Chapter 27
TWENTY-SEVEN
CALEB
I don’t recognize any of the three men who are tying us up. I don’t know where we are, either, which is equally worrying. “Somewhere out in the desert” is not a good place for Seven and me to plan our escape from.
“Why’d you grab him?” one of the men asks. He’s Latino, with short cropped black hair and a diamond tattoo on his exposed shoulder.
Diamantes.
This man isn’t somebody who keeps up with the higher ups, if he doesn’t recognize me.
“He was there, and I didn’t want to leave a fucking huge bloodstain behind,” the man who’d waved the gun at us grunts. “Maybe we can ransom him. He’s got to have a rich wife or something.”
I would laugh, if it weren’t for this situation we’re in.
I shift uncomfortably in my chair. The ropes dig into my skin, tied far too tightly. Seven is in a chair directly against my back. I curl my fingers to brush against his skin, and I feel Seven’s hand jerk in response .
“Call Valentín Diamante,” I say to the Diamante. “Tell him I want to speak to him.”
The guy startles and glares at me. “What? I’m not bothering him for this.” He looks around the room at the others, and I realize he’s the only Diamante here. This man is operating alone—and he doesn’t necessarily want his gang affiliation known.
In that case, he should have worn a long-sleeved shirt to hide his tattoos, but it’s sweltering hot in this small shack they stashed us in. I’m already sweating through my suit.
“Who hired you?” I ask. “I bet they aren’t paying as much as I’d be able to get you.”
The Diamante goon rolls his eyes. “None of your business.”
Seven hasn’t said a word since begging me to go along with this, which is almost as worrisome as the situation itself.
I wish I could see his face and reassure him that it’s going to be fine.
The truth is, though, that I don’t know for sure if it will be.
“You might not be interested, but I am,” the man with the gun retorts. “I sure as fuck want to know who he is, if he thinks he can get us more cash.”
The third guy tosses an empty water bottle at the gunman’s head. “Shut up, Lars. I’m not risking getting on the wrong side of one of the Spades.”
I let out a surprised laugh. “One of the Spades hired you? Really?”
“No, you shut up,” the gunman says with a scowl. “Why the fuck would you go and tell him anything about who hired us? Now we’re going to have to deal with a goddamn body after all.”
The Diamante makes a frustrated noise. “Who the fuck cares? We deliver the kid, murder the rich guy?—”
I burst out laughing. “Okay, wait, let me guess who it was. I don’t think Leon would have hired outsiders. Obviously it wasn’t Alice or Trent. I know Caleb Spade well enough to know he wouldn’t have done this. There’s his father, Gerard Spade, but he wouldn’t bother with a kidnapping. I don’t think one of the smaller under families would risk it…” I grin at them. “Earl Spade is really the only credible suspect.”
Judging by their reactions, I got it right on the money.
The gunman exchanges a look with the other two. “And you think you can outbid one of the Spades?” he asks skeptically. “Because if so, I’m listening.”
Seven is trembling at my back. I try to grab his hand again, but his fingers are curled up into tight fists behind him.
“I could,” I say. “Earl Spade is out of money. He’s up to his eyeballs in debt. He doesn’t even own the Roi de Pique anymore. That belongs to his nephew, Caleb Spade.”
Of course, I have no intention of paying any of these men. But I’ll say whatever I need to to get me and Seven out of this situation.
“Nah, he’s giving us a cut of the reward for—” the third man says, and both the Diamante and the gunman immediately yell at him to shut up.
Seven shudders violently behind me, his hands brushing mine, and he finally unclenches his hands and grabs for mine. He’s shaking, and the calm I feel threatens to come undone.
But I have to do what I always tell him and negotiate from a place of power, not a place wrought of anger that they can take advantage of.
“Shut up before we gag you. Do what the boy is doing and keep your mouth shut,” the gunman says.
“How soon is Earl getting here?” I ask, completely ignoring the demand. “He is showing up, right? He needs to get Seven for the transfer.”
The Diamante stalks over to me—and slaps me across the face. “We told you to shut up, fucker. You don’t need to know anything.”
I wince against the pain, but I swallow my reply. I wonder if telling them who I am would help, but they’d taken my wallet and phone and tossed them out the side of the van while we’d been driving. I don’t have proof of my identity anymore .
“It’s too hot in here,” the third man says. “I’m waiting outside.”
The other two end up following, every bit as eager to get out of the boiling heat. I have to assume there’s a breeze outside. The metal roof on the shack is probably contributing to the heat, too.
Once we’re alone, I tilt my head back so it rests against Seven’s. “Talk to me, pet,” I whisper.
