by Hart, Eve R.
Maybe I was a little jealous.
Maybe Monty had ulterior motives.
Maybe Sketch did too.
Who the fuck knew?
And I shouldn’t have cared, but I did. However, it was hard to hate the girl. She brought a sort of light into the darkness for us all. A bright-eyed innocence and a child-like playfulness that I think we all needed. She was always trying to move past our surroundings and situation in a way that was a mind trick. Like telling stories that she grew up hearing from her parents. And laughing at every little thing. Smiling. She was always smiling. And yeah, some days I hated it, but I knew I’d hate it more the day that it all stopped. The day that she’d lose that innocent shell and become hard like the rest of us. It would happen because there was no way around it out here, you couldn’t escape it.
I said nothing back to her because there wasn’t anything to say to that. Things I already knew but didn’t want to think about. It was hard enough to leave when I did but I felt more like shit every time I dragged my ass back here.
I wasn’t always negative. I held on to the good moments too.
Like the sketches that Sketch did for each one of us for our birthdays. Or what we made as our birthdays, anyway. I had a good feeling that everyone else’s was as false as mine.
I came out of my daze with tears in my eyes.
July.
That was the month I’d chosen because it was warm. Hot, really, because it got so ridiculously hot and muggy in the summers here. But it was the opposite of cold. It was a lot easier to shed clothes than find more to layer on.
Sixth.
That was the date I’d chosen because seven was supposedly lucky and six was right before that. It was as close to lucky as I ever thought I’d get.
I guessed it was pretty silly but it mattered to me.
And it helped me forget the real life that I’d never be able to go back to.
One that had been beautiful, until it wasn’t.
One where I was wanted, until I wasn’t.
One that showed me the magic the world had to offer until it took it away and gave me nothing to replace it.
I missed my parents every day. I wanted them back more than anything. But that wasn’t in the cards because once people were dead, they didn’t come back. Life’s final finger. Except it wasn’t final for me because I kept living. And what was I left with? Nothing. An aunt that couldn’t take me in because she already had three kids of her own and no husband. An older cousin that was backpacking through some foreign country and pretty much off the grid. And that was it. So I was quickly shoved into the world of unwanted kids and left there to rot because I wasn’t a cute little baby and no one wanted to deal with an emotional ten-year-old kid that refused to speak.
Eventually, that unwanted feeling wore me down and I didn’t want to feel like I was being cut again when I got shipped off to another foster home where I was just a number.
So I ran. But what did I know? Nothing, that was for damn sure. And suddenly, I found myself lost and alone without any kind of shelter.
It might have been a stretch to say that I had some kind of guardian light looking out for me, but I believed that maybe there was something out there because I didn’t stay lost and alone for long.
Well, maybe I was still lost, but not as much.
And the moment Sketch found me, I didn’t feel so alone anymore. Maybe that meant a little bit more to me.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Cable
I turned onto the street that was full of vacant buildings except for one. Petra Novak owned the entire block but the Gilded Rose was the only business anywhere around here.
I rolled down the street, doing my best to dodge the huge chunks of smoking debris. A row of three buildings looked like they had been blown out and in the middle of the mess, the Gilded Rose. I heard the sirens in the distance and the sounds of my brothers even closer than that. This night had gone to complete shit.
“Oh, no,” Bridget said and she was jumping off my bike before I’d even rolled to a stop.
“Bridget!” I hollered but it was useless because she was already dashing down the street and over to the mass of people that looked like they were still in shock. “Fucking hell.”
I watched her weave through the crowd like she was looking for someone. Petra, I guessed. When I didn’t see the tall blonde, I turned my attention across the street.
“Fuck this night,” I mumbled under my breath as I took off for the smoldering building.
My shoulder clipped the metal door frame as I made my way inside.
When I’d looked into Petra and the Gilded Rose, I made sure to check out the building as well. And since I had a pretty good memory, I knew the layout pretty damn well. There was a stairwell in the back corner and I made my way to it as fast as I could.
Two flights up, I nearly bumped into a messy, soot-covered, and coughing Petra.
“Let me help,” I said trying to lift up the girl she was doing her best to carry down.
“No.” She shook her head and coughed again. “I’m missing one more girl.”
I gave a firm nod and moved past them.
“Fifth floor. Redhead. Her name is Rowan,” Petra called out.
I took the stairs two at a time until I reached the door for the fifth floor. I was surprised to find it mostly intact given how everything looked from the outside. I hadn’t had time to really look at the damage or even figure out what the hell had happened.
Two halls all lined with doors. This wasn’t going to be easy.
Having no clue where to start, I headed to the left.
The first room held a bed and a dresser. A quick glance and I didn’t see anything that stuck out other than the pair of handcuffs and a whip on the floor next to the bed. They looked like they’d been hastily thrown down.
The next room was set up with a desk. It looked like a set out of a movie. Or a porno. Not seeing a redhead, I moved on.
