Chapter 12
Rue
Frowning as Mercenary pushed open the door to the abandoned building, I checked my phone again.
“You sure he’s here?” Hype asked, doubt heavy in his words.
“Yeah. According to the tracking app he is,” I told them as we disappeared into the dark shadows of the building. A shiver washed over me despite the warm Arizona day.
“How old is this kid?” Code asked.
“Sixteen,” I said, sadness creeping over me. “He was Ryan’s best friend. Lived with us for a while until my brother took off. Then he disappeared for a while, too.”
“Guilty conscious?” Mercenary asked, his head moving as he scanned the rooms we were walking through for threats.
Sighing, I shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe? I don’t know how he or Ryan got involved in… Well, I don’t even know what they were involved in.”
“Must’ve been hard,” Code said, giving me a sympathetic look. “Not being able to help either of them.”
I nodded, grateful for the dim lighting because tears filled my eyes.
Hard didn’t even begin to cover it. Ryan was my whole life.
Everything I did was for that kid. I hadn’t been his mother, but I sort of had at the same time.
I’d done my best by him and I’d lain awake too many nights wondering.
If I’d paid closer attention, given him less freedom, would he still be at home with me?
Would he have chosen to leave with me when I found him the first time?
The tortured look on his face flashed through my mind when I thought back to that day.
I’d been searching the area for him. I’d had no other choice, no leads.
It was stupid. Like looking for a needle in a proverbial haystack.
Then he’d walked out of an alleyway like he hadn’t been missing for months.
I’d thought I was going crazy for a few minutes.
Until I called his name and he’d turned to face me.
He’d looked shocked and horrified to see me.
Had kept glancing around. Now I realized it was because he didn’t want any of his gang—I wasn’t sure what else to call them because I hadn’t found anything out about them in all this time—seeing us talking.
He’d dragged me into that alleyway. I’d begged and pleaded for him to just come home for what felt like hours. Eventually he’d broken my heart by telling me to drop it. That he was never coming back. That he didn’t need me anymore. I’d watched him walk away in confusion and grief.
I shoved the memories away. Reliving that day was something I did most nights and I didn’t want to add to the torment.
The guys and I fell into silence as I followed the cursor on my phone’s screen.
By the time we found Teddy the hairs on the back of my neck were standing on end.
We probably weren’t alone in this big building, but at least no one was bothering us.
I froze in the doorway as I saw Teddy sitting on the ground, back against the wall. He was staring down at a revolver in his hands. I couldn’t help the little sound of dismay that slipped out when I saw him with the weapon.
His head snapped up and shock was written all over his face as he saw me standing there. Then he saw the men behind me and he lifted the gun. Only, he didn’t point it at us. “Stay away,” he said, his voice trembling as much as his hand as he held the gun to his temple.
I didn’t move forward, but I reached out with my right hand. “No. Please, don’t.”
His eyes locked onto me for a moment and I read the guilt and grief there.
A flash of him and Ryan cackling like loons as they played some video game not even a year ago came to my mind.
They’d been such happy kids, devouring a pizza as they hung out together in Ryan’s room.
My heart bottomed out in my sneakers seeing him like this now.
The three bikers fanned out around me, having shifted me out of the way to gain access to the room. Hype had his own gun out.
“May as well put it away,” Code told him.
Hype’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t look away from Teddy. “Why?”
“He’s not going to shoot us,” Code said with a shrug. “And you’d only be doing him a favor by not forcing him to pull the trigger for himself.”
“Kid’s right,” Mercenary said. “Put it away.”
Hype grumbled but did as they suggested.
“Teddy, please,” I said, voice soft as I moved a step closer. I just wanted to gather him up and hug him. Tell him it was going to be okay. But what did I know? I had no idea what he’d been through over the last six months.
“I’m so sorry, Rue.” His tears were drawing lines across the dirt on his face.
My heart shattered. He sounded like a lost little boy. “None of this is your fault,” I reassured him.
“It is,” he whispered, searching my gaze.
There were tears spilling down his cheeks like a waterfall.
My own weren’t exactly dry. “I was too weak to walk away and then… I tried to keep Ryan out of it. But…” he choked back a sob, “he was worried about me. And by the time I told him what was going on Rhino had recruited him too.”
“Recruited him for what?” Mercenary asked. He was careful to keep his voice low so he didn’t startle the already shaky kid.
I looked over at him. Right now I didn’t even want answers. I wanted to yank that gun out of Teddy’s grasp, but doing that would end disastrously, so I stayed put.
“Carrick,” Teddy said after a moment of studying the men with me. He must have decided they looked trustworthy. That, or it didn’t matter anymore if he told us the information he knew.
That scared me.
“Who’s Carrick?” Mercenary continued with the questions while we stayed quiet.
