by Ella Miles
24
Langston
“This way,” Mr. Reyes says.
I follow Mr. Reyes out of the game room and down a hallway. He leads me through the ship to a thick, sealed door that has all of the highest tech—facial recognition, thumb scanner, and multiple external-facing cameras.
The door unlocks, and Mr. Reyes holds it open for me. I step inside cautiously, knowing a trap when I see one.
The door locks behind me. I don’t even jump. I knew it was going to happen, and I accept it. I want to meet the owner of this operation. I want to look him in the face and demand answers for what he did to Liesel. I know she didn’t do this willingly the first time. I’m not even sure she did this willingly the second time.
I wish I had a gun, a weapon. I always feel less anxious with a gun on me. But I’m thankful that at least Liesel is off the ship. I don’t feel her presence anymore.
The coward I’m about to meet had to ensure that I met him in this room, the only room on the yacht strong enough to hold me. He knew the only way to get me here was if I won, if I saw all the darkness that he forced Liesel to endure—that alone would motivate me to meet the man behind the voice, behind the darkness.
He’s not the devil. The devil is cunning; he has a plan. This man is just a vile pansy who will spend his life rotting in hell.
“Congratulations on your win, Mr. Pearce,” the man says. He’s sitting in a chair in the shadows, so I can’t see his face.
But I can finally hear his voice unmodified, and I recognize it.
“Show your face, you coward.”
“Why? I’m sure by now you’ve figured out who I am.”
“I have. I want to look you in the eyes when I kill you.”
He laughs.
I scan the room. It seems like it’s just the two of us, but this man must have set the trap ages ago. He will have everything planned. I have to be careful and find the perfect timing.
“What do you want with me? Why set up this elaborate game?”
“You claim Liesel belongs to you, but she’s always belonged to me. Always.”
“And how did this game prove that?”
“We’ve been playing these games for years. She’s always required to win, always required to do as I say. This is the first time I told her to lose.”
“Why?” This isn’t just about Liesel. This is about so much more. It’s about that damn letter Liesel and I accidentally split in half when we were eighteen. This man seeks the treasure—he might have known about it from the moment he met Liesel. He might have been playing her all along.
But does he control her?
Or is she playing him like she so often plays me?
That’s a question for Liesel. This bastard needs to die.
“I guess I’ll just have to kill you without seeing the whites of your eyes. It makes no difference to me.” I goad him, giving him one last chance to step forward.
He doesn’t take the bait.
“I won’t be the one dying tonight,” he says.
I make my move.
I dart forward into the shadows, not sure what I’m going to find. He could be holding a gun aimed at my head for all I know, but I’ve faced worse. Liesel lost on purpose, so I would end up here. I’ve failed Liesel too many times; I won’t disappoint her again.
I go for his head, grabbing him by the neck. I squeeze and hold on with everything I have, tackling him to the ground and out of the shadows.
Waylon Brown.
The fucking bastard.
There is so much I don’t understand, but what I do know is that he’s a sick fucker who hurt Liesel and is using her to get the treasure.
I punch him in the eye before I feel a bullet hit my back.
A second bullet.
A third.
It doesn’t stop me from trying to strangle Waylon.
Now, it’s just a matter of time.
Will I lose consciousness and bleed to death, or will Waylon stop breathing first?
His face is red.
My body is strong.
I can kill him before I’m taken down.
I can.
I must…
25
Liesel
“Stop the car!” I yell.
The limo continues moving forward. I don’t think Maxwell can hear me, and I’m not going to wait to figure out how to find the button that connects me to the front of the limo.
I open my door and roll out, hitting the pavement hard in my dress and heels. I scramble to my feet quickly and start to run in Phoenix’s direction. I need to get to her before she realizes who’s coming for her. If she recognizes me, she’ll run away before I get a chance to talk to her.
Luckily, she’s facing the kids playing in the park. I can’t see the kids easily, but it’s not them I need to convince. Although, I’d love to get a closer look at the two young kids—bask in the traits that are Langston.
I don’t have time for that.
When I’m almost to Phoenix, I speak.
“It was a trap,” I say, not sure how many words I’ll be able to get out and choosing the most important ones first.
She turns and looks at me with wide eyes and a puzzled expression.
I huff and grab her arms, hoping I’m stronger than her or the skills Langston taught me as a kid will be good enough to force her to listen to me. The only problem is Langston has probably taught her the same tricks.
“Get off of me,” she tries to shake me off her arm, but I don’t let go.
“Listen to me. I’m trying to help you.”
“Help? You don’t know the meaning of the word. Langston will be here soon, and he’ll kidnap you and drag you back to the island. Or better yet, kill you.”
“No, he won’t. I set him up. It was a trap. He might escape, but it won’t be anytime soon, and while he’s gone…” I nod in the direction of the kids.
“The kids are in danger,” Phoenix finishes my sentence with a gasp.
“Go, get them out of here. Somewhere safe,” I say.
