Devil's Pass

by Caroline Peckham

  "My dad has a guy ready to take you to Fairfax. There's a group home there you can stay in and you can start over. Find new friends. Do whatever you like," Fox said like this was nothing to him at all. Like I was nothing to him at all. I could see his father in him in that moment, the cold monster who ruled this town and had no mercy and nothing of the boy I loved.

  "Please don't do this," I begged, looking between all of them.

  JJ wouldn't meet my eye, glaring at the ground with his jaw set in determination and rain running through his black hair down over his cheeks.

  Chase looked hard and stoic, but in his eyes I could have sworn he was breaking just like I was, though there wasn't a single thing in his posture that made me think he was faltering.

  Fox was like a statue, cold and distant, his mind made up, the decision already dealt with.

  Maverick was the only one of them who seemed like he might be on the edge of fighting for me.

  I turned away from Fox to him, tears streaming down my face and mixing with the rainwater.

  "Please, Rick, don't do this to me. It'll break me," I said, moving forward to grip his shirt in my fists and force him to face me.

  "I'm sorry, beautiful," he murmured. "This is the only way."

  I shook my head. "It's not. I could go now, let them take me to that stupid house and then...then you could come meet me and we could still run. I've got my phone, I can-"

  Fox stepped up to us and caught my arm, running his other hand over the pockets of the sweatpants he'd given me to wear until he found my cell phone which he tugged out.

  "No phone calls," he growled, looking me in the eye as he took the shitty thing between his hands and began to exert pressure. "No texts, emails or anything."

  "Wait-" I lunged for the phone, but it shattered before I could grab it from him and he threw it in a muddy puddle without so much as a flicker of regret in his eyes.

  For a moment I just stared at it with my mouth hanging open. I had no money, no way to replace that thing. Hell, I only had it in the first place because he'd been given a new one a few Christmases ago and had given me his old one. Without it how was I supposed to contact any of them? I didn't know their numbers by heart and it wasn't like I was going to be allowed to visit. How would I know when they were coming for me? Because this had to be an act, right? Because Luther was watching and it had to look real. But then why didn't they just say that? It wasn't like he could hear us out here in the storm while he sat in his van.

  "You have to go," Maverick said, his eyes shining with regret but not a hint of weakness. He wasn't changing his mind, but he was the only one of them who at least seemed unhappy about it.

  I threw my arms around him and hung on tight, sobbing uncontrollably now as I tried to figure out how the fuck this was happening to me. How could I be losing them right now? How could this be it?

  "You promised," I breathed. "You promised I'd always have you."

  Rick wrapped his arms around me and squeezed me tight, but Fox's hand clamped down on my elbow and he tugged me back.

  I let go of Maverick, thinking Fox was about to embrace me too, but the moment I released him, Fox tugged harder, yanking me off balance and tossing me down in the mud at his feet.

  The shock of my impact with the ground echoed right through my body until it was tearing cracks through my heart. No, not cracks, great uncrossable ravines full of darkness and pain which I knew in my soul were never going to heal over again.

  My mouth fell open as I just sat in the mud, staring up at him, unable to comprehend how this was my Fox, my boys, all of them doing this to me.

  JJ cursed and Chase hung his head as I just stayed there in the mud, crying and begging, not knowing what else I could do, not caring that they saw me breaking for them, just praying they'd realise I couldn't survive this. That I’d rather die than this.

  "Leave her there," Fox barked, moving towards Maverick and gripping his arm as he turned him away from me.

  And then they were all walking away and I was watching them with so much pain consuming me that I didn't even notice the man stalking over to me until he hauled me up and started dragging me away.

  I kicked and screamed, reminded of the way Axel had overpowered me as I was dragged against the man's chest and I knew I needed to escape him more surely than I'd ever known anything in my entire life.

  I thrashed and screamed, calling the boys’ names and pleading with them to help me as they all just piled into Luther's van without a word.

  The guy holding me rounded to the trunk of his car and popped it open.

  My screams intensified as I realised what he was going to do and I fought with all I had as he forced me into the trunk.

