37
The Dying Song
Mikael
Cade is dragging Jake into the sitting room we usually use to talk about business. It has two leather couches facing each other and armchairs large enough to comfortably fit my frame. I usually laugh when Gabe sits in one of them. Today, that humor is lost.
I plant my ass and put my head in my hands. I’m shaking, and I can’t stop. I’ve been running on pure adrenaline for most of the day. The sudden drop isn’t surprising. It isn’t helped by the emotional hits I’ve taken the past few days. I thought I was hardened against that.
Until I got a glimpse of my rakas . Her face was bruised and swollen, with a bleeding cut bisecting her eyebrow. That first sight of her brought everything into perspective. It’s one thing to be told about the things that have been happening to her. It’s fear with the gut-wrenching need to see her. Make sure she’s ok. Hold her.
Seeing it is another story.
At first glance, with her twisted away from us, she seemed fine. Then she turned and my soul got crushed under reality once again.
I let this happen to her. What would it have cost us to listen to her? To find out if it was blackmail or anything that could have forced her into betraying us. The stark fear on her face as she realized she was getting arrested haunts me. I wanted to break those cops into pieces for putting their hands on her even though they’re on our payroll. The only thing that kept me in place was all the evidence that we were spoon-fed like children.
I drop my hands from my face to see Gabe come in with Ace in full, furious tow. I’m enraged they left her alone with the doctors. My first instinct is to jump up and go to her.
Cade shoves Jake onto the couch.
“What the fuck were you thinking?” He rages in Jake’s face.
“You left her alone with them?” I roar.
My voice makes Gabe and Cade stop and look at me warily. Ace starts pacing like a caged animal and glares at Gabe. Jake gives me a sweet smile.
“Left her alone again, you mean?”
I lunge for him. Cade stumbles back with wide eyes to get out of my way. The coffee table between us hits my leg and shoots away from my advance. Jake’s speed is unbelievable as he spins over the back of the couch and dances away.
When I don’t catch him, I pick up the couch and throw it at him instead.
He dodges it with a laugh and circles me, fists up and ready to go despite our size difference. At least he isn’t holding a weapon yet.
“ Enough! ”
Gabe’s yell cuts over us like a blast of icy wind. It usually works for me. Not this time.
The distraction, short though it is, makes me lose sight of Jake. Until he scrambles up my back to get me in a chokehold. His arms feel thin to me but they’re made of iron as he tightens down. I can’t tell if he’s trying to kill me or knock me out.
“Shit,” Cade hurries to my back as I grab Jake’s elbow to pull his arm away. I’m surprised when he hardly budges.
“You been watchin’ her this whole time and haven’t told us shit!” Ace yells and helps Cade get Jake off of me. I doubt it was to help me and more to get a few shots in himself.
Ace grabs Jake’s suit lapels and hauls him to the tips of his toes so he can yell in his smiling face. Jake stays relaxed, looking amused at his rage.
“Confession time, you tricksy fuck,” he gnashes his teeth in Jake’s face.
“I’d be delighted,” Jake replies sweetly.
“Everyone sit down,” Gabe’s voice is almost weary but still cold.
We act like the team we usually are, and everyone pulls away from each other to go to our separate corners. Ace drops into one armchair. I take the other. Gabe and Cade take one couch to leave Jake standing since I tossed the other couch into the bookshelf. I glance down at the hardbacks strewn across the floor in confusion. That’s usually Ace’s mess to clean, not mine.
“Allow me to begin by welcoming you to Amanda’s side of the fence, so to speak,” Jake straightens his tie with a smirk that doesn’t reach his dead eyes.
None of us can say anything. I think because we’re all too pissed off and heartbroken to protest. Even Ace looks devastated now that he’s taken a second to breathe.
“Now. She has been diligently working on getting a divorce despite what we’ve been told. All of her actions during her time with us have been clean. Correct ?”
His eyes narrow on us as if we’re a classroom full of unruly teens.
“Yes,” Cade replies in a defeated tone.
“Good,” Jake nods, his stare becoming unforgiving as he watches Cade. “While all of you were busily lapping at the teat of lies, Amanda had a very eventful weekend.”
I grimace in disgust at the imagery.
“Manny is the envelope deliverer. Amanda found that out after she returned from the gym. I saw her assault him with some photos before they left the apartment. I’m regretting not rigging the entire building with cameras.”
“Manny?” Gabe says in disbelief. “He’s practically a child.”
“Nevertheless, she caught him red-handed,” Jake assures him. “He was thoroughly beaten with a packet of photos. When she came back, she started making a few phone calls. Since I had all of yours turned off as a precaution, I wonder who else she could have called?”
His dead stare lands on Ace, who wilts in his seat.
“I’m disappointed in you , especially,” Jake says with a violent hiss of sound that makes me blink in surprise.
Cade is right. This obsession is far beyond anything I’ve ever seen from him. The only thing he really cares about is us, and his need for Amanda eclipses that, leaving us in a very precarious position with him. He’s psychotic and deadly. He’s already wearing his old suit again, and he’s been out ‘questioning’ people on his own without Cade’s more level-headed backup. People always see Ace and I coming. No one ever sees Jake. He’s too slick and practiced. He was brought to Matthias’ attention early and trained before that to begin with.
I guess I’m lucky I’m not already dead. It doesn’t feel like luck with how much agony my heart is in.
“She only had mine and Mik’s numbers. They took my fuckin’ phone,” Ace mutters, completely subdued. I don’t think it’s from Jake’s disapproval though.
“That will be remedied, and her calls will be promptly answered no matter the time,” Jake lets out a disgruntled sigh. “She left early Sunday and stayed away the entire day. She came back to the sight of her rearranged apartment and ran. I’m guessing that was when she was pushed down the stairs. I assume she hid somewhere that night and went straight to all of you to get help.”
