30. Havoc
THIRTY
HAVOC
Caleb and his father are arguing about next steps while Trent keeps checking his phone.
At one point, Alice called and yelled at him—really, she yelled at her entire family.
It sounded like she was on her way over.
I’ve only spoken to her a handful of times, but she always seemed calm and in control, like Caleb.
Losing a child would make anyone lose control.
I keep seeing Emily Lockwood in my mind. All these days of me beating myself up over my failure to control myself, and now I’m wishing I’d killed her when I’d had the chance.
A furry body against my legs makes me look down. Nacho meows at me, and I realize it’s past time for him to get dinner.
I pick him up and head toward the sofa. “Hey, Seven, Nacho’s hungry. I can feed him, if you’re not feeling up to it.”
He doesn’t respond. I walk all the way around—and stop when I see the couch is empty. I look around the room. He isn’t here or in the kitchen, where everybody is making calls and brokering deals for Lori’s safety.
I carry Nacho over to Seven’s room. The door is closed, so I knock. “Hey, Seven? Did all the yelling get to you?”
Once again, there’s no response. I open the door, and all I find is a neatly made bed. It doesn’t look like Seven’s been in here recently.
I set Nacho down and jog in the other direction, to Caleb’s bedroom. Vortex gives me a strange look as I speed past him, but I ignore him.
Caleb’s bedroom door is propped open. I push past it, ready to laugh at myself for worrying.
It’s empty, save for Miss K sleeping on Caleb’s pillow.
I clench my hands, and the worry flares up. He wouldn’t have done something stupid, right? I swallow and go back to everyone.
“Where’s Seven?” I ask.
Caleb’s gaze immediately snaps to me. “What do you mean, where’s Seven? Isn’t he in his room?”
Vortex is the first to react, to understand. “Pull up the tracker.” He seems to realize what he’s said in front of strangers, and he amends, “He has to have his phone on him.”
Despite how creepy I still think it is, I’m still grateful Caleb and Vortex thought to get that tracker inside Seven. I get the app out, but before I can do more than start it up, there’s an insistent knock on the door.
We all turn to it.
“That must be Alice,” Trent says. “She said she was almost here.” He gets up to open it, but Vortex and I both get in front of him.
“I’ll check,” I say. “You stay where nobody can punch you in the face.”
Trent laughs, but he doesn’t sound amused. “ You could still punch me in the face.”
I ignore that comment and go to the door, Vortex only a few steps behind me.
It’s probably Alice, like Trent said. Or one of the security guards.
If it’s one of them, though, why haven’t they announced themselves yet?
I cautiously pull the door open, and my eyes go wide with disbelief when I see who’s standing on the other side.
Earl Spade, Caleb’s uncle—the man I’d beaten up and left for dead out in the desert. The man Vortex had assured me was probably dead, despite the lack of body.
He’s dressed in a nice suit, but that doesn’t hide the fact that his nose doesn’t look quite the same as it had when I’d first met him and his one eye seems to have trouble focusing. It doesn’t move at quite the same speed as the other.
I ready my fist. “Get the fuck out,” I hiss at him. “You’ve got some fucking nerve, showing yourself here.”
Earl takes a few steps back, but then he shouts, “Gerard! Gerard, it’s me! Your baby brother! I just want to talk to you!”
That sounds so much like Marcus, when he ‘just wanted to talk’ to my mother.
I shake my head. “You aren’t setting foot in here. Actually, why don’t we go have a chat in the stairwell. I think there are some landings that want to get acquainted with your face.”
Vortex’s voice is steady as he says from behind me, “Let him in. The stairwells aren’t going anywhere, but Seven and Lori are. If he has information, he’s giving it.”
I look at him in disbelief. “Letting people go is what got us into this bullshit in the first place!”
“Havoc, if there’s a single chance he knows anything about where Lori is…” Trent trails off, his expression fierce. “Remember that you’re currently living in one of my buildings. We can evict you, and no tenants rights lawyer would be able to get you back in.”
“It’s Alice’s building,” I snap, but I’m aware of how right he is.
I grit my teeth and step aside. Earl gives me a smug grin when he walks past me and Vortex toward the Spades.
The entire fucking family has gathered here.
Gerard goes to Earl and embraces him, clapping him on the back like he’d actually missed the guy. “So you’re alive! I worried you’d gotten done in by the Clubs or something.”
