I spin around, averting my eyes. “Jax!”
“I’m going for a swim,” he says behind me. “Do as you please.”
A moment later I hear him splashing into the lake and then a quiet stillness. Turning back, I am alone, the water in the lake rippling gently, but with Jax nowhere to be found.
“Jax?” I call, stepping closer to the water’s lapping edge. There’s no response, no movement in the lake and wherever he’s gone, I can’t see him below the surface.
“Jax, this isn’t funny!”
Silence.
Tightening my jaw, I know he’s just playing some joke, but worry gnaws at me anyway. I slip off my jeans, leaving them in a heap beside Jax’s, thankful my oversized T-shirt covers to my mid-thigh.
Wading into the water, I cringe as the ice-cold liquid sloshes over my bare feet and ankles. Jax still hasn’t surfaced and I wonder how long he can actually hold his breath. It’s been a least a full minute.
Inching farther, the slimy, mucky lake floor sucking at my toes, I make it to waist-height before I stop, hands skimming over the water. My teeth chatter and the hair on my arms stands on end while goose bumps dot my skin.
Something circles my ribcage and I shriek, falling backward into the water, arms flailing. But instead of going under, I’m lifted up and Jax’s laughing face comes into view as he curls me into his arms.
“Not cool!” I grumble, hitting his bare chest with one closed fist. Though considering the size of his muscles, he probably didn’t feel anything.
Still grinning, he flings his head, flipping his hair aside and spraying me with icy droplets.
“Come on, this isn’t so bad.”
“I’m freezing.”
Leaning forward, he presses his lips to mine and suddenly I’m not cold anymore.
“Did that help?” he asks, his face only inches from my own, beads of water sparkling on his cheeks and eyelashes like tiny diamonds.
“I… uh… yeah.” When am I going to be able to kiss him without becoming breathless and losing every thought in my head? But I kind of like the feeling and don’t really ever want it to go away. It’s like a drug I can’t get enough of.
Gliding backward, he carries me deeper into the lake until the water hits his shoulders and I’m nearly submerged except for my upper body. Frightened, I tighten my arms around his neck.
“Kelsey, I’m not going to let you go,” he murmurs, resting his cheek on the top of my head and drawing me closer to him. I close my eyes, falling into this wonderful moment and letting it take over my world until the only thing I am aware of is the warmth of Jax’s body against mine, the gentle spring breeze through my hair and the occasional chirp of a distant bird.
“You really are cold,” he eventually says, breaking the silence and I realize I’m shivering in his arms. “I guess we should get out before you get hypothermia.”
Pushing through the water, he carries me to the shore and sets me down until my feet touch hard earth once again.
Self-conscious, I hurriedly slip on my jeans as he does the same. My wet shirt sticks to my thin frame and I climb onto Jax’s rock where I can sit in the sunshine and dry. He hops up next to me, smoothing his damp hair back and then propping his elbows on his bent knees.
“The League is coming for me,” I whisper all of a sudden. I don’t know why I bring that up now, but deep inside, I am terrified. The fear attacks like a virus, destroying me from the inside out. It’s like waiting for the next number to be called in the Gamble, the suspense and unease and dread that the number you hear might be your own. Except in this case, I know with certainty it will soon be mine.
Jax licks his lips and then tilts his head and looks so serious and intense, I’m momentarily taken aback.
“I know,” he says. “We knew that the moment we discussed plans to go get you. It didn’t stop anyone, not even Charlie.”
“But she won’t go back to save the others, even though the League is going to retaliate anyway.”
“She doesn’t know the others. We aren’t even sure how many others there really are. You saw how big the League is and they’re well-armed and well-guarded. Sending a team in there would be suicide, I’m surprised Randolph and I managed to get you. And besides, Charlie is a good negotiator, she might be able to talk her way out of taking two Subs, but I doubt she’d be able to do so if we took all of them.”
I glance down at my hands. I swear no matter how many times I wash them or rinse them or rub them, they feel like they are still stained with blood as I think about what I did to escape. “I killed that woman though. And you killed those two other people. They aren’t going to let that go.”
Jax sighs and turns his eyes to the shimmering turquoise water. “You don’t have to worry Kelsey. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Somehow, his words reassure me, though I’m not sure what Jax can do to stop the entire League, whatever he might seem to think.
Tugging me into a tight embrace, as if he can protect me from the world, Jax kisses my forehead and then we stare out across the lake. Ducks float along the water, diving below the surface and popping back up again, feathered ducky-tales wiggling back and forth. A large bird drifts lazily across the sky and an occasional squirrel charges through the bushes. It’s calm and tranquil, and like before, I enjoy the chance to just sit in Jax’s arms.
Then, from the direction of the compound, a gunshot shatters the serenity.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
We bolt through the woods, skirting tree branches and hurdling fallen logs. Jax moves so much faster than me that there are moments where I lose sight of him and start to panic until his form darts out from behind a small cluster of trees or around a large bush.
I’m gasping for air and a sharp cramp stabs into my right side as we round the bend in the broken road. The gates of the compound come into view and I immediately halt, blood running cold in my veins, as though I’ve been dumped in the lake all over again.
The League has arrived, nearly thirty of them, with their massive guns and black armor and some even wear masked helmets this time. Charlie stands outside the entrance with a dozen of our men who have already laid their few weapons onto the ground in defeat and now regard the enemy with hands raised to the back of their heads, faces pale and eyes wide.
That’s when I see the body lying in a heap on the grass; an older man who had been guarding the gates when we left. A bullet has been put through his skull, blowing out the side of his head. The bloody wound glistens in the sunlight.
An image of that man who was shot in front of me on that Gamble day all those years ago flashes across my vision. Same age, same bullet wound, same blank unfocused eyes that will never see anything again.
“Where are they?” someone screams, drawing me from my gruesome memories. Elijah shoves up into Charlie’s face, waving his gun in the air as if it’s a flag of victory. She remains calm, her hands held out defensively beside her shoulders as she speaks in a soft tone. I’m too far away to hear what she says, but Elijah clearly doesn’t like it as he lifts his gun and points it at the forehead of a teenage boy next to her. I have to give the boy credit because he doesn’t flinch in the least.
“How about I kill one person for every minute I’m forced to wait for you to produce my two Subs?” Elijah demands, green eyes flashing with a fiery wrath. “Starting with this kid.”
The gun goes off again and the boy tips over backward, body limp and lips forever caught on a scream that will never come.
I slap a hand over my own mouth, silencing whatever cries may have escaped. Jax slips the gun from the back of his pants and squares his shoulders with a look of solid determination.
“No,” I hiss, seizing his arm. “There’s too many. They’ll just turn around and shoot you before you kill any of them.”
His eyes narrow as his jaw tenses and I can almost hear his teeth grind together. “Then what do you propose we do?”
“We… I think… I…”
And suddenly I know exactly what to do. I know a way for the League to gain access to ROC, for Charlie to not have to lose any more compound members, for Nadia to be safe and maybe even for the other ROC prisoners to be free. I won’t be able to save my father and the rest of the Councilmembers, but maybe I can save all those innocent O.Z. citizens, and I’m not entirely sure I want my father and his council to survive after everything they have done anyway.
Either way, everyone gets what they want, even the League, just like Jax promised.
“Another minute is almost up,” Elijah sneers, raising his gun to the next person in line.
I step from the trees with as much confidence as I can muster despite the fact my feet want me to flee back into the woods and hide. My heart pulses so fast it might burst from my ribcage and I have to curl my hands into fists to still their trembling. My finger nails dig into my palms as I raise my chin higher. “Stop!”
“What the hell are you doing?” growls Jax, lunging to clasp my shoulder. I shrug him away, striding toward Elijah who stares open-mouthed at me. Actually, everyone stares; the League, the compound, Charlie, Jax; as I move across the open space to stop in front of Elijah. With the sunlight on his red hair, it almost looks like his head has caught fire, mirroring the blaze behind his eyes.
“Well, we got one of you. Where’s the little brat?”
“She’s not coming with you, only I am.”
He smirks, dimples forming on the corners of his mouth. On anyone else it would have been cute, but instead only makes him appear more alien and inhuman. “You clearly don’t understand how this works.”
“No. You don’t understand who I am.”
His eyes switch to Charlie, who looks as surprised as everyone else, before flicking back to me. “Ok. Who are you?”
“I’ll tell you and I promise that who I am will get you into ROC without any other Subs needing to be involved. It’ll get you straight to the Protector and the Councilmembers, but before I tell you, I have several conditions.”
Clamping his jaw, his nostrils flare as he clearly assesses whether or not to believe me.
“Fine. I’ll at least listen to your terms, but I swear Sub, if this is some trick, I’ll shoot you where you stand.”
I ignore his threat. “First, you will not kill anyone else here. Not anyone in the compound, belonging to the compound or even near the compound. You will not enact any harm or retaliation on Charlie or her people nor will you damage their crops or property.”
“Ok,” Elijah snarls, teeth gnashing.
“Second, you’ll release all the other Subs you have imprisoned, to go wherever they wish. If they want to join your cause, fine, but if they want to be free to join other compounds, you’ll allow it. And you won’t try to capture any more until we’re inside ROC.”
“You want me to release all of my prisoners? I’ve spent years collecting them.”
“If you have me, you won’t need any of the others.”
“And what’s to stop me from just taking you now and bartering with ROC.”
“If you don’t agree to my terms and try to take me by force, I promise you I will make sure I kill myself. I know how ROC operates. Without me, you’ll never stand a chance at getting into ROC no matter how many Subs you might have.”