She turns, and I think she’s heard me and is going to go protect her kids when she suddenly turns back. Her hand flies up, slapping me hard across the cheek.
I feel the sting all the way through my body. I deserve it. I deserve so much more. I didn’t believe the kids were real. I thought it was all a lie. But now I know, and I would never put children in danger for my own benefit.
I don’t know if it would have changed what I did. I had to do it, but I would have ensured the kids were safe, that Phoenix was safe.
Phoenix gives me a smug smirk, and then she runs toward her kids, yelling at them to get in their car.
Satisfied that Phoenix will keep the kids safe, I run back to the limo. Maxwell is now out of the limo and walking toward me.
“What the hell? You could have been seriously hurt,” he says.
“Drive me to Teterboro airport,” I say, marching to the car.
“What happened?”
“It doesn’t matter. Just drive me to the airport.”
He shakes his head. “Not until you tell me what’s going on. My job is to protect you; I can’t do that if I don’t know what’s happening.”
I don’t trust him. There is no way I’m telling him anything. “This isn’t negotiable, Max. Give me your cell phone, then get in the car and drive.”
I hold out my hand, and Maxwell eventually tosses his phone to me before I stomp to the back door, open it, and climb in.
I watch from the window as Max curses and then eventually returns to the driver’s seat and starts to drive.
I call Enzo.
No answer.
I leave a message saying Langston is in trouble.
I call Kai.
No answer.
I leave a message saying Langston is in trouble.
I call Zeke.
No answer.
I leave a message saying Langston is in trouble.
I call Beckett.
No answer.
I leave a message saying Langston is in trouble.
That leaves…Siren.
I hate her. She betrayed me. But right now, I need her to be there for Langston above everything else.
I call Siren.
No answer.
I leave a message saying Langston is in trouble.
“Shit,” I curse as we drive toward the airport.
I don’t know who else to call for help.
A second later, Maxwell’s phone starts ringing in my hand.
“Hello?” I say.
“Liesel, what’s going on?” Siren’s voice replies.
“Langston is in trouble. I fucked up. He won the game, but it was a trap.” I don’t include the fact that I set the trap in the first place.
“Fuck,” Siren says.
There’s a pause. “I’ll make sure Kai and Enzo know. They’ll put together an extraction team to get Langston out of there.”
I sigh, relaxing. “Thank you.”
“Where are you now?”
“I was headed to the airport to come persuade you guys to get your asses here to save Langston.”
I can feel her smile through the phone. “Head to your apartment. Zeke and I will head to you. You need to be protected.”
“I have…” I’m about to say Maxwell, but he’s not really protection. Not like Zeke and Siren would be. “Thank you,” is all I end up saying.
I find the button that connects me to the front of the limo. “Maxwell, take me to my apartment.”
He sighs. “Will do.”
And then I’m alone in uncomfortable silence. The ride to my apartment takes over an hour. I assume Zeke and Siren are back in Miami, and will take a while to get to me, but I’m not sure.
Maxwell goes up in the elevator with me, and when I get to my apartment door, he asks if I want him to come in with me.
“No, I’m exhausted. I just need to get some rest.”
“Of course.”
“Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
And then I open the door and walk inside. I flip the lights on. Nothing seems out of place.
My feet wobble as I walk. I need rest. This weekend was too much.
I head toward my bedroom, planning on just collapsing into bed with Max’s phone, hoping that Siren calls soon to let me know they got Langston.
I flip on the lights.
And scream.
Waylon is lifeless on my bed, covered in blood.
26
Langston
I yank on the chains that have held me for the past twenty-four hours. The yacht has long ago stopped moving; I don’t know where though.
I allowed myself to be tied up. I took that as the only option when I was bleeding out and too weak to fight.
But the bandages have stopped the blood from flowing, and my body has regenerated plenty of new red blood cells. These chains won’t hold me much longer.
I test their strength once more. The chains are solid—only a person of abnormal strength might be able to break them. Unfortunately, I don’t have that strength.
I stare at the locks around my wrists. I smile. I do, however, have the ability to pick any lock.
I glance around for something I can use to pick the lock. I don’t have much to work with—the clothes on my back, a fork, a plate, and a coke can on the floor that they left me to eat.
I pick up the can and fork. This will work.
Five minutes later, I’ve carved the aluminum of the can into a lockpick.
A moment later, the locks release on my wrists, then my ankles. I’m free.
I’m being kept in a small dark room at the base of the ship. The door looks bulletproof, but when I try the handle, it’s already unlocked.
Strange.
I look for something I can use as a weapon as I move up the floors of the yacht. When I make it to the kitchen, I find a drawer of knives. I put several into my pockets and then grip the largest and hold it out in front of me as I continue to creep around the ship.
After making it to the top deck, I haven’t run into a single person. Why are there no people? What the hell happened?
“Looking for a ride?” Enzo says suddenly from above me.
