Anarchy (The Stone Legacy Series Book 4)

by Dalayne, Theresa

  “Hey, sorry about that.” The middle-aged man wearing a bluish apron took out a pad and pen. “What can I get ya for?”

  “Two coffees,” he said, holding up two fingers. “And a stack of blueberry pancakes, three eggs—over medium—a big glass of orange juice, two orders of turkey sausage, and some biscuits…with apple butter.”

  The waiter jotted the order down and then closed his notepad. “Be right—”

  “Wait.” He looked at Hawa. “Don’t you want anything besides coffee?”

  She arched a perfectly shaped eyebrow. “Hungry, are we?” She skimmed over her menu. “Low fat yogurt with granola and a fruit bowl.” She extended her menu to the waiter.

  “Got it.” He took her menu and walked into the kitchen.

  “You don’t eat much, do you?” Jayden stretched his legs under the table and propped his feet on the chair beside Hawa.

  She glanced at his sneakers and scrunched her nose. “Just because I’m not scarfing five-thousand calories doesn’t mean I don’t eat.”

  He had almost forgotten some girls actually thought about the whole calorie thing. Zanya had never—

  He exhaled and slouched in his chair. It wouldn’t do him any good to keep thinking about her. Not right now anyway. He needed some space. Some time to figure out how the hell he was going to still be her friend while being forced to watch her and Arwan live happily ever after like Cinderella and Prince-Fucking-Charming.

  Hawa cleared her throat, snapping him out of his thoughts. “So.” She unfolded her napkin and laid it in her lap. “What are we doing after this?” He analyzed her movements—so careless and easy. Strands of hair had fallen out of her ponytail and were scattered on either side of her angled cheekbones. She didn’t seem even a little concerned that she’d taken off with him in a stolen cab, or that everyone would be worried about her. And they would be worried. She may be snarky, short-tempered, and the way she rolled her eyes at him plucked every nerve in his body, but she was Renato’s niece. Unlike Jayden, she was part of the family, and they would want her back, sooner or later.

  She picked up the dessert menu and scanned through the pages.

  Jayden watched her read through a list of chocolate cakes and raspberry toppings, like she would actually eat any of it. “What’s your deal?”

  Her head bobbed up as if his question caught her off guard. “What do you mean?”

  “Why come with me? I hardly know you, and your uncle and the rest of his groupies are probably wondering where you are.”

  She shrugged. “I needed to get away, and I saw an opportunity.”

  He peered at her. “That’s it?”

  “Yeah. That’s it. So don’t go reading into it, okay?” She pushed away the menu and sat back, mumbling in Spanish.

  The waiter returned with two steaming cups of coffee. “The food should be up in about ten minutes.”

  Jayden nodded, and the waiter vanished back into the kitchen.

  “Thank God.” Hawa poured some cream into her cup. She cradled the coffee with both hands and inhaled the aroma before lifting it to her lips. Her shoulders visibly relaxed.

  Good. Now maybe she wouldn’t rip his throat out.

  As he reached for the creamer, a deep tremor ran up his arm, over his shoulder, and crawled up his neck, exploding in a flash of light, stripping him of his vision.

  He closed his eyes and ground his teeth. An image of Contessa appeared. The evil witch cradled a book under one arm. She looked like shit, but her powers were still strong. Her darkness radiated onto him, inducing a spout of nausea.

  “Hey.” Hawa’s harsh whisper yanked him out of the vision. His eyes flew open. She leaned on the table toward him and glanced around the restaurant. “What the hell was that?”

  “I don’t know.” His seeking ability hadn’t worked since his soul returned from the underworld. Unlike when he was still in control of his ability, this vision materialized without his consent. He rubbed his eyes. Bizarre. He didn’t want to find her. He hadn’t closed his eyes and focused on her face, voice, or a vivid memory. It just…happened. “I think…” He dropped his hands into his lap and blinked, clearing the fuzzy border from the edges of his vision. “I think I just sought Contessa…somehow.” He rubbed his eyes again. If his ability were to come back, maybe that meant other things would come back too—like his pulse.

  “Well,” she sat back and crossed her arms over her chest, “if you start to feel the urge to bite a chunk out of my arm, make sure to tell me so I can get as far away from you as possible.”