  My gaze caught on JJ in the back of Luther’s van a moment before the trunk slammed closed over me and I was plunged into darkness where I thrashed and screamed and cried and kicked and no one came to help me.

  Not Fox or Rick or Chase or JJ.

  None of my boys came for me when I needed them like I never had before. And the weight of that betrayal settled over me so thickly that I was drowning in it. Never destined to see light or joy or happiness ever again.

  T he journey back was completely, suffocatingly silent. But the sound of my heart breaking was louder than anything I had ever heard. It tore down the middle of me until I couldn't breathe. I didn't feel anything but pain. No regrets of killing that guy. No remorse over putting him in the ground. I didn't want to say it out loud, but Luther's words had rung true with me. Clive had fucked over our girl. He'd stood and watched while Axel had hurt her and had done nothing to help. He would have stood there and seen her life destroyed and I was fucking glad he was no longer drawing breath.

  But Rogue...shit, I hadn't wanted it to be like that. I knew she had to leave, knew that everything was fucked, but watching her break had broken me too. Which was why I was going to go after her. Fuck this life. I wasn't staying. I'd always been an outcast in Luther's house anyway. I'd never been a real son to him, never been born to greatness like Fox. The only thing that had ever given me purpose was Rogue. And I'd die before I let her escape me. Seeing that asshole push her into the trunk of his car had twisted up my insides and I'd nearly unleashed the demon in me once more. I'd managed to hold myself back though. I might have been angry, but I wasn't stupid.

  There was one thing I'd learned tonight that I couldn't unlearn. I could kill without blinking. I could do any unthinkable thing for the sake of my girl. And I would do it again and again until she was back in my arms.

  Chase's shoulder pressed to mine beside me in the van and the silence between us all made my anger even sharper. Shouldn't we have been coming up with a plan? Why was everyone so fucking quiet? Part of me feared what was going through their heads though so I kept my mouth shut, not wanting to get them in trouble for knowing what I was gonna do.

  Leaving my friends behind wasn't something I wanted. But if I could just get to Rogue, take her somewhere safe, then I could contact them. There was still a chance we'd all end up in our new life. I wasn't giving up.

  The van pulled to a stop and the door opened. We were home, back in the garage and Luther gazed in at us with pride in his eyes.

  "Chase, Johnny James, you can stay here for the night. Out you get." He beckoned us forward and Fox got out first and the rest of us followed.

  JJ's face was cold and empty and my gut twisted for him. I hadn't wanted this fate for him. For any of us. But we’d had to do what it took to save Rogue. I just hoped he didn't blame her. That none of them did, because the hollow look in their eyes told me this was gonna impact on them forever. It wasn't like I was unaffected exactly, but I was more worried about my girl than some snitch in the ground. I'd always known there was something missing in me when it came to blood and gore. And I was glad of it now. My mind was clearer than theirs. I could focus on what still needed to be done and work out the details later.

  "Strip," Luther commanded, heading over to a metal storage box an
d taking out a garbage bag. We all pulled off our clothes, dumping them into the bag, underwear and all then Luther jerked his chin at the door that led inside. "I'll dispose of these. You all head into the house and get showered. Fox, Rick, give your friends some clothes."

  We nodded, none of us breaking the silence as we walked inside, heading upstairs all the way to the first level and Fox directed JJ and Chase into the guest bathrooms before looking to me.

  "We have to do something, Fox," I whispered and he frowned, shaking his head at me.

  "It's over, Rick," he said, his harsh tone making my breath catch.

  He walked silently into his room before he kicked the door shut and I growled under my breath, pushing into my room and heading straight into the en-suite which was half the size of my brother's. I set the shower running then moved to the sink, washing my hands and face of blood before returning to my room and pushing the bathroom door shut. I hurried to my closet, dressing in some jeans and a black hoody before lacing on my Converse and grabbing the backpack I'd stuffed in here earlier after Luther had caught us. I checked my crypt key was still there before pushing another warm hoody into the bag for Rogue then put the bag on my back and headed to the door.