I smile brightly as I shield my eyes from the sun and look up at him. A helicopter has landed on the upper deck—my escape.
“I assume you are the reason no one is on board?”
He shrugs. “We might have had something to do with it.”
“But you couldn’t free me?”
He sighs. “We were working on it, but we thought your prideful ass would want to save yourself.”
I chuckle as I climb up the stairs to where he stands. “That’s code for you couldn’t get through the door.”
He growls. “We were working on it.”
I pat him on the shoulder. “It’s good to see you. Let’s get the hell out of here.”
Once in the air, Enzo tends to my wounds.
“There are no bullet fragments inside. It looks like they were shooting you with rubber bullets. They left some serious marks, but nothing as bad as it could have been.”
I put on the clean black shirt Enzo hands me. “Rubber bullets? Why would they do that?”
He shrugs.
“Where is everyone?” I ask.
“Phoenix and the kids are in a safe house. Kai is giving orders back home. And Zeke and Siren are protecting Liesel.”
Liesel.
“Where do you want to go?”
I should say to Phoenix, to check that she and the kids are alright.
“Liesel.”
He nods.
I stare out the window of the helicopter. I have so many fucking questions for Liesel, but all I want to know is the answer to one.
Did she refuse to fuck me because she didn’t want to? Because she was afraid of me?
Or did she refuse because Waylon required her to lose the game?
We fly out further into the ocean instead of closer to land. I turn to Enzo.
“Where are we going?”
“They are on a smaller yacht a few miles from here. Zeke and Siren said something about it being safer than at Liesel’s place. I don’t know, it wasn’t my decision. We won’t be able to land the helicopter on it, though.”
“That’s okay. You can just lower me down.”
He nods.
I see the small yacht floating in the distance. It’s not one of the boats I recognize from Enzo and Kai’s fleet. My guess is it doesn’t have all the safety features that one of our regular yachts have.
So why would they bring Liesel here to keep her safe?
I find a rope in one of the storage compartments and tie it around a bolted hook then hand the rest to Enzo.
With a slight nod of our heads, he’s lowering me down while I hold onto the rope. It takes a few jerky moments for Enzo to figure out the speed to lower me, but soon I’m close enough to let go and land on the upper deck of the boat.
“Siren? Liesel? Zeke?” I shout as I look around. I should have armed myself with more than a pocket of knives before I got here, but I don’t think any enemies are on-board.
I head below deck and round a corner and then freeze. My eyes blink rapidly, not sure I believe the sight in front of me.
Zeke is tied up sitting in a corner, so tightly bound he can’t move a muscle.
But that isn’t what has me worried.
Siren is also tied up. And with tears streaming down her face, Liesel is pointing a gun at Siren’s head.
I put my hands up slowly as I approach, not entirely sure what I’m walking into.
“Huntress, talk to me. What’s going on?” I ask, my voice soft, soothing, and trusting.
She sobs, louder.
“If Waylon is forcing you to do this, you should know he’s dead. He can’t hurt you anymore.”
“I know.” She sobs more.
I gaze dumbly from her to Siren. I try to reassure Siren with my eyes, but Siren will barely even l
ook at me, she’s so disappointed in me.
“I think it’s your turn to tell a truth about the letter, killer. Tell me something.”
“Okay, I’ll tell you whatever you want. Just don’t hurt Siren.”
“Tell me,” her voice shakes. This is about more than that stupid letter we ripped in half all those years ago, but I’ll appease her if it will calm her down.
I think through all the secrets I could tell, but the one I choose is obvious. She’ll figure it out soon enough if she hasn’t already.
“When your father dies, the secret will be told. Others will start looking for the treasure. You will have a choice—do nothing and let them take it, or go after it and protect it.”
“My father died a month ago.”
I nod, already knowing that. But I wasn’t sure if she did.
“So all these attacks have been people coming after the treasure?” she asks.
I nod again.
“You thought Waylon was coming after the treasure? That’s why you killed him?” She’s sobbing again.
“I killed him because he was hurting you.”
She shakes her head. “You don’t understand. Waylon would never hurt me.”
“You didn’t love him, Liesel. You can do so much better than that guy. He was using you.”
“You don’t understand. How could you? Waylon was everything to me.”
Her words stun me. How could she care about Waylon?
“You killed the one person I needed in my life, so I’m going to do the same to you.”
“Liesel,” my voice is a warning. I start surveying my options. I don’t have a gun, but I have a knife in my back pocket. That’s my only option to stop her.
“I thought about killing Phoenix, but then I remembered you don’t love Phoenix. You love Siren.”
“If you do anything to stop her, I’ll kill you,” Maxwell says from beside me a second before I grab my knife. My eyes cut to him in surprise, and I see the gun he has pointed at me.
Liesel had help, that’s how she was able to pull this off.
I have to reason with her. That’s all I can do.
“I’ll tell you everything. Everything on my half of the letter. I’ll trade your life for Siren’s, just don’t kill her. I’ll do anything,” I say.