He clings to my hands for dear life. “I told you. I told you they wouldn’t… wouldn’t stop until they got me back,” he chokes out with a strangled laugh. “You… You should’ve let them have me.”
“I should not,” I state. “I’m not going to let you be scared and alone.” I squeeze his hand. “Havoc and Vortex already know we’re missing, and they can track you. As soon as Earl sees me, he’s going to second-guess everything, too.”
“What if they don’t come?” he whispers, despair making his voice crack. “What if no one does? What if they just leave you out here?”
“They’re coming.” I take a deep breath to steady myself. “This isn’t the worst situation I’ve been in, Seven. Vortex has pulled me out of dire straits before. And we both know Havoc won’t stop until he has you back in his arms.”
He nods, but he only says, “Okay.”
I squeeze his hand again. “We’ll get out of this, pet.”
I keep my voice calm, even though internally I’m less sure about everything. If I can talk to Earl, if I can get him to see reason, there’s a chance I’m getting out of this alive. But the three hired goons have no incentive to keep me alive. I’m a liability, in fact, and they’ve already got us out here in the desert where it’d be almost impossible to find my body.
I can’t dwell on that.
“When we’re back,” I say quietly, “I’ll force you to take a bath.”
“Y-yeah?” he asks as softly. “Will you hold me under?” He makes a choked sound that’s a cross between a laugh and a sob. “God, I’m so messed up, aren’t I?”
“No more than any of us,” I answer. “I’ll let Havoc hold you down. Vortex will bathe you gently. I’ll give all the orders and fuck your ass.”
Seven shivers. “I’ll cry,” he says. “I won’t want you to stop, but I’ll cry because it’s so much. So, so much.”
“That’s fine.” I lean my head back again, rubbing against Seven’s head. “I’ll kiss those beautiful tears of yours.”
He nods, leaning hard against me. “I’m scared,” he admits. “Things were finally good .”
“They’ll still be good when we get out of this,” I answer. “Earl’s an idiot. He knows he can’t do anything to me.” I pause, then add, “When I negotiate with Earl, remember that everything I say is to get you out. Even if I seem colder, or callous, or say something that might hurt. It’s all for you.”
Seven is silent for several long seconds. “Caleb—” he begins, only to stop again. “Maybe… Maybe you should really think about it.” He sounds tired, and small, and defeated. “You can tell Vortex and Havoc that I’m dead or something. I can take the tracker out. Then they won’t look for me.”
Anger grips me. “No,” I hiss. “That isn’t an option. And if you keep suggesting it, I’m going to have to punish you.”
He huffs out a weak laugh. “I’m always gonna suggest it,” he tells me. “Maybe I kind of want to go back.”
“You don’t,” I answer fiercely. “If you wanted to go back, you wouldn’t have been so terrified when I threatened it. You wouldn’t have fought so hard to escape.”
“It would be easier,” he says, and as much as I wish I could see his face, I don’t want to see this level of despondency on it. “And you’d be safe. I want you to be safe, Caleb. Master . Thank you for giving me something so good, but?—”
“But nothing,” I interrupt. “Nothing is over with.”
“Isn’t it though?” he asks. “This is kinda… the end here.”
“It’s not?—”
The flimsy shack door slams open, interrupting us. Earl steps inside, his hair disheveled, and he stares at me with wide eyes .
“Why?” Earl demands. “Why are you here?”
I squeeze Seven’s hand. “I’d like to know that too, Uncle. You apparently hired the most incompetent men in the city.”
I hear a disgruntled noise from behind Earl. One of his goons must have heard me.
Earl starts pacing. “This is going to ruin everything!” He stops in front of me. “You did this to sabotage me, didn’t you? You’ve always had it out for me. First you steal the casino from me?—”
I bark out a laugh. “You sold it to me, Earl, for exactly what it was worth when I bought it.”
“No!” Earl stomps his foot like a toddler. “You conned me! You knew… you knew the market was turning around, and you had those investors, and?—”
“Wait,” one of the goons says. “Is he?—”
Earl turns to glare at him. “My nephew! Caleb Spade! Why the fuck did you take him?”
“He wouldn’t get out of the way!” the gunman protests. “What were we supposed to do? Shoot him and leave a body behind? Then you’d really be pissed.”
The Diamante curses. “Caleb Spade? That’s why he wanted to talk to… Shit, we gotta take him back.”
I smirk at Earl. “You need to listen to him. Grandfather might not be my biggest fan, but he does like all the money I’ve made for him with the casino. He would not be happy if I died.”
Earl wants to argue, but he knows I’m right. Leon had allowed the transfer of ownership, and he hadn’t forced me to sell the casino back to Earl despite Earl’s many protests after it had recovered.
“Why’d you get in the way?” Earl demands. “You’re always undermining me! Always trying to stop me from getting ahead. When Gerard hears about this?—”
“Dad will tell you to shut the fuck up and let me do what I want,” I shoot back. “If you let me and Seven go now, this can all be water under the bridge. You can still change course. ”
Earl shakes his head, though. “No! I already told the Lockwoods I’d get the kid to them tomorrow. I can’t piss them off.”
“So you’d rather piss off Grandfather and Dad instead?” I strain against the ropes. “Untie me, Earl, and we can figure something out.”
The Diamante has his gun aimed in our direction. I glare at him, and after a few seconds, he sighs and lowers the gun.
“Why didn’t he just say he was Caleb Spade from the start?” the third man asks. “Fuck, why’d you kidnap Caleb Spade?”
“I didn’t know he was Caleb Spade!” the other man says. “How the hell was I supposed to know he’d risk his ass for some kid?” He doesn’t have his gun raised anymore, leery now that he knows who I am. “Let’s get him back to the city. Leave the kid here. Then we all get what we want.”
I meet Earl’s eyes. “That was your plan anyway, right? Let the kid suffer overnight, so he’d be much more pliable in the morning?”
Earl shifts uncomfortably. “Yes. But…” He groans. “You owe me for this, Caleb.”
He unties me, and I breathe easier once I’m free of the ropes. I get out of the chair and rub my sore wrists.
Then I brace myself on the back of the chair Seven is tied to. “Will they want him if he’s half-dead?”
“They want him in any condition, as long as it’s alive ,” Earl mutters. “They were very specific about that last part.” He glares at me. “I’m not sharing the reward. That’s mine, fair and square.”
I look at his familiar features, and I think: I’m going to enjoy watching him die.
“You owe me for all this trouble,” I counter. “I have a deal with Grandfather, too. He promised protection from the Lockwoods. You’re undermining him.”
Earl blanches. “What? No. He wouldn’t offer that. He doesn’t give a shit about some kid.”
“He doesn’t care about Seven, but he cares about me and the casino,” I point out. “And you lost me a full day of work.” I sigh. “I don’t think the kid would survive a night out here, anyway. Were you going to give him any water? A blanket for the cold desert night?”
I can tell Earl had no idea he had to do any of that.
I make a frustrated sound. “Of course not. Well, go get the water. I’m dehydrating here anyway. We can figure out how we’ll split the reward, since you’ve already ruined everything.”
There’s a long moment where I think Earl might grow a brain cell, but in the end, he growls and heads out the door. The goons end up following him, probably wondering what the plan is now.
I immediately get to work untying Seven.
“We need to… to get their keys. Drive the van away. Or…” I grimace as I finish unknotting the second side. Even with a car, I have no clue where we are, and driving aimlessly through the desert is a bad idea. I can only hope there’s a dirt road of some sort, but I hadn’t been able to see anything from the back of the van.
Seven gets up to his feet, swaying before he grabs the back of the chair. “How are we going to do it?”
He sounds less defeated now, more determined, and I pull him into a quick, searing kiss. He gasps and leans into it, and his eyes are dazed when I break the kiss.
“Go out that window,” I say, pushing him toward the back wall of the shack. “Try to stay hidden. Whatever you do, don’t let the shack ever get out of sight.”
He swallows hard, but he nods. He gives me a desperate look, then he turns for the window, quietly opening it and climbing out. I wait until he lands on the other side, rubbing my wrists again.
Then I head out the door. Earl and his goons are arguing near the van.
“Where’s the water?” I ask. “I’m dying of thirst.”
Earl flips me off. “Be patient, Caleb. Isn’t that what you always tell me?”
There’s a new car next to the van—Earl’s white SUV that’s now covered in a thin layer of dust.
The keys must be on Earl somewhere .
“I’d be more patient if I hadn’t sweated through my entire suit already,” I answer. I take the suit jacket off, and the shirt underneath is indeed soaked. I’m going to have to toss this suit.
“If you didn’t insist on wearing suits all the time,” Earl counters.
I step closer, and I wish I knew which pocket his keys are in. I’m not a deft pickpocket, and I have only one chance to check.
Before I get to that stage, though, the gunman suddenly shouts, “Hey! Where’s the kid?”
Fuck. He’d gone back to the shack without me noticing.
The Diamante levels his gun at me. “You did something.”
“Don’t shoot him!” Earl shouts, tackling the Diamante.
The gun goes off, the bullet whizzing past me and shattering the window of the SUV.
Shit. I toss my jacket at both of them and take off in a run.