Chapter 13 Ledger
LEDGER
“What do you mean you don’t know?”
Tanner slams the BMW’s passenger door and straps himself in. “I don’t know. Maybe someone saw you take the girl and word got out to Antonio.”
“Not funny,” I deadpan.
“Well, are you sure no one saw you take her?”
“I’m sure,” I grunt, my eyes locked ahead as I drive over thick roots snaking down the hill. The car jerks and bucks as we make our way out of the woods.
Could someone have seen us through their curtains and called it in? Possible, but unlikely with how quiet we were. Nobody’s looking out their windows that late, not unless something obvious wakes them up.
“Then it should be fine,” Tanner says, his leg bouncing as he wipes an invisible smudge on his phone.
The GPS instructs us to take a left turn. After that, we sit in silence as our doubts fester and spread.
Shit. They really might be onto us.
Antonio doesn’t set up random meeting points without a reason. That doesn’t mean he knows about Aria specifically. It could be something unrelated. Either way, we can’t back out now.
Nothing can derail us before we get those new IDs issued.
Until then, we have to play the part, and play it well.
Whatever doubts are lurking in the back of my head need to be squashed if we want any chance of getting through this meeting.
And even if he has an inkling of suspicion, that’s all it is. Suspicion. Not proof.
With two minutes left before we reach the junkyard, I angle my chin at Tanner. “Did you tell your guys we’re coming to get the paperwork done?”
He shrugs back in his seat. “Yeah, I gave them your number, too.”
“Good.” I nod, mostly to myself. His leg keeps bouncing beside me as the junkyard fence creeps into view. “We’ll leave as soon as this is over.”
“Do you really think this will work?”
We near the barbed fence. The crooked No Trespassing sign is close enough to read now.
“The IDs or the meeting?” I ask.
His laugh is dry, fizzling into a resigned sigh. “I’ll never know what it is about her.”
“What are you talking about?” I step on the brakes and steer past the sign, my eyes darting across the littered cars in search of Antonio’s Range Rover.
The silence is eerie.
My heartbeat hammers as I ease off the gas pedal, buying us a couple more seconds.
Tanner snaps in my direction, leaning against his seatbelt strap. “Don’t do that to me. You know damn well what this is really about.” His eyes flit forward for a second before landing back on me. “It’s because of that girl.”
My knuckles blanch. “Fucking pull yourself together, Tanner.”
“Right, because I’m the problem?” He jerks back into his seat, dismissing me.
“Always, Mr. Know-It-All. Well, since you know every little fucking thing, why don’t you go ahead and tell me why the hell we’re driving into a damn junkyard this early in the goddamn morning without a single fucking clue what it’s about?
” Spit flies out as his anger boils over.
“Oh, I’ll tell you why. It’s because they fucking know we botched the mission. ”
I twist my mouth into a scowl. “Okay.”
“Okay?” he parrots, a sharp, bitter breath flaring from his nose. “That’s it? Okay?” Then, out of the blue, he lifts his knee and slams it into the glove box.
Oh, he’s really done it now.
“You know what I think?” I ask.
His head bobs with agitation. “Yeah, you go ahead and tell me.”
“Fuck you, Tanner—no, really. Fuck. You. I’ll tell you what I fucking think. I think you’re just pissed that I decided to do something without your damn approval. That’s it, isn’t it? None of this is about the mission or the girl. Just the fact I didn’t ask for your majesty’s fucking blessing.”
“You’re out of line,” he snaps. “I’m literally risking everything right now to stand by your side. Don’t you see that?”
I clamp my jaw and breathe instead of punching the wheel like I want to. What are we doing?
We’re turning on each other, and we’ve got seconds to rein it in.
“I know,” I say carefully, keeping the frustration out of my voice as the Range Rover comes into view, sunlight glaring off its brand-new paint.
“I’m sorry. You’re right, I fucked up, but I can’t move us forward and right things if you keep berating me over it every chance you get.
We’re supposed to be a team. And right now we need to work together if we’re going to get through this. ”
He stays tense, eyes fixed straight ahead. “Fine. Let’s just focus on getting through this. There’s no dodging it now.”
The silence between us is our agreement.
Antonio steps out of the driver’s seat. I unclench my jaw and center myself. We can’t go in looking frazzled.
A second door swings open.
It’s not his usual henchman. He’s broader. Heavier. And with a mean glare shooting in our direction as he slams his door shut.
“Who the fuck is that?” Tanner asks.
Shit. This isn’t good.
I turn off the engine and unbuckle. Tanner lags a few seconds behind me, but quickly follows suit. “Doesn’t matter. Just stay calm.”
It could just be a new member he wants to assign us to. Either way, if things spin out of control—which they won’t, but if they do—it’s two against two. We’ve got nothing to fear.
Toxic fumes waft over as I step out of the car, carried by a sharp breeze slicing through the air. Antonio and his partner match our pace, the four of us converging in the center of the open lot.
I slip a hand into my leather pocket and smooth my thumb over the sturdy handle of my pocketknife, letting it ground me.
“Wilson.” Antonio lets out a brisk laugh, the corners of his mouth tugging his aging skin and deepening the creases around his eyes. He tilts his head toward Tanner. “Scott, nice to see you two on time.”
“Antonio,” I greet with a slight dip of my chin. “To what do we owe the pleasure of this surprise meeting?”
His easy smile settles me, but only the slightest bit, and I roll back my shoulders to shake off the tension.
There’s nothing to worry about.
“Let’s get right to it, shall we?” he says, clasping his hands like he means business.
The bodyguard to his right doesn’t share his grin. His dark, beady eyes stay trained on me. Antonio isn’t exactly known for his stature, but he appears even smaller next to his partner’s towering frame, his army green flight jacket stretched tight across a chest nearly as wide as he is tall.
I glance away from the Hulk-like bodyguard and back to Antonio. He clicks his tongue, eyes ping-ponging between Tanner and me. He’s really dragging this out.
To keep myself composed, I count five steady seconds between each breath, forcing myself not to slip back into doubt before he speaks.
“I wasn’t sure how I’d bring this up, but I’ll go ahead and come out with it.” He drops his smile. “Hope you don’t mind my new companion. I know you two aren’t well acquainted. It’s because he usually works for me undercover.”
Hulk over there grunts. That’s the only contribution we get from him.
“I brought him along today for security reasons.” He lowers his voice, raising a hand to cup the side of his mouth, like he’s telling a secret. “There’s a deceiver among us.”
A chilling silence falls over us momentarily. My fingers clamp harder around my pocketknife, but I don’t whip it out. Not yet.
“In our circle, trust and loyalty are valued above all else,” Antonio says, pausing to glance at Tanner.
Tanner sputters in a moment of panic, uncomfortable with the long stare. “Of course, we’re nothing if not loyal to you and The Ringer.”
Antonio narrows his eyes, a low hum vibrating deep in his throat. “Well, I’m sure you’ve seen the news. The girl…What’s her name?” He glances over his shoulder at the hulking man beside him.
My heart leaps, but I don’t let it show.
Tanner stiffens next to me, and I can practically hear the panic in his silence, the accusation sitting on his tongue. There’s no need to panic, though.
“Ah,” he exclaims, fingers snapping. “Aria Wayne, that’s right. She’s tied to the case. A liability.”
He turns to Tanner. “You told me you buried her, correct?”
“Yeah, well—actually,” Tanner stammers, his voice hoarse.
For fuck's sake. And I’m the problem?
Fucking idiot.
“I think there was a miscommunication,” I interject before he can sputter out something else brilliant.
This shit isn’t about to fall apart because of his anxious ramblings.
Antonio snaps his attention away from Tanner and locks it on me, holding mine hostage.
“Couldn’t risk someone stumbling across her corpse, so I burned it to a crisp. ”
Tanner whips his head toward me, his feet resuming the awkward shuffling that he’s been doing since we got here.
Antonio hums. “How convenient.”
There’s no proof I’m lying. If he had anything on me, he would’ve used it by now. He’s stalling, watching to see if I slip.
I don’t need to convince him forever, just enough to get out of here. This ruse only has to hold through this meeting. After that, we’ll be long gone.
After a long pause, he cracks a smile, baring his teeth in a way that says he knows I’m bluffing.
He nudges his chin toward Tanner, fueling my growing unease. “So why’d you say she was buried?”
“I—” He turns to me with a conflicted flick of his eyebrows, waiting for me to help him out. “Right, well, it was a misunderstanding.”