  I cracked it open, the sounds of showers running reaching me from all along the hall and I took a heavy breath before stepping out and hurrying downstairs. This wasn't goodbye. I'd find a way to get us all together again. But there was no fucking way I was leaving Rogue to her fate.

  The house was silent downstairs and I moved along carefully, gazing through the windows as I searched for any sign of Luther. I spotted him by the fire pit in the covered seating area out the back where the property led onto the beach and my pulse skipped as I quickly hurried in the opposite direction. I wouldn’t be able to get off of the property with my motorcycle because of the men on watch at the gate. So I ran flat out to the kitchen then unlocked the sliding door that led to the patio and pushed it closed behind me. The rain was cascading down on the pool, causing ripples and splashes all over it as I ran to the brick barbecue on the other side of it. I tugged up my hood as the rain beat down on me, gazing up at the tall wall that boxed this place in as I climbed onto the barbecue.

  With a deep breath, I leapt for the top of the wall, catching hold of it and hauling myself up. I rolled over the top and dropped down the other side, my feet hitting soft ground as I landed behind some bushes. I pushed through them then sprinted up through the trees to the road. I needed to get to the highway and hitchhike, but it would take me half an hour to walk there on foot. I didn't know if that was long enough before Luther noticed I was missing, but I didn't have much damn choice. So I started jogging, the rain still hammering down, though not nearly as fiercely as it had up on Devil's Pass.

  My heart clenched as I left my home behind, my boys. But I'd find a way to fix all of this shit. I refused to give up.

  I'm coming, beautiful. Just hold on.

  I was soaked through by the time I made it to the highway and started walking in the direction of Fairfax, holding my thumb out to the traffic as it sped past me, headlights flaring at me as cars zoomed by. Water splashed over my legs again and again and I cursed as I kept my thumb resolutely up and my hand became numb and the cold started to get its claws in me.

  Come on, stop, assholes. One of you has to have a fucking heart.

  Finally, a set of headlights flashed and the vehicle pulled over behind me. I jogged back towards it, squinting against the bright lights as hope filled my chest. I was really gonna pull this off. Find my girl, save her, hold her again and tell all the stuff I'd been too chicken shit to say before now.

  The driver's door pushed open and a man stepped out, making my blood freeze. Luther came at me with a snarl on his lips, throwing a punch at my face that sent me sprawling onto the ground. I tasted blood and failure as I leapt back to my feet, desperate to run. But his hands gripped me and he wheeled me around, throwing me against the side of his truck.

  "This is the biggest mistake of your life, boy!" he yelled over the raging storm, leaning down so he was right in my face. I still struggled, but he was stronger and he used the hard plane of his chest to crush me in place.

  "Let me go!" I bellowed back at him.

  "All you had to do was fall in line," he spat, rainwater flying from his lips to spray over me. "I made it easy for you. But here you are fucking defying me."

  "Get off of me," I growled, shoving at him, but his grip was like a vice.

  "Now you've gotta pay the price," he hissed.

  "Don't do anything to Rogue," I begged, suddenly losing all fight as I remembered the words he'd spoken. The threat on her life if any of us went after her. "Don't touch her!"

  His eyes narrowed and he suddenly yanked open the passenger door, forcing me inside the car and slamming the door. I dropped my pack from my shoulder, fumbling in my bag for the gun I'd stashed there earlier. I'd kill him, take his truck, get my girl.

  Luther dropped into his seat just as I pulled it out and he lunged at me before I could get my finger on the trigger, knocking it into the footwell. He grabbed the back of my head and slammed my face down on the dashboard, blood pouring from my nose and my thoughts scattering as I groaned.

  My pulse roared in my ears and pain was slicing through me that had nothing to do with my injuries. I'd failed Rogue. I'd lost her. She was gone and there was no way of reaching her.

