Chapter 18
WRECKER
The overhead lights flicker, then blaze to life all at once, harsh and blinding after all that darkness.
My heart lurches. Carrie’s sitting on the edge of the desk, hair tangled, cheeks flushed, her shirt half-off, skirt twisted high on her hips.
Nico is already on his feet, grabbing her cardigan from the floor.
Jace just stands there, mouth tight, like he can’t believe what we’ve just done.
For a second, we all stare at each other—me, Jace, Nico, Carrie. None of us saying a word. There’s sweat and spit and sex in the air, the echo of her moans still ringing in my head. I don’t think I’ll ever get that out of my system.
Carrie moves to cover herself, panic rising on her face. I shake myself out of it and grab her panties, passing them to Nico, who helps her shimmy them up. Jace steps forward, voice low and urgent. “Get dressed. Now.”
Footsteps echo down the hall. My pulse spikes. Carrie fumbles with her shirt, her hands shaking, her hair falling in her eyes. Nico slips her cardigan over her shoulders, brushing a kiss against her temple before stepping away, face tight.
“What do we do now?” she whispers, voice raw, fear breaking through the haze.
Jace moves to the door, pressing his ear to the wood. He glances back at me, then at her. “You need to lock us in here, Carrie. Pretend you did it to protect yourself. It’s the only story that’ll hold up.”
She shakes her head, eyes wide. “No.”
I step closer, trying to keep my voice calm. “Carrie, it’s the only way. No one’s going to buy that you let us out on purpose. They’ll blame you, and us, and we’ll all go down. You lock us in, you look scared, you play the part. We’ll back you up.”
She looks at me, fear and doubt battling in her eyes. “But—what if they don’t believe us?”
I put my hands on her shoulders, steadying her, willing her to understand. “You have to trust us. We’ll play along. You just need to sell it. Lock the door, walk out, and go find help. If you’re gone when they find us, you’re safe.”
Nico finds the key, presses it into her palm. “Go, Carrie. Before anyone comes in here.”
She’s breathing hard, glancing from me to Jace to Nico. I squeeze her hand, trying to pour every ounce of trust I have into that touch.
“You can do this,” I say. “It’s the only way. If they even suspect we’re involved, they’ll send us away for good,” I say, keeping my voice low and urgent.
Nico backs me up, his eyes locked on hers. “Or even you, Carrie.”
Footsteps come closer, voices raised. Carrie turns, scrambles to the door, fumbling with the lock. She hesitates, looking back at all of us one last time.
I try not to show how scared I am for her, for all of us. “Go,” I say, softer now. “We’ll be fine.”
She nods, blinking back tears, and slips out, locking the door behind her.
As soon as she’s gone, I look at the other two. My heart’s still pounding. “Now we just hope she’s as good a liar as she is at everything else.”
Jace gives me a dark look, but for once, none of us has anything left to say.
The door bangs open and bright light floods the stacks. Three guards barrel in, boots loud on the tile. They barely glance at me, Jace, or Nico—just bark orders, batons ready.
“On your feet! Hands where I can see ’em!” The lead guard’s voice bounces off the old law books.
We get up, slow and steady, doing our best to look harmless. Jace gives them a blank look. Nico rolls his shoulders, but keeps quiet.
One guard nods at the door. “Move. Let’s go. Single file.”
They shove us out into the main library. Carrie stands off to the side near the front desk, arms crossed, her face the perfect mask of the shaken-up, scared assistant. I catch her eyes for a split second—there’s worry there, but she doesn’t flinch. She plays the part so well it almost hurts.
“What happened?” the younger guard asks her, not even bothering to lower his voice.
“I locked them in,” Carrie says, her voice wavering just enough. “I was scared. The storm—things got loud. I didn’t want anyone getting hurt.”
The guard nods, barely listening, already more interested in her than in us. “You did the right thing,” he says, and turns back to us. “Keep moving.”
We’re marched down the hall, through the checkpoint, and back to our block. Jace and Nico keep their mouths shut. I do too, but my mind won’t stop running.
Inside my cell, the door slams shut behind me with a final, empty clang. I lie back on my bunk and stare up at the ceiling. Every muscle aches from what just happened—sex, adrenaline, fear, all tangled together.
But it’s my mind that won’t quiet down. We got distracted, plain and simple. We should’ve pushed her harder, gotten the truth, made her tell us everything she’s hiding. Instead, we let our need for her take over. I let myself believe she was just ours, just a girl in trouble, not a problem.
I replay the look on her face as the guards marched us out—guilt and longing, and something else I can’t read. Is it all an act? Or am I just looking for a reason to trust her?
We lost control. That’s the truth of it. And I don’t know if it’s going to save us—or ruin everything.
The next morning, the air in the yard is thick with the promise of more rain, the ground muddy underfoot and the sky so low it feels like you could reach up and touch the clouds.
I walk a slow circle along the outer fence, hands in my pockets, jaw tight.
My head’s still full of last night—Carrie’s body, the heat of her mouth, the sound of her voice, the way she clung to me when the storm peaked. That was real. I felt it in my bones.
But it doesn’t quiet the old suspicions gnawing at me. Too much doesn’t add up.