  “What?” He ran his fingers through his hair and down his face, willing away the headache throbbing through his temples.

  “You were in the underworld. If weirder-than-normal seeking stuff is happening, who says you won’t turn all zombie apocalypse sometime when you’re hungry?”

  He couldn’t help but chuckle at her tight features and puckered lips. The sprinter was dead serious. “I’m not a zombie.” Great. The only semi-normal conversation he’d ever had with her, and it had her worrying he’d chew her face off.

  He picked up his cup of coffee and sipped it, deciding it best to drink it black. The waiter returned with a tray of food, and another waiter behind him.

  Jayden’s stomach rumbled at the scent of the turkey sausage and buttery biscuits. For a second he’d forgotten how hungry he was. After a good meal, they would figure out what to do next. But since he hadn’t thought to bring cash to the solstice with him, he was totally broke. Too bad he hadn’t remembered that little fact before ordering. He’d have to tell Hawa they were going to dine and dash.

  If he weren’t already dead, he’d be afraid she’d kill him.

  Chapter Three

  “I can’t believe you don’t have any cash,” Hawa whispered harshly over the table, full of empty plates. “How were you planning to pay for the mountains of food you just got through inhaling?”

  Jayden scratched the nervous itch pinching at the back of his arm. “I didn’t exactly plan on any of this.”

  She scoffed and rested the heel of her boot on the edge of her chair, her thigh pressed to her chest, and dug in the top of her boot.

  “What are you going to do?” he mumbled while she tugged and pulled at the zipper. “Hope they love your fashion sense and let us walk?”

  She retrieved a wad of cash and rested her foot back on the floor. “I’m going to pay for our food, jackass.”

  He sat up straight, watching her count out five and ten dollar bills onto the table. “You said you didn’t have any money.”

  She laid down the last five-dollar bill and shoved the rest into her bra. “I said I left my stuff behind. I always have a little cash, just in case.” She stood. “And I don’t believe in stealing.”

  Jayden pushed out of his chair and followed her through the crowded restaurant, out to the parking lot. When she slowed, he continued toward the cab.

  “Nope.”

  He paused. “What do you mean, ‘nope’?”

  “Leave it. It’s too risky.” She gestured toward the street. “We’ll get around on foot.”

  He shoved his hand in his pocket and pulled out the keys. Maybe if he left them with the car, the driver wouldn’t be quite as pissed. “Okay. Hang on a second.” Jayden opened the driver’s side door, tucked the keys in the sun visor, and then used his shirt to wipe the steering wheel and doors clean of any fingerprints.

  “Ready?” Hawa tapped her foot on the pavement.

  “If you helped, this would go faster,” he mumbled before locking the door and slamming it shut. “I don’t want to attract any unwanted attention with fingerprints.”

  “Says the walking dead guy.” Hawa strutted down the sidewalk and vanished around the corner.

  Jayden exhaled. She was such a pain in the ass. He followed her around the corner of a brick building. She stood on the sidewalk beside a four-lane street, waiting for the signal on the crosswalk to change. Apparently, she knew her way around. Good thing, because he
had no clue. He jogged to catch up. She jabbed the crosswalk button again, as if that would make the light change any faster.

  “I know a hotel we can stay at.”

  “Oh, good.” Especially since she’d said we, which meant he wasn’t sentenced to a night out in the cold. Jayden peered up at the morning sun. “But it’s kinda early to check in, isn’t it?”

  “If we don’t secure a spot to crash, we may both end up staying in an alley. Plus, we can’t afford anything fancy, so the place I have in mind will have to do.” The signal changed and she walked toward the other side of the street.

  He followed closely, observing her confident stride. “I guess you know your way around here pretty well.”

  They reached the other side of the street right as the signal changed back to a blinking red hand. She pointed down the road, where even higher buildings towered in the distance. Cars zoomed down the busy street, spewing the bitter scent of exhaust into the air. “I used to stay with some friends downtown, before I moved in with Renato.”

  He stared deep into downtown. “Oh. So you lived here?”