  I released a noise of anguish as hate and rage twisted up inside me, turning on the man who had taken me in. Who'd tried to raise me for his own purposes. But never stopping to ask what I wanted. Always ignoring my desire to rule in favour of the plans he had for his real kid. I was as capable as Fox to lead. I was just as strong, just as fucking good. But Luther had never even let me be in the running for top dog. All because of the blood that ran in my veins. It was bullshit.

  "Fuck you," I cursed him as he swiped up the gun and he tutted at me, pressing the button to lock the doors before smoothing back his unruly blonde hair which had fallen over his face in the storm.

  "Listen to me," he said in a calm, deadly tone which I'd noticed Fox had been perfecting lately too. It was the kind of tone that said you're fucked without having to shout or swear to drive the point home. "I can't let this go, Rick. You're a Harlequin now. You swore in. And there's rules I gotta abide by that are beyond even me."

  "If you hurt her you're a dead man," I vowed on everything I was, staring him right in the eye. "You'll have to put me in the ground too if you touch that girl."

  He nodded like he understood that and fear trickled through me at the thought that he just might pick that option and kill two birds with one stone.

  "Here's what's gonna happen," he said eventually, my pulse feeling like it was going to burst my ear drums with how fiercely it was pounding in my head. "Someone's gotta take the heat for killing Snake Eyes," he said quietly. "Axel's body is with the Sunset Cove PD, it's outta my hands. So we need a fall guy and it looks like you just volunteered."

  "What?" I croaked, staring at him as those words ricocheted around my skull. Fall guy?

  He rubbed a hand over the stubble on his chin. "I'm a reasonable father, kid. But you're not just my boy anymore. You're part of my crew. And you've wronged me bad tonight. There ain't no two ways about it."

  "You can't do this," I rasped. "I've been nothing but loyal to you!"

  "Well that ain't exactly true, is it?" he growled, his eyes narrowing and they looked so much like Fox's for a second my hate extended beyond Luther to his whole fucking family. But then I pushed the thought away, because Fox wasn't like him. He'd always have my back. He'd give me an alibi, all my friends would.

  I lifted my chin, a snarl on my lips. "You wanna send me to prison?"

  "Juvie," he corrected. "Maybe a couple of years in there will straighten you out anyways because I'm tired of you fighting me, son. Maybe I'll pay your way out once you've got the message."

  "I'm not your son," I snapped, my blood heating up, burni
ng away the cold. "Never have been. Clearly I was just kept here to go down for whatever you want to save your ass and the ass of your real son from."

  Luther lurched forward, grabbing me by the back of the neck and pressing his forehead to mine, looking me directly in the eye. "You will learn what it is to be a man one day, Maverick. And you will learn your value among my men too. I know your potential. You're not meant to lead the Harlequins, that's not what you're best at. If this is what it takes to teach you that lesson, then I'll pay the price."

  "What price?" I scoffed, shoving him away and he just looked at me like I was a fucking dumbass.

  "Put your seatbelt on," he commanded before indicating onto the highway, but I ignored him, gazing out the window at the rain, my heart fracturing into a thousand jagged pieces. No matter how long I looked for them, I knew I'd never fit it back together. Not even with all the kings horses and all the kings men.

  Rogue was gone. Luther wanted rid of me. But he was still underestimating the depths of the bond I had with my friends. They'd get me out of this. They'd give me an alibi and then I'd find a way to run again and be with Rogue. I couldn't give up. Even now. Even though the world was crying and nothing felt right anymore. I will find a way.

  Luther drove me home in stony silence and when we arrived back in the garage, he escorted me inside like a prisoner of war.

  "Fox!" he roared as we stepped through the door, making my heart jolt in surprise.

  Fox appeared from the lounge with Chase and JJ on his heels, all of them dressed in jeans and shirts, all of them looking scared shitless as they spotted me beside him.

  "What did you do?" Fox demanded, his eyes full of fear.

  Luther shoved me toward them. "Keep an eye on him, I need to make a call." He strode away down the hall and I hurried towards my friends as they stared at me with looks of betrayal.

  "He's not gonna hurt her," I said quickly and Fox gripped my soaking wet hoody and tugged me into the lounge by a fistful of it.