“Just some local guy,” Teddy admitted. “He runs a couple blocks inside the city. Deals drugs, some weapons, information, pretty much anything he can get people to pay him for. He uses the homeless as a delivery system. Pays us a couple bucks to drop off drugs or cash, or whatever else. The people around here don’t care as long as they get enough money for…
whatever…they use it for. It’s different for everyone,” he whispered.
“But he uses kids the most. We’re desperate, hungry, and if we get caught we don’t get tried as adults.
Means we can come back later and still work for him. ”
My eyes fluttered closed as I heard everything he was telling me. Ryan had only gotten caught up in all this trying to help his friend. Though I didn’t know why he was staying. “How did you get mixed up with Carrick?” I asked.
“Rhino found me. Before I came to live with you,” he told me. “But once you start working for Carrick, you don’t get to stop. Rhino won’t allow it. You try to stop, you end up dead. You steal from them? Dead. Rhino keeps everyone in line.”
“Not anymore,” Hype muttered.
Teddy didn’t pay him any attention. “I kept it from Ryan as long as I could. Maybe if I’d told him the truth he wouldn’t have followed me. Never would’ve ended up on Rhino’s radar.”
The guilt I’d been feeling for being the reason for Rhino’s death was fading with every word. It was being replaced with rage and satisfaction. “Rhino’s gone,” I told him. “Dead. You’re safe now.”
He snorted and shook his head. “Rhino was the muscle, but Carrick doesn’t need him. There are plenty of others who would take his place.”
“Teddy. Come home with me,” I urged. “I can help you get out of this.” I motioned to the men with me. “My friends can help-”
“I killed my best friend.”
Freezing, I stared at him. “Ryan’s dead?” I asked, my voice cracking. It was as though someone had stomped on my chest. I couldn’t breathe as I waited for his answer.
“Basically,” he said. “No one works for Carrick for long and lives. It’s only a matter of time. I tried to get him to go home, but they pulled him in.” He shook his head. “If he stays much longer then he’s not going to make it out alive.”
“You tried to keep him out of it. You didn’t deserve to be in the middle of all this either,” I told him, easing forward.
If I could get close enough, or find the right thing to say, I could get the gun.
I knew that with OD’s help we’d find Ryan.
Right now I was worried for Teddy. He was a good kid.
He didn’t deserve all this. “Please Teddy, Ryan wouldn’t want this. We’ll find him. We’ll bring him home.”
He shook his head. “I can’t do it anymore, Rue. I can’t live with the shit I’ve done for Carrick. Don’t want to. Tried to burn it out of my head with drugs. With alcohol. Maybe a bullet will do the trick.”
“It won’t because none of this is your burden to carry. You’ve just been trying to survive. Let me help you,” I begged.
There was a look in Teddy’s eyes that was making me lose all hope. Like he was drowning, but wasn’t fighting it anymore. “I’m sorry.”
“Do this for Ryan,” I said. “Live because he’s going to need you once he gets home. Just like you need him.”
Teddy’s eyes held mine and his hand shook, then began to lower. “I don’t know if I can.”
“I’ll help you,” I whispered, edging forward. Careful not to make big movements, I inched toward him, hand reaching out for the gun. “I’ll be there with you. I promise.”
He swallowed hard, gave a curt nod, then lowered the gun back into his lap. He didn’t fight me when I took it from him.
“Can we take you to the hospital?” I asked. “They’ll be able to help you there.”
His shoulders slumped. “Okay.”
The guys stood back, waiting, as I shoved the revolver into the back of my jeans and helped pull Teddy to his feet.
“They won’t let me stay until they release you,” I told him, “but as soon as you’re out you can come live with me again.”
“Why are you doing this?” he croaked, looking over at me. “I’m the reason your brother left. I’ve done horrible things for Carrick and Rhino.”
“We’re going to get him back, Teddy. And the two of you are going to come live with me again. We’ll be a family again. I promise you. This will all seem like a bad dream.”
Teddy went quiet at that and followed me outside.
It took a few hours to get Teddy settled in at the psychiatric unit.
I was so grateful they accepted voluntary admissions because Teddy needed the kind of help I wasn’t able to provide on my own right now.
He needed to be watched round the clock to make sure he didn’t try to kill himself again.
He needed the dedicated psychiatrists who could help him understand that Ryan made his own choice to stay.
That getting pulled into Carrick and Rhino’s operation also wasn’t his fault.
He’d talked more on the way to the hospital.
He hadn’t voluntarily worked for Carrick.
Rhino found these kids and forced them into Carrick’s service.
He either threatened to kill them, or their family—if they had one—or whatever happened to work on that particular person to get them to agree.
Once they were in there was no way out for them.
I sat quietly, tears sliding down my face as the guys drove me back to OD’s house.
Seeing Teddy in this state was hitting me hard now that he was somewhere safe.
I should tell the guys to take me home, but what was there for me?
An empty apartment with ghosts of family?
Being alone right now was the last thing I wanted. The last thing I needed.