The ball thuds against the cracked concrete, mud splattering up my shins as I cut left past Nico and drive for the hoop. Jace’s hand snaps out, nearly blocking my shot, but I twist and lay it up anyway. The ball circles the rim and drops.
Nico snorts, chasing down the rebound. “Show-off.”
We’re all slick with sweat, breathing hard, letting the game do the talking for a minute.
The court’s a mess—slick in some spots, broken glass ground into the corners, paint lines barely visible after years of weather and boots.
The air is damp, the sky close and gray, thunder still rumbling in the distance like a reminder.
I snag the ball as Nico passes and check it to Jace. “You two really trust her?” I ask, keeping my eyes on the ball, my body moving. “After last night?”
Jace dribbles slow, sizing me up, face unreadable. “I trust what I saw. She had a chance to sell us out. She didn’t.”
Nico slides in for a screen, nodding as Jace swings him the ball. “Girl was shaking like a leaf when the guards came in. If she’s a plant, she’s the worst actress I’ve ever seen.”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing, especially from Jace. I catch the ball and glare at him, heat rising up my neck. “You came back from solitary doubting her. What happened, man? Her pussy change your mind?”
Jace throws the ball back at me a little too hard, the smack stinging my palms. His eyes flash, jaw tight. For a second, tension crackles between us—something old and raw under the skin.
I know I said the wrong thing, but I’m too wound up to take it back. Maybe it’s jealousy, maybe it’s fear. Carrie’s under my skin in a way nothing else ever has been. It’s like she’s a drug, or dirt I can’t scrub off.
I jab in, try to steal, but Nico spins past me and throws up a wild shot. It bounces off the backboard. Jace grabs it, passes to me again. My blood’s up, not just from the game but from the conversation.
I catch, set my feet, and take a shot. “You’re both too soft. Desperate people do crazy shit. You know that.”
Jace rebounds and passes low, faking a drive. “I also know loyalty when I see it. She locked us in, Levi. Could’ve just walked away and let them find us.”
Nico wipes his brow with the back of his wrist, grinning at Jace. “You’re just pissed because you’re not sure anymore. She’s in this, same as us.”
The game slows, but the words keep coming. I bounce the ball, hard, frustration leaking out. “She’s hiding something. I can feel it. And we got distracted—we let her off too easy.”
Jace throws an elbow, light but enough to remind me we’re brothers first, not rivals. “You want to interrogate her again? Do it. But don’t make the same mistake twice.”
I shoot. The ball arcs high and drops through the net.
Nico jogs after the ball, voice low as he passes by me. “You want to protect her or push her away? Make up your mind, brother.”
I say nothing. My chest is tight, the doubt and desire grinding together as rough as this busted court.
Jace slaps the ball into my hands, his voice steady. “We figure this out together. No more mistakes.”
I nod, jaw set, as the game restarts. No more mistakes, I tell myself.
But I’m not sure if I believe it.
The next play is all elbows and hard screens, nobody giving an inch. Jace drives at me, shoulder low, daring me to block him. I do—harder than I mean to, sending him stumbling. He fires me a look but says nothing.
Nico jogs for the rebound, the slap of the ball echoing across the yard. “You two want to play or just beat the shit out of each other?” he jokes, but there’s an edge to his voice.
Jace stalks back to the line, chest heaving. “You done running your mouth, Levi?”
“Not even close,” I bite back, but my heart’s not in it. I’m not mad at him, not really. I’m mad at myself. Mad that after everything—after solitary, after the lies, after Carrie—I don’t know what I feel anymore.
Nico checks the ball to me, then bumps my shoulder. “You’re twisted up over her. We all are. Get used to it, brother.”
I want to argue, but the words die in my throat. Carrie’s silhouette flashes in my mind—her skin, her mouth, the way she looked at me after the storm. She’s got a hold on me I can’t explain, a need that’s almost painful.
The game slows, then stops. We lean on our knees, sweat dripping, all of us breathing hard.
Jace looks over at me, his voice lower now. “You think I’m not scared too? We’re in this mess together.”
We round the corner toward the block, the buzz of the yard fading behind us. I can’t keep it inside any longer. “Look, I know I sound paranoid. But let’s be honest with ourselves—what are we even doing?” I say, voice coming out rougher than I meant. “This isn’t just about sex anymore.”
Nico glances over, something uncertain in his eyes. Jace stiffens, lips pressed tight.
I keep going, needing them to hear it. “We’re all in deep. We care about her. It’s obvious—hell, you saw us last night, any of us would’ve done anything for her. Doesn’t that scare you? That we’d risk everything for someone we barely knew a year ago?”
Jace exhales, his breath sharp in the cool air. “It scares the shit out of me. But it’s not something I can turn off.”
Nico gives a small laugh, humorless. “Yeah, well, maybe that’s the problem. Maybe she’s got all three of us wrapped around her finger.”
I shake my head, the weight of it pressing down on me. “I just don’t want us to forget who we are. Or how easy it is to get burned if we’re wrong about her.”
We fall silent, walking the last stretch to the block together. None of us wants to admit how deep this goes, or how little control we really have anymore.
As the doors slide open, I look at them both, voice quieter now. “We better figure this out, before she becomes the only thing that matters.”