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Vengeance.
But I don’t want it. Yes, I did try to set Connor up, and I did try to kill them. But they forced me into it.I’m tired of being afraid.
Nate tries to get up from his chair and struggles against his restraints. “Brothers! This is not how we deal with our people!” But he’s wrong. These guys are not his brothers anymore, and this is exactly how they operate. “Phoenix, we’re getting out of here, kiddo.” The pistol’s being pressed against his temple, but I can’t watch this. Mom’s happy with him and he clearly loves her, so…
“I’ll do it!”
“Like hell you will,” Damon snarls. “Don’t you worry, pretty boy, payback’s a bitch, and you created a fucking disaster. But don’t worry, they won’t come for you.” I look away, and…there! In the corner, the guy with the Venetian mask.
Move.
“Fire!” That’s when the first chairs tumble over. Smoke comes creeping through the bottom of the door, thick and heavy, the promise of death that’s about to make its presence keenly felt.
“This way! We’ll head through the tunnel.”
Kai…where are you?
The pistol clicks, followed by a loud bang. I cry out, the restrained sound leaving my throat sore, but around me, people are no longer looking. They’re running toward their escape as panic roars through the place, colliding with the uprising smoke.
“No!” Nate’s lying across from me, but there’s nothing more to say. No longer in one piece, his soul has left this place. “Oh my God!” I want to stumble forward and drag the time back, back to before this useless attack. “I can’t—”
“No One.” A smooth voice calls my name, that slight accent so recognizable. When I look up, my eyes meet with blue ones, dazzling with madness. “Viens. We need to go.”
“Wh—what’s—” Somewhere in the background, I hear people scream. “What did you do?” I turn to face Théo. “What did you do?”
He grins. “The tunnel’s locked. Logan felt that they were going to be set up. And he asked me to fix it. I love fixing things. Now, they can’t get out.” Then he tilts his head, a puzzled look on his gorgeous face. “Or, do you want them to get out? We can let them out, if you want to. As long as you give me one to play with. Please?”
“Maybe.” I hear myself say. Fuckingmaybe. His face lights up.
“D’accord.” Then he grabs my hand and guides me over the threshold and toward the stairs. Fire licks all around us, making us cough through our burning lungs. Théo’s hand feels strangely cold when we fly through the bar and outside, finally outside, toward fresh air and freedom.
“Fuck, that was close.” I bend over and splutter through my clogged airways.
“That was fun.” A big Audi passes by and stops right next to us, the motor still idling. A raven-haired man scrolls the window down, a frown on his handsome face.
“Fini de jouer?”
I start coughing again, and I bend forward as my body heaves. Someone hands me a bottle of water, and I eagerly start drinking, spit out most of the water, before taking more gulps.
Théo wraps a woolen blanket around my trembling limbs, a secretive smile on his lips. His matching curls are as wild as mine. “Oui, amour,I have finished playing.” And then he looks at me. “It’s up to you now.” Before I can say anything, he tosses me something, that I catch on instinct. When I unfold my fingers, I see that it’s a key.
“Their life, in your hands.” Théo grins. “The best feeling in the world. Now take yours in your hands as well.Au revoir, baby mouse.”
* * *
Behind me, dark smoke escapes through cracks in the walls in their attempt to escape the fire that licks inside the bar. It’s consuming every single corner of that place of horror in its attempt to erase all torture and derision that has taken place down there, in All Saint’s X-Ring. All the illegal fights, the sexual assaults, the pain and destruction people have suffered in there. Me included, I guess. I think of Nate’s broken body. He seemed like a good guy. What on earth am I going to tell Mom?
Théo has barely left when a string of cars arrive, cornering me inside a circle when they stop all around me.
I can’t believe I’m still standing. Ropes, guns or fists. TheFrères Perdus, All Saints, the Void. I seem to have forged an alliance with the French cult, have survived All Saints, and now I’m left to face the Void. Straight in the eye. Doors open and slam shut as they make their way out, danger approaching from all corners. Heavy cotton blanks my mind, shielding me against fear. Big engines idle, and it creates an ominous sound together with the popping sizzle of the fire behind me.
We’re somehow back at where it all began.Everything’s connected.But like untying a knot, loose ends are forming across the surface. That’s good. I press the blanket a little tighter around my frame. Loose ends make it easier to think clearly.
“When you’re not around me, I find myself searching for you, wanting you close.”
I look around me, but I can’t find Kai. Will this infatuation hold when his family’s around?
No.