  She glanced at him and then took off walking again, her clunky leather boots pounding against the ground with every step. “Kinda. I went to Renato like a year ago. Before that I just visited, mostly after my parents…” She blinked and cleared her throat. “After my parents died in this shitty war our kind has been fighting for the last umpteen million years.” She picked her pace up again. “He asked me to stay so many times, but I didn’t really trust him.” She tucked her hair behind her ear. A thick silver ring glinted from around her middle finger. “But when you’re sixteen and don’t have a ton of options, a huge mansion and an uncle willing to let me stay as long as I wanted seemed pretty damn good.” She exhaled. “It was cool while it lasted, but I missed the place I grew up. I missed the kids, mostly. They’re what really made it feel like home.”

  Kids? Home? Who is this chick?

  “So you were…” He paused, but didn’t really know how else to say it. “You were a wanderer or something?” Ditched by your parents was more accurate, but he was really working on the whole not being such an asshole thing.

  “Not by their own choice.” She analyzed his reaction—or lack there off—and then rolled her eyes. “Never mind. You wouldn’t understand.” Her stride quickened and she pushed ahead.

  “What makes you think I wouldn’t understand?” He jogged a few steps to catch up to her and fell into pace.

  “Forget it.”

  He waited for her to cave, but she never did. Women were so damn confusing. They said one thing and meant another, or said something with the expectation he’d say something back, but every time he did, it just pissed them off even more. He slouched his shoulders.

  It seemed like they’d been walking forever before Hawa paused to examine the streets. She silently made a left, and then another quick right into a narrow side street that was dark and smelled like piss. Jayden pushed down the urge to gag. “Where are you going?”

  “To the hotel.”

  He peered up between two huge buildings. Graffiti tagged the crumbling walls below clotheslines strung over rusted balconies, hinting they were in the projects. “The hotel is here? Seems like it’ll be a rat hole.”

  “It’ll have what we need. A bed. A shower.”

  “A TV?” Jayden waited in anticipation.

  Hawa shook her head. “No TV.”

  He frowned, but couldn’t complain, considering she was flipping the bill for them both. She stopped beside an old door with peeling orange paint. A burnt-out neon sign he almost didn’t notice hung over the entrance. “This is it?”

  “Just shut up and follow my lead.” Hawa knocked with three solid pounds of her fist. She waited a second, and then pounded three more times.

  It seemed she knew what she was doing, though it didn’t make much sense to him. “Don’t people just walk into the lobby of hotels?”

  “Shh.”

  The door creaked open. A kid who didn’t look over the age of ten stood on the other side. His eyes lit up. “Holy shit!” He turned and shouted into the hotel. “Hey, guys! It’s Brisa. She’s back!”

  Hawa reached out and ruffled the boy’s messy, auburn hair. “Hey, watch your language, punk.”

  “Brisa?” Jayden asked.

  “It’s what they called me here,” she said quietly. “It means breeze in Spanish.”

  “I can’t believe you’re back!” The kid shuffled aside and swung open the door.

  A guy with brown hair and a knife strapped to his belt stepped behind the boy. He smirked and rested his hand on the blade’s handle. “So, you’ve fallen off your silk pillow, huh, mamacita?”

  Hawa pursed her lips and avoided eye contact, looking toward the ground. “Hey, Rico.”

  “People around these parts still call me Blade, if you don’t remember.”

  She shrugged, still not making eye contact, and gave a nod. “Sure.” She gestured to Jayden. “We need somewhere to squat for a while.”

  Jayden leaned in close to her. “I thought we were going to a hotel,” he whispered. Hawa elbowed him in the ribs. He grunted, and then took a step back. Time to shut up.

  Blade examined Jay with a deep stare. His eyes narrowed. “The gringo can’t come in. Only familia.”

  Hawa finally raised her gaze. “But we’re together. Can’t you make an exception? You’re the vato calling the shots.”

  Blade tilted his head. “Are you and the gringo together?”

  Hawa glanced at Jayden, then scoffed. “Not like that. Just traveling together. So can we squat, or not?”

  The young boy inched toward Blade and tugged on his shirt. “You have to let her in, Blade. She’s familia. The code says we can’t turn her away.”