Fuck, he’s sweating. Strands of short blond hair stick to his forehead, the rest whipping around in the breeze. He looks at Antonio, mouth opening, but no words come out.
Yeah, we’re fucked.
He’s completely cracking down in front of him, and there’s no fixing it.
We need to get the hell out. Now.
“Why are you looking over at Wilson?” Antonio asks carefully. “Weren’t you with him?”
“No. I mean, yes—” he stumbles, making me cringe. “I mean… no. I wasn’t there personally.”
Antonio turns over to Hulk, exchanging a silent look. “Remember when I mentioned a security risk?”
I stay silent, and for once, so does Tanner.
“Well, one of my undercover men has gone missing. Interestingly enough, he was tasked with following you, Scott. Does the name Max ring any bells?”
Tanner shakes his head, his clammy palms rubbing the side of his cargo pants.
“No?” Antonio taunts.
Why does that name sound familiar? I think back to the license from the red Cadillac’s driver. You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. Max? As in Maxwell fucking Macomb, Max?
My stomach clenches tight as the name simmers in my head.
Antonio’s smile stretches, sending chills down my back. He knows I know.
“Well then?” Antonio presses, still waiting while Tanner sweats buckets in the freezing cold.
“I-I don’t know, I swear.” Tanner’s voice cracks. He shoots me a look for guidance.
“Don’t look at Wilson,” he snaps, voice dropping. “Look at me.”
Antonio narrows his eyes and steps closer. “Mistakes happen, Tanner,” he says. “But without transparency? Honesty? There’s nothing. You understand me?”
Tanner’s slow to respond, his head nodding to show he’s listening. I need to get us out. I promised him things would be fine, and I plan to keep that promise. We’re closer to my BMW than they are to their Range Rover. We can make a run for it.
Hulk raises an arm, signaling to whoever is still in the car. A door creaks open, and another Hulk replica emerges from the backseat in a quilted jacket.
Sweat beads on Tanner’s forehead, trailing down the side of his face and the bridge of his nose. My fingers go numb from how tightly I’m gripping the knife in my pocket.
We’re outnumbered.
But we’re still closer to my vehicle than they are to theirs. The guy in the army green jacket strides toward us, then picks up pace on Antonio’s command.
“Get them!”
Before he finishes barking the order, I’m already turning, ready to bolt.
“Tanner, run!” I shout, flicking a look over my shoulder. He’s not far behind, but Hulk number one is close on his heels.
“Don’t let ‘em get away!” Antonio bellows from a distance.
We’re seconds from the car, almost there, before a strangled yelp cuts through behind me. I glance back. Tanner’s sprawled on the ground, the first henchman already on top of him.
There’s a flash of hesitation before my fingers curl around the knife in my pocket, but the Hulk body double is a blink away from reaching us.
My chest aches, lungs burning from the sprint.
No time to stall. With only a split second left, I push forward, the car just a hair away.
My arm stretches out, and I jostle the door open, scrambling inside before yanking it shut and flicking the locks on.
A fist slams into the windshield as he shouts obscenities through the glass, but I don’t waste time as I turn on the engine.
Antonio’s voice is muffled in the distance. I ignore it, shifting into reverse and slamming the gas pedal, peeling away from the pounding on my door.
I cast another glance at Tanner, still stuck in a headlock, teeth bared as he fights to get loose.
Betrayal sears through my chest as I back out, steering hard to make my escape. If it weren’t for Frankie and Aria, I would’ve stayed. Antonio knows their location; I have to go to them.
Fuck.
Fuck.
I slam my fist against the wheel.
I’m turning my back on a lifelong partner and childhood friend.
After I fucking dragged him into this. He trusted me. Stood by me until the very end. And now I’m leaving him behind like a goddamn coward.
Bile rises in my throat, but I swallow it down.
It’ll be okay.
Tanner’s not a kid. He can handle himself.
But Frankie…Shit. I can’t leave her; he has to understand that.
I swear to myself that I’ll come back to him, but if I don’t make it to the cabin in time, my sister and Aria will be at risk. I won’t let that happen.
I glance into the rearview mirror one last time before clearing the metal gate, watching them scramble like ants in the distance. They’ll use Tanner against me as leverage. But that’s okay. It means they’ll keep him alive.
“I’m so fucking sorry,” I whisper, my throat raw.
I’ll come back for you. I promise.
Right now, Aria and Frankie need me more.