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KAI
Allie stared at me for what seemed like hours until she finally threw her arms around me and hugged me tight. I stayed frozen to the spot, not expecting that she’d react like this, then forced myself to snap out of it and hug her back.
My eyes became hot and watery, the thought of finally having family making me warm. It had been years since that day that Mom had died, years since I had found Dad’s body at the crime scene of a motorcycle accident.
“Allie!” someone shouted from another room, and then the door was ripped open.
Jace Harbor barreled into the room, tore me off Allie, and took her in his arms. She widened her eyes and hurried back over to me.
“What the fuck, Allie?” he asked her through gritted teeth.
“He’s my brother, Jace,” she snapped, then turned back to him, regret written across her face. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you. I just … he’s my brother.” She looked over her shoulder at me and gently grabbed Jace’s hands. “My dad had another kid, I guess … I still can’t wrap my head around it.”
Jace glanced over at me. “You’re Allie’s brother?”
I gave a half-smile and looked at Allie. “You know, I always hated that Dad lived with you and not my mom and me, but after he died … I, uh … I realized that we were both the same—both lost a parent, both grew up on the bad side of town, both had mothers who kinda spaced out after he died.”
Allie smiled at me. “I’m still mad that nobody told me sooner, but I’m glad you did. I feel like I don’t have anyone anymore.”
“Yo, enough with this lovey-dovey shit. Where the fuck is Landon?” João asked, stepping into the room behind Jace and Allie and lighting up a cigarette.
I shrugged and placed our father’s gun back on the shelf. “Probably fucking Imani somewhere. I don’t fucking know. I’ve been here, making sure the video is out and going viral. He hasn’t called.”
“It’s fucking crazy out there already, dude.” João paced around the room and shook his head. “If they don’t get back here in the next five minutes, I’m going out there to find them.”
“Does the one guy who hated Imani the most now care about her?” I asked, lips curling into a smirk. “Cute.”
João growled and cut his eyes to me. “Don’t push it.”
I walked back into the other room and gazed at all the monitors of local news channels and social media articles. It was blowing up about the police force already, and the hashtag #SaveNicole was trending across the entire state, not even the town anymore.
Pacing around the room, João ran a hand across his face.
Jace leaned closer to Allie, resting his head on her shoulder. “I’m glad you’re okay. I don’t know what I’d do without you, Allie.” He kissed her temple, watching as she looked over at him with big eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m worried about Nicole,” she said, gnawing on the inside of her cheek. “What if her father finds her at Jamal’s and … and does something worse than rape her? What if he kills her, Jace, and we never find her body? She disappears out of nowhere?”
“If anything, her father will come here before he checks Jamal’s house,” I said, switching over one of the monitors to a security camera that I had installed right outside Jamal’s house. “And I got it covered.”
Allie blew out a deep breath and relaxed back against the couch. This was all going to be over soon. I wouldn’t have to worry about Allie, Imani, or Akio’s family killing us all. After all this chaos, there would be nothing but peace, and we could finish our senior year without the constant threat of murder.
“All right, I’m fuckin—” João started.
The door opened, and Landon walked in with Imani and Ana, who looked up and smiled at him.
“I hate you, you know that?” Imani said to him, then stopped and turned to us. “Why is everyone staring at us? What’s wrong?”
After Landon shut the door behind them, João clenched his jaw and glared at him. “Answer your fucking phone next time and get back here sooner. It’s fucking crazy outside. Imani and Ana shouldn’t be out there.”
Allie moved closer to Jace and giggled. “They’re so in love with her. I never thought I would say this, but it’s actually cute.” She reached for Imani’s hand and pulled Imani down next to her. “I’m so glad you got back safely.”
“You too, girl. I already texted Maddie and Vera. They’re safe with Maddie’s brother and some of the guys on the hockey team.” Imani glanced between Allie and Jace, brows furrowed. “Have you spoken to Nicole? How is she? I saw that video … and …” Imani choked up. “And I feel so bad about this entire thing.”
“You saw the video?” I asked, clenching my jaw and then turning to Landon. “I told you not to show her.”
Imani hopped up. “It’s not his fault. I snuck a peek at it while using the bathroom.”
Allie glanced between us all, then tugged on Jace’s hand to pull him up to his feet. “We should go back home. I don’t want Harlan alone with Mom.”
“You should wait a little bit,” I said, desperate to keep her safe, too. “If Nicole’s father finds any of us out there, he’ll do God knows what to find Nicole. Wait a couple hours until he has other shit around Redwood that he has to deal with—angry rioters, murders, fires. You can’t go now.”
And so we waited for Redwood to burn to the motherfucking ground.
