, as Grayson sat in one of the lounging chairs.
His piercing gaze assessed the scene before him, his eyes narrowing as they fell upon the bound and gagged figure of Miranda.
“Explain,” he demanded, his tone clipped.
“Teo, this is Miranda Olivier,” Sofia began, her voice unwavering as she presented our captive to him. “A pawn manipulated by someone with a vendetta against us. We believe that by keeping her close, we can uncover who’s pulling the strings and put an end to this threat.”
Teo looked to Grayson, who shrugged. “Better here than out there, where we can’t control her.”
“Right,” Teo said. “Okay. But this is on you, Jace. If anything goes wrong, you’re accountable for it.”