I hear Charlie draw in a sharp breath, even Jax beside me freezes still as stone.
“You really think you’re that important?” Elijah demands.
“I know I am.”
Casting glances to his team, Elijah stands straighter. “Anything else?”
“When we arrive at your building, you’ll take me straight to Sawyer. The last matter is one I wish to discuss with him. Do I have your word on all of this?”
“If I think you’ll prove valuable, yes. If not, you’re going to be really sorry for wasting my time.”
With an apologetic look at Charlie, and then one at Jax because I know they’re both going to hate me after what I’m about to admit, I turn back to Elijah.
“My full name is Kelsey Melina Keslin. Not only am I engaged to marry the son of the second highest Councilmember, my father is the current Protector of ROC.”
The gasps are audible, a symphony of sharp inhalations, as everyone, both League and compound members immediately murmur amongst each other. Charlie gawks in utter shock and even Jax takes a step away from me, his mouth flopping open.
Elijah regards me carefully. “How do I know you’re not lying to save your friends?”
“You don’t, but I’m not.”
Our eyes lock and I see revulsion and fury swirling in his gaze mixed with a hint of what I truly believe is pure psychotic insanity. It scares me, but I refuse to look away.
“Take her!” he commands the men standing next to him. Both surge forward and suddenly I’m terrified.
“Wait!” someone shouts, and I realize it’s Jax, who has squeezed himself between Elijah and me. Jax still holds his gun and the two men lift theirs to aim at his chest and I’m convinced I’m going to watch him die right before my eyes, powerless to stop it. Just like with Rey.
Then Jax slowly bends down and places his gun on the ground, his gaze never leaving Elijah. “Give us two minutes. Please?”
Elijah snickers, then reaches down, snatches Jax’s gun and slides it into his own belt.
“Fine, but don’t say I never did anything nice for you. And if you try anything stupid, I go back to shooting people.”
“You won’t need to shoot anyone.” Jax grabs my hand and drags me back toward the woods, out of earshot of Elijah and his small army, but not out of sightline.
“What are you doing?” he demands, his features a mixture of anxiety, concern and disappointment. “This is… this is insane. Kelsey, they’ll force you to go back to ROC, and based on my understanding of your departure, ROC will toss you in prison, if they don’t kill for what you now know. And that’s all assuming the League even lets you live.”
“They’ll let me live. I’m their only ticket in and they know it. You said we would find a way for everyone to get what they want. I found it.”
“By sacrificing yourself?”
“It’s the only way. Maybe it’s for the best. If I had never come up here, none of this would have happened. Charlie would still have her agreement with The League, Daniel would still be alive and-“
“No. None of that matters. Maybe if you hadn’t come up here, none of that would have happened, but you being here has changed lives for the better. You saved that little girl from the fire, you saved Nadia, you’ve helped me.”
My heart splits in two inside my chest, as though someone cleaves it apart with a dull knife, the pain vibrating into every inch of my body.
“Jax, I have to do this. It will save the compound and the other ROC citizens the League has imprisoned.”
“And what about everyone else in ROC? I thought you wanted to save them too. Now you’re going to help The League get inside?”
“That is something I will need to negotiate with Sawyer.”
Jax snorts. “Sawyer doesn’t negotiate.”
“He did with Charlie. I have to at least try.”
“By making yourself a martyr? Kelsey, do you not understand that you will die?”
My throat clenches on a sob because I am reminded of my last day with Rey, when we had the same argument. Except now I stand in his shoes, seeing the decision from his eyes and I understand why he made the choices he did; not to be hero, but to do the right thing when so many others either couldn’t or, even worse, simply wouldn’t.
“Sometimes one person has to die, so that others can live,” I whisper, repeating Rey’s words because now I finally understand.
“How could you never tell me?” Jax asks and his voice cracks on the pain my lies have caused. “How could you not tell me who you really are?”
“If I had told you or Charlie or anyone that I am the daughter of the man who wants to wipe out every last person on the surface, would any of you have let
me live long enough for us to become friends?”
He looks wounded, as if I’ve punched him. His face falls and shoulders sag forward. “I thought that maybe we were more than friends.”
I’m so shocked by his words, I can’t find any of my own. Before I even have a chance though, Elijah stalks across the grass toward us. “Time’s up, pretty boy.”
“No!” Jax barks, tugging me behind him. “You’re not taking her.”
Without warning, Elijah grabs Jax’s own gun from his belt and brings the butt of the weapon down on his forehead. Jax’s unconscious form slumps to the ground, a trickle of blood flowing from the newly formed lump. I choke back a cry as Elijah drags me away from Jax’s body. Charlie rushes forward, kneeling beside him before her hazel eyes find me and I see they are filled with confusion and sadness and a little bit of fear.
The Gamble (The Gamble Series Book 1) Page 22
