60. Tess
TESS
As we all moved toward the stairs, leaving our apartment behind, Blade grumbled as she shoved her mask on. “My fucking cereal is gonna be soggy.”
Nash brought up the rear, her chest taped flat and no shirt over top. “I’ll make you a new one.” Clapping Blade’s back, Nash laughed.
But my eyes caught on her muscular frame. Without a mask of my own, there was no hiding how her body made me feel. The cascade of muscles up her arms still showed under her spiderweb and lightning tattoos.
Nash slipped on her porcelain mask and grabbed her mallet from the base of the steps.
“Why the masks? Didn’t we see Dom like three days ago?” I asked, feeling vulnerable with my face exposed.
Over her shoulder, Cyrus growled back at me as she unsheathed her machete. “It’s the principle.”
Blade’s voice was a terrifying rumble in my ear. “It’s our hunting ground. Violence won’t see us unmasked here. That’s a special privilege.”
I knew under the dark mask that she was smirking at me, letting me know that the rule I set during our Fright Nights was an exception — one made just for me.
We made our way out of Jungle Jolt and toward the main entrance of Feverpoint.
The sun was just beginning to set, a golden glow cast over the amusement park. It looked undeniably beautiful.
The warm glimmer bounced off of the fresh foliage that grew out of every nook and cranny.
Despite myself, I'd gotten accustomed to its wild, untamed beauty. And as hard as it was to accept that Nash and Blade had lied to me about our history, it was equally difficult to imagine leaving this place.
It had been a long time since I’d stayed in the same place this long. I had either been unwilling to push my luck in the generosity of others or had been kicked out.
By the time we reached the ticket booth, my chest was tight with something like sadness.
Just beyond the wrought iron bars of Feverpoint’s main gate was a gold Camaro that shimmered in the evening sun — and four people.
I immediately recognized Dom Dumont and Dr. Leo, the kind military doctor who’d taken care of Jane the other night.
But I hadn't seen the lean one with curly hair nor the redhead with perfect ringlets and shining green eyes.
Behind me, Blade split off toward an electrical panel in the ticket booth. “Open sesame.”
At her words, the black metal gate opened. And my three captors crossed the threshold from Feverpoint’s safety into the parking lot.
Unflinching, Dom didn't move an inch, leaning against the hood of her vintage car with her arms crossed over her chest.
But the redhead did recoil when she saw the masked clowns — not with new surprise but with the anxiety of recognition. Her eyes were peeled on Blade’s blood-splattered clown mask.
And my eyes flicked back toward my captor.
With a shrug, Blade explained herself. “We’re something like old friends.” A twisted laugh ripped from her throat as she gripped the handles of her axes.
A pang of jealousy rushed through me as my gaze moved back to our new guests.
Was she someone they had hunted in the past?
Given the three tatted mascs next to her, I was guessing that anything that may have happened between the redhead and my freaks was long over. Dom, Leo, and their friend made a wall around their girl, making sure that we’d be unable to reach her.
Even if we did, she looked like the type to put up a fight.
Still, I had a feeling that I’d quickly become Blade's favorite toy.
Cyrus tapped the tip of her machete against one of the iron posts. “I don't have all night.”
“Got some deliveries from The Oracle?” Dom smirked and pushed herself off of the Camaro’s hood, walking closer. “We've got a problem. That woman you brought into the shop won't talk.”
My shoulders dropped, disappointed that time hadn’t eased her suspicions of the people trying to help her.
When we had left Lucky Strike that night we hoped that Jane would settle down and finally tell us who she was speaking to — who had grabbed her like she was their property.
It was always a longshot, given how she was speaking when we first found her.
Dom continued, “Whoever she was with seems to have trained her not to spill details. It doesn't feel like a run-of-the-mill abuser. But it doesn't change that we're at a dead end.”
Under her porcelain mask, Nash spoke next. “And what are we supposed to do about it? We scared the girl half to death when we found her.”
Dr. Leo stepped forward and gave her two cents.
“We're starting to believe that no one will talk to us because we are in charge now.
They still don't believe that people in power will protect them, even though we've proven ourselves to them.
As far as they're concerned, Dom Spencer, Keira, and I — along with all of the Violence — are just a new cog in the wheel.”
I couldn't say I was surprised. The people of Valemont had been left in the dark for so long that even the sunlight was still feeling like a murky shadow.
Since the fall of Zeus Industries and Isaac Dumont, Valemont was still struggling with disappearing women and powerful men. The whole county had become a fear-mongering tactic for other powerful corporations to try and weaponize.
Cyrus shook her head. “Getting laced drugs off the street wasn't enough? I still don't see how this has anything to do with us.”
They’re dealers.
I knew my three roommates were involved in some sort of shady business. The expensive cars and discreet living arrangement didn’t tend toward something on the books.
But dealing was a nasty business. With Atwood University at Valemont’s outskirts, there was a huge market for illegal shit.
How many people have suffered at their hands?
Before I could deep it, the lean one — whose name I could only assume was Spencer — grinned at us. “No one knows who you are. You still live in the shadows. You can pull strings that have been cut for us.”
“What if we have no interest in pulling strings?” Cyrus growled back.
We. She spoke for all of them like they were of the same body.
But Dom was quick on the uptake, ignoring Cyrus’ hesitance. “Jane wouldn’t let us help her but we did send one of our bikers to follow her and what we found might be interesting to you.”
Dom let the thought linger in the air before taking another step closer. “We tracked her up to an abandoned lot on the mountain. She disappeared inside. And between us, it sure as fuck doesn't look abandoned.”
Now I was starting to understand why my freaks wanted to keep their masks on. With information like this being revealed, their surprise was completely cloaked by their disguises. Even to me.
Was it news to them, or had they known a compound had cropped up on the mountains that overlooked Valemont?
“How much have you heard about The Messenger?” Keira, the redhead, stared right at me now.
I wasn't sure why but I felt something like kinship with her. Just two femmes caught in the middle of the strap-measuring contest of the masc lesbians who took charge of us.
I licked my lips before speaking. “Not much, just that he came out of nowhere. And no one knows much about him. Why?”
Kiera’s forehead scrunched together as she walked me through it. “Isn't it odd that a woman fought with someone, refused to talk about it, and was afraid of retribution. And then disappeared into a luxury compound that must have sprouted up in the last few months?”
From the way Nash's shoulders shifted, I knew she was thinking the same thing I was.
Despite the rags he cloaked himself in, Rubin was building something far more sinister. And whatever it was would be hidden behind those concrete walls at the edges of Valemont.
Dom rubbed her hands together. “We'll keep working on the above-board part of this, keep trying to get people to talk and explain to us what The Messenger is doing. But in the meantime, we need someone unknown to dig into the backend.”
Cyrus scoffed a laugh. “I thought the Violence was going to do more than the cops ever could?”
Not taking this lightly Dom stepped forward and her face grew stern.
“The cops would never ask Freaks like you to get involved. Too much heat on us and the feds will come knocking. They’ll make us pay for what we did to Zeus.We have a duty to the citizens to keep our hands clean until we have solid evidence.
And when we do, these abusers will be dealt with. Our way.”
Dom’s jaw tensed as the sun sank behind the mountains. “But I'm willing to do whatever it takes to find the truth. By any means necessary.”