Each room was different. Sure I had been curious about this place but this was maybe not how I’d wanted to get a look inside.
A pink room decked out with a bed for a princess and filled with too many stuffed animals to count. The bedding was bubblegum pink and way too plush to be normal.
A red room with dark lighting. Decorated with some red neon signs that I didn’t have time to study. In the middle, a stage with a vertical pole. One single, leather, high-backed chair sat at the edge of the small platform.
No damn redhead.
The next door was cracked open just enough so that a frame smaller than mine could slip through. Finding some resistance when I tried to push it open further, I shouldered the door with a grunt. A dresser had been knocked over and was the cause for the trouble. And there she was, her leg trapped under the massive piece of furniture. And no, this was not some cheap, big box, particle board type of shit. This was hand made and solid as fuck.
The tendons in my neck pulled tight as I lifted the thing off of her. She didn’t so much as twitch and I hoped to fuck she was alright.
“Need you to wake up,” I said lightly shaking her.
She let out a low groan and blinked up at me. That was when I noticed the small trickle of blood coming out of her ear.
“Come on, gotta get you outta here, babe,” I said in a calm tone trying not to scare her even further.
I scooped her up with ease and tried my best not to place my hand on her nearly bare ass. I sure as hell didn’t want her to think I was trying to cop a feel. I ignored the fact that her bustier had slipped down to the point that it was nearly exposing her nipples as I made my way out of the room.
“Dammit, Petra. I said I was going to get her,” I barked harshly when I ran into her in the stairwell as I was going down. Though I shouldn’t have been surprised to find her trying to fight her way back in.
“I will not leave my girls behind,” she hissed at me.
And I got it. She and Iron were much the same.
“Outside.
Go,” I ordered and she shot me a look that could kill a man where he stood. It was just a flash, then she was moving down and I was right behind her.
Iron was there when we pushed our way out to the main floor.
His eyes were on Petra and it was like I didn’t even exist.
She said nothing as she pushed past him and out to the street.
“That everyone?” he asked me.
“Yeah. I left Bridget out in the crowd.”
“Lake’s with her,” he said following me across the street.
Three fire trucks pulled up and quickly got to work putting out the huge fire that had been steadily growing in the building on the left.
Iron shed his jacket and draped it over Rowan’s body. She hadn’t said anything and I was worried she’d passed out again.
I hadn’t even seen the ambulance pull up. Next thing I knew, paramedics were taking her out of my arms and placing her down to check her over.
I looked around for a moment. It was pure chaos. I knew the cops wouldn’t be far behind.
“She’s moving everyone into that building,” Iron said pointing to the one behind us.
I turned to find Petra doing her best to corral everyone inside. I think it was her icy, no-nonsense stare that made everyone move so quickly. Charming was there looking everyone over as best as he could. He’d be inside with the rest of them sorting them out and making sure the ones that needed serious medical attention got it right away.
“What happened?” I asked Iron as I took in all the damage.
I was no expert but it looked like the buildings on either side of the Gilded Rose had been blown up, the blasts causing damage to the one in the middle. It was intentional. But who? We needed to find out who Petra had collected as enemies.
Great.
Another fucking thing on our plate.
But it wasn’t like we’d turn away from her.
That was, if she accepted our help.
Though, looking at Iron, I had a feeling it wasn’t going to matter what she wanted.
“Don’t know yet.” His eyes were on the woman in charge and I knew he was waiting for the right moment to slip in there and get some answers.
“How did you know about this anyway…?” I asked as I eyed him for a long moment.
“I was on the phone with Petra when it happened,” he said cool as a damn cucumber while he pinned me with eyes that dared me to say something. And not the good kind of dare.
“So now we’re here,” I stated with a nod though maybe I was dying inside to know what the fuck was going on with that.
“Now we’re here. And we’re gonna make damn sure nothin’ is going to happen to a single one of them.” He turned to me and pinned me with a hard stare. One that told me that he wasn’t very happy right now. “What the fuck happened?”
I shook my head, unable to come up with anything. I’d fucked up. Majorly. And I couldn’t see a way that Lake could forgive me. Or any single one of my brothers either, for that matter. I couldn’t forgive myself. I should have taken that shot.
“We were at the house where we caught sight of Claire. Bridget had gone back and didn’t tell me. When I found out, I rode over there. I knew something was off. Just fuckin’ knew it.”
I was ready to go off. A rage bubbled up inside of me and it was mostly at myself.
“Claire comes stumbling out,” I went on.
I sighed thinking about it. My gut told me she didn’t have anything to do with the Keften shit, but my head wanted to argue that she knew the streets well. She could have tipped him off to the locations where to pick up the girls. She could have been behind this all along.
“Anyway,” I said trying my hardest to go on though there was so much shit zipping through my brain right now. “Keften comes out after her. Only, I don’t know that it’s him yet. They get into the backseat of a car. I have no clue who was driving. Keften looks right at me. Like he knew I was fucking there.”
I went on, telling him how I jumped out of the SUV and chased after the car. And how I didn’t take the damn shot.
“Someone ran into the SUV going way faster than they should have been on a residential street, then headed straight for me. I jumped out of the way and… well, Bridget swears she’s fine.”
“Yeah, I’d say he knew you were there. Question is, did he know you were there this morning too?” Iron asked, his hand rubbing over his beard.
“I don’t think so but I couldn’t even tell you how he knew we were there tonight, so who the fuck knows?” The agitation in my tone wasn’t aimed at him and I could tell he knew it. “I fucked up.”
What more could I say? I did, and there was no sense in playing it off like I hadn’t.
“I’m sure Lake is going to kick your ass later,” Iron said and though I knew he was trying to lighten the mood, it just fell flat. “We need to find him.”
That could have gone unsaid.
“I will. I think Bocca and I are onto something. This might help.”
“Call Bocca, have him do some diggin’ while you’re here. Let’s go.” He turned and took off for the building that most everyone had gone inside without even waiting for me to respond.
Okay.
Awesome.
I got where he was coming from but couldn’t we just wrap up one thing before opening another? I mean, damn.
With a heavy sigh, I followed him inside.
“The fuck did everyone go?” I asked as I noticed the vacancy of the first floor.
“Four,” the guy in the corner grunted out as he scowled at us. It was slightly less intimidating because his suit was covered with dust and shit, and his hair was all crazy looking.
“Thanks,” Iron said as we moved around him and up the stairs.
On the fourth floor landing, we found a door that looked out of place. Not a typical hallway building type. This looked more like it belonged on the front of a house or an apartment. This woman was just full of surprises.
And my shock grew even more as we walked into something that resembled an upscale penthouse.
The place was fully furnished and there was a huge kitchen off to the left.
“Going to go get answers,” he said as he caught sight of Petra off in another room, the door slightly closed and one of her men standing guard right outside. “Tell Lake to take Bridget back to the compound. Then help Charming make sure everyone is okay. And don’t go far. We need to talk.”
“You got it,” I said but he was already walking away.
I couldn’t hear what was going on but I saw Petra wave her guard dog off and let Iron in. From what I could tell, she was in there alone. And when I caught sight of her face, I understood why. She was doing her best to hold herself together but it was clear this was getting to her. From what I’d gotten just being around her the couple of times that I had, she wasn’t the type to let anyone see her unravel.
I don’t know why I kept watching, but I did. And as the seconds ticked on, I felt more and more like an intruder witnessing something I shouldn’t have been.
As Iron approached her, getting right in her space, she held up her hand and shook her head. His lips moved and I wished like hell I knew what he’d said to her. Whatever it was, it had the woman melting into his arms right away.
This was almost as weird as catching your parents doing it.
Yeah, I wasn’t sure whether to be wigged out or thankful.
Her bodyguard cleared his throat, effectively snapping my attention away from the two of them. With a chin jerk, he silently told me to move on.
I narrowed my eyes at him but resisted the urge to puff up my chest at the guy. Then I turned and went in search of Lake while I dialed up Bocca.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Cable
A few of the girls were taken to the hospital. I noticed that the new building that Petra had moved everyone into cleared out real quick once the cops showed up. Guessed the clients didn’t want to be known. No fucking surprise there. Not that they coul
d have been any help anyway.
Petra plastered on her cold face and dealt with the officers like a pro.
They got the fires out but there was no saving the building on the left. Thank fuck there was no one in there. Some of the walls of the Gilded Rose had been blown out but the structure was secure as far as the firefighters could tell. They recommended staying out of it until she got it inspected.
She would be closed for a bit and though her face remained stoic, I could see a flash of anger in her eyes.
“You,” she pointed at Iron and I had to bite back a chuckle. She was clearly treating him like she couldn’t stand him again. Gone was the soft woman that took comfort in my Prez’s arms.
In her pointy, tall heels she stomped over to where we were standing on the sidewalk across the street.
“This is on you,” she said, eyes blazing with fury.
“Excuse me?” Iron said calmly with a raised brow.
“I was fine until you and your people started coming around. I don’t have anyone on my bad list right now. So, this must be because of you.”
Iron’s face fell. Actually fucking fell. Then his jaw clenched as he looked over at Charming and me.
“Does the name Keften Jugovac mean anything to you?” he asked with a heavy exhale.
“No,” she replied with a head shake. “Should it?”
“This was a distraction. Fuck,” he said almost under his breath like something had just hit him.
The wheels started turning in my head.
“Shit!” I said through clenched teeth. “Fuck! You’re right. He knew I was there. That I was watching. He’s known all along. He knew we’d caught onto him even if we didn’t know it was him yet. The wreck with the SUV. The fire at the compound. This… it was all a distraction.”