Earl shakes his head. “No, nothing like that. It was touch and go for a moment, but…” He turns to face Caleb, and his expression gets darker. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Gerard, but Caleb is the reason I was in hiding. He tried to kill me.”
I inhale sharply and get into a defensive stance.
Caleb doesn’t even blink. “Did I? I recall the opposite, actually. You had me kidnapped, tied up in a shack in the middle of the desert, and were going to sell us all out to the Lockwoods.”
Gerard backs away from Earl, no longer as glad to see his brother. “Is that true?”
Earl’s face gets redder. “No, it’s not fucking true! I didn’t touch Caleb. All I wanted was…” He seems to realize everybody is staring at him. He turns his attention to Trent. “You know, right? About that kid. There’s no reason for any of us to go out on a limb for him.”
Trent tenses. “Right now, I don’t give a fuck about anyone except Lori. So if you tell me you’re in league with the Lockwoods, that you got her kidnapped, I’ll argue in favor of Havoc rearranging your face, Uncle .”
I grin when I hear that and raise my fist. “I’d be more than happy to oblige.”
“No!” Earl backs away from me. “Gerard, you’re not going to believe them, are you? After Caleb had our father killed?”
Everyone freezes.
Then Gerard turns to Caleb. “Is this true? You did it?”
Caleb still hasn’t shown any emotion. “It’s not true,” he says calmly. “But I find it interesting that Earl felt the need to fabricate the story. Covering up for his own misdeeds?”
Jesus fuck. I knew Caleb was a good liar, but there’s not a single tell. If I hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have doubted him at all.
Earl shakes his head. “I didn’t do anything! We all know Caleb hated Leon. He stole the casino from me, and he wanted to get rid of Leon, too! To stop him from running the family!”
“That’s enough,” Vortex interjects sharply. “What do you know, Earl? You wouldn’t be here unless you wanted something.”
I’m surprised that Vortex is willing to interrupt everyone like this, but with Seven missing… maybe it isn’t that surprising after all.
There’s another knock on the door. This time, somebody says, “Boss? I got that footage you asked for!”
“Footage?” Caleb mouths, but he nods at me.
I cautiously open the door. It’s the security guard who was at the elevators. He hands me a USB stick.
“Greg said you should watch it immediately,” the guard says. “It’s definitely, um. It’s got important info.”
Vortex exchanges a look with Caleb before looking back at the guard. “Jason, did Seven ask you to get this?”
Jason’s expression briefly shows confusion. “Yes?” he ventures, looking uncertain all of a sudden. “I’m sorry it took so long to get back with it, but we had to cut all the footage together.”
“How long ago was this?” Vortex presses.
“About an hour,” Jason says.
I feel like absolute shit that I didn’t realize Seven has been gone for so long. I’d seen him lie down on the couch, and I assumed he was there the entire time.
I take the flash drive off his hands and close the door on him. I shoulder-check Earl as I walk past him.
Caleb plugs the USB stick into the laptop and opens the video on it.
It’s got some of the same footage of Lori walking toward the exit with Emily Lockwood behind her. There’s the moment where she gets pulled into an SUV.
This time, there’s extra video after, where Emily Lockwood loiters around for a few minutes waiting for another car.
“Motherfucker,” Trent whispers when he sees Earl get out of the car that pulls up. Earl and Emily talk for a little bit before Emily gets into the car, while Earl walks away, looking at his phone. He ends up walking to the casino bar and talking to people there.
Everybody at the casino knows him—and none of them think it’s suspicious that he’s there. He’s a regular. It used to be his casino.
Caleb never put him on an alert list.
Vortex’s face has flushed red, and he stalks over, grabbing Earl by the throat before any of us can blink. “It’s your fault she has Lori, and it’s your fault they have Seven,” he snarls. “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t kill you my-fucking-self.”
“No! They’ll release her! As soon as they get their kid back!” Earl says quickly. “Gerard, trust me. The Lockwoods aren’t the enemy. They’ve already paid me up front, and?—”
Before he can finish, Trent goes up to him and punches him in the face. Earl cries out and stumbles back.
“You sold my daughter !” Trent shouts. “Gerard, if you don’t take care of him, I will.”
Gerard looks equally disgusted. “You chose those bastards over your own family? You already ruined the casino. My son had to undo all the shit you did. And then you kill Dad?—”
“I didn’t kill Dad!” Earl protests. He glances in my direction. “You! You fucking know it wasn’t me!” He gestures to Vortex. “Vortex knows too! They left me to die in the desert! The Lockwoods saved me! I owe them, and they’re paying me!”
“I don’t remember leaving him anywhere,” I say, crossing my arms.
Caleb sighs and makes a dismissive gesture. “You can stop lying, Earl. Leon was aware of your problems. You gambled away your fortunes, borrowed from the Clubs…”
Trent laughs. “He did, too. Virgil wouldn’t stop laughing about the million you owed him, Earl.”
Gerard rolls his eyes. “Of course Earl did.” He looks at his brother. “You never could let a bad idea go to waste.”
“No! Gerard, you have to believe me!” Earl shouts. “We’re brothers! You know I’d never hurt Dad! Caleb is the one who did it.”
“Why would Caleb harm Leon?” Vortex asks, shaking his head. “Leon was keeping the Lockwoods at bay.”
“Your impulsive decision cost me a lot,” Caleb agrees. “For example, Lori getting kidnapped.”
“That’s not impulsive,” Vortex says. “That’s calculated, cruel, and selfish.” His eyes narrow. “Why did you come here? Unless you really do have a death wish.”
“I want my casino back!” Earl shouts. “And if you do that, I’ll get Lori back for you.”
I’m as surprised as the others when Trent says, “No.”
Earl blinks at him. “No? She’s your daughter. I make one call, and they bring her back immediately.”
“ If you can trust the Lockwoods,” Caleb says. “They also have Seven, which means we don’t need you.”
My attention snaps to Caleb. “What do you mean, they have Seven? He wouldn’t have… He didn’t?—”
Caleb holds up his phone. There’s a photo of Lori with Seven. Lori looks terrified, and Seven looks distant. Empty.
“Abigail Lockwood sent me this. She says, ‘ Game over, Caleb. Looks like you miscalculated.’ ” Caleb chuckles darkly. “But I think she’s the one who miscalculated.”
“Because of the tracker,” I say. “We can find them now.”
Trent glances at Earl. “So we don’t need him at all? Are you okay with planning a funeral, Gerard?”
Gerard glances at his brother. “I was already planning one.”
Earl shakes his head and starts scrambling away. “No, no, Gerard! I’m your brother. You can’t do this.”
Trent stalks toward Earl and grabs him by the collar. “I think Havoc suggested the stairwell. You’d be surprised how few steps it takes for somebody to break their neck.”
Earl starts yelling and struggling against Trent, but Trent is surprisingly strong. I watch in admiration.
Trent’s phone dings, and he stops to look at it and type a response. “Alice is going to join me in the stairwell.” He nods at Caleb. “Don’t leave to get Lori without me.”
Caleb nods. “We’ll track them down while you and Alice take care of things.”
I hold the door open for Trent and Earl, slapping Earl’s hand down when he tries to grab for me.
“Shoulda stayed in the desert,” I tell him with a dark smile.
His screaming gets muffled once I shut the door, and disappears entirely soon after.
“So,” I say. “Where are Seven and Lori?”
“There’s a small town not far outside Calamity,” Caleb says. “The tracker appears to have stopped there.”
Gerard shakes his head. “You put a tracker into your boyfriend?”
“Yes,” Caleb answers. “For exactly this kind of circumstance.”
I expect judgment, but Gerard simply nods. “Practical.” He pauses. “Regarding what Earl said… I don’t want to know the truth. He’s gone, and we’re putting everything else behind us.”
Caleb smiles at Gerard. “What did Uncle Earl even say? I never listen to his inane rantings.”
Gerard laughs. “Exactly. The black sheep of the family.”
I have no idea what to make of this strange conversation. I can’t imagine my mother saying “go ahead and murder your uncle ,” let alone give tacit approval for anything violent. She hadn’t wanted me to hurt Marcus, even after all the shit he pulled.
I take my phone out and send her a quick text.
Te quiero, Mamá. I love you.
She sends a heart emoji back.
And I you.
Hopefully, this won’t be the last text I ever send her. I look at Vortex, and he returns my gaze steadily.
I think, with Vortex and Caleb and Seven , there’s no way we can lose.
We’ll take down the Lockwoods for good this time.
And this time, I won’t stop myself from killing Emily Lockwood.