  The code? What the hell kind of underground secret society did Hawa drag him into? Whatever it was, he wasn’t going to stick around to find out.

  Jayden slowly backed away. “Hey, listen. Clearly this is some kind of…I don’t know, personal thing you guys got going on. I’ll just take off. No big deal.” He glanced at the sprinter, whose glare deepened as he spoke.

  “No.” Blade rested his hand on the door, pushing it open further. “Tic-Tac’s right. It’s code. Any friend of Brisa’s is a friend of ours.” He stepped aside and gestured for them to enter. “Welcome to the Thirteenth Street Hotel, camaradas.”

  Chapter Four

  Jayden followed Hawa inside the hotel. The guy to his left—Blade, as he called himself—smirked, his attention trained on Hawa.

  Something about that guy put Jay on edge. Maybe it was the cocky air about him, or maybe it was because he had a tattoo of a fucking snake wrapped around his twenty-inch bicep.

  But not just a snake. A python.

  What a douche.

  At least Jayden’s tattoos were artistic. Blade’s insinuated he was overcompensating for something.

  Blade shut the door to the hotel, overrun with guests. “I have to go take care of a few things.” He walked toward them, pausing beside Jayden. “You two just make yourselves at home.” He patted Jay on the shoulder and winked. In guy language, it pretty much translated to, “Don’t make any trouble, and if you touch Hawa, I’ll tear your balls off.”

  Jayden clenched his jaw. Blade’s hand slipped off his shoulder and he walked away. “What was that all about?” Jayden said in a low voice.

  “Don’t worry about him. He just likes to remind people he’s in charge.”

  “Right.” Jayden pumped his fists. He got the message loud and clear. Too bad he gave exactly zero fucks.

  “Come on.” Hawa waved him forward. “Follow me.”

  Jayden did exactly what she asked. This was no regular hotel. The entire population in sight ranged in age from around six to eighteen, if he had to guess. But most were kids. Young kids, around middle school age.

  Every door to every hotel room hung open. A young girl sat on top of the check-in counter, swinging her feet side to side. The
tan, weathered paint flaked off as the soles of her worn sneakers rubbed against it.

  A group of younger children played around the empty stone fountain in the center of the lobby. Had that thing ever had water? Maybe a long time ago, though now it was filled with empty plastic bottles and random scraps of trash. Surprisingly, it didn’t stink.

  The echo of shouts made him crank his neck upward. He spotted a few kids inching along the outside of the railing on their tiptoes, two stories up. “What is this place, exactly?”

  “Like he said,” Hawa replied. “The Thirteenth Street Hotel.” She spent a long moment scanning their surroundings. “This place looks like shit,” she mumbled. “What the hell happened?”

  “Brisa!” A girl, who couldn’t have been older than twelve, ran toward them. Her frizzy ponytail bobbed with every step until she threw her arms around Hawa’s waist. “Blade told all of us you weren’t coming back. What changed your mind?”

  He caught the glimpse of a frown turn down the corners of her lips, but Hawa quickly gave the girl a smile. “I missed you guys. That’s what changed my mind.” She hugged the girl against her hip. “You couldn’t have done all this growing in two years.”

  The girl giggled. When she noticed Jayden, her smile vanished. “Is he your boyfriend?”

  Hawa’s eyebrows rose. “Not even close. This is Jayden. Jay, this is Chastity. We call her Modem, on account of she can hack into just about anything.”

  “That’s right.” Modem’s brown eyes were warm and bright. “I’m the best hacker between here and Fifty-Fourth Street.”

  “And she’s a little thief too. So watch your stuff.” Hawa tugged on the girl’s ponytail.

  Modem raised her hand. “Excuse me. I don’t steal. I borrow. There’s a difference.”

  “Mhm.” Hawa pointed two fingers to her eyes, then at Modem. “I’ll have my eyes on you.” She looked at Jay. “Come on. Let’s get a room before they’re all gone.”

  Jayden followed Hawa deeper into the hotel. She rested her hand on the steel railing to the stairs and looked up at rows of endless doors and staircases, and people walking freely through the halls. “I used to stay in room 409. Let’s go see if it’s vacant…or standing.” She rubbed her fingers together and crinkled her nose.