My lips tighten, and my face falls into my hands again.
We could all tell that something had happened to her. She was filthy, only her arms and face uncovered by dirt. The split in her brow was barely noticeable under the bandages The slight bruises on her forehead and cheek were fresh.
Did any of us ask about it?
No.
We all assumed it was a ploy. That she had figured out the money was gone from her account and she needed to try a different play. A staged threat to keep us concerned for her safety. The distraction of asking about Jake as if she was concerned about him when she’s never paid attention to him before.
“She never even noticed your damning evidence,” Jake tells Ace. “They were placed on her counter, and she never once looked. She had too much else going on. She didn’t eat for the majority of her weekend. I’m sure that hasn’t changed since her arrest on Monday.”
“Jake, stop,” Cade says in a firm tone, but it shakes with guilt.
“The question is, what happened when she and Manny left? What did he confess to? And why leave the apartment at all? She forced him to be in front of her as if he was leading her somewhere. She wasn’t afraid when she came back. Concerned, yes, but not frightened.”
He’s muttering to himself now. My hands drop to see him with his phone looking at notes.
“You didn’t question him?” Gabe asks as he follows along.
“Not home,” Jake shrugs. “I was focused on physical threats first. Marcos’ apartment is directly above Manny’s. I’m certain the noise made him leave. As a young man squatting in an empty apartment, I’m sure he has his reasons for not wanting to be caught.”
“Maybe he was hopin’ to blackmail her,” Ace tosses out without much conviction.
Jake shakes his head. “He had free run of her apartment for at least a month. She gave him a key, likely for his own protection. Bought food for him and sodas that she never drank. They were friends, and he betrayed that. I’m sure money is the motive but from a different side. Who would hand him the evidence of Blake’s infidelities and the names?”
“One of the women in the pictures?” Cade points out the obvious.
“Possible,” Jake makes a note. “Marcos took the photos when he trashed her things. My imp’s only belongings, destroyed without hope of repair.”
His voice cracks with rage, making Cade stiffen up in his seat.
“What did he have to say?” He keeps Jake going as if it could help stem the rage.
I haven’t seen what happened there but from Shade’s mocking description and Jake’s reaction, it’s bad. Bad enough that the unfeeling psychotic in front of us is ready to kill someone just thinking about it. I can see Ace’s hands clenching into fists as he amps back up, too.
“Fullerton told him to go in, remove the evidence of the theft, and the photos. He handed her everything and received a thousand dollars for his troubles.”
“Nothing else?” Gabe asks tensely.
“No. The techs all got transfers from Blake’s personal account to convince you Amanda was guilty. He’s an amateur, and Fullerton is backing him up. And no, it wasn’t a virus instead of Blake,” he spares us a sneering look. “The IT team didn’t turn on us for money alone. There’s something deeper there. I’m sure your father has a bit to do with that, Gabe. Another reason for their delivery to him.”
“Were they alive for the trip?” Gabe asks viciously. He may not like getting his hands dirty, but he’s not shy about vengeance any more than the rest of us.
“No,” Jake sighs. “That driver may need a raise. I told him not to open the bags. He didn’t listen.”
“Who is the friend you’re looking for?” Cade asks curiously. “You never had a partner before me. Or a team.”
“That doesn’t mean I haven’t made friends, Cadey. Don’t be jealous.” He dismisses.
“Manny will know where she was Sunday,” Ace interrupts, lost in his own thoughts.
“We have to find him first,” Cade sighs.
“I might have made a mistake in my priorities, but it will be done,” Jake taps a finger on the side of his phone.
“So she takes a mysterious trip, gets put in jail, and as soon as she gets out, she goes to Blake?” Cade leans back in frustration. “Why?”
“Did she know he set her up, or was it for the divorce?” Ace looks at Jake as if he has the answers.
“She said she spoke with him. He needs to be added back to your list, Jake.” Gabe’s cold demand is met with a raised brow from the blond psycho.
“I think not,” he sounds amused. He glances around as if he’s waiting for the rest of us to get a joke. When we stare back at him without a reaction, his brows drop in confusion.
“I’m sorry. Am I the only one of us who’s seen our little imp for who she is?”
I look at Ace in confusion. He returns the look, and we both turn to Gabe. He looks just as lost as we are.
“No,” Cade says flatly, drawing our attention. He seems to be the only one following Jake’s logic, and he doesn’t like it.
“Oh, yes, Cadey,” Jake laughs softly. “Did you not see how pleased she was when she admitted she spoke with him? And the very serious weapon she had with her?”
“I know she’s got anger issues, Jake, but that doesn’t always lead to violence,” Cade protests with a glare.
“I’m surrounded by fools,” Jake mutters in disbelief. “Can each of you remove your love-addled glasses for a moment and take in the obvious predator she is?”
I don’t know why the idea of it startles me. She’s faced each of us down without fear for weeks. The only time I’ve seen that nonchalant act stop was Monday. And today, she seems like an entirely new version of herself. I’m not experienced with the cold shoulder from her, but it left me extremely wary on instinct.
An instinct that usually helps me understand a threat is close.
Ace starts nodding. “She tried to take my head off with that stick.”
“Jakob is a baton , not a stick,” Jake gives him a flat glare.
“I’m not surprised you named a weapon after yourself,” Cade mutters. He’s not arguing anymore.
“ South enjoys her company,” Jake points out as if he’s handing us another clue. “She sees the monster in each of us and has nothing to say about it. She made friends with Shade who far surpasses my skill in killing.”
“She’s made her own team. Without us,” Ace says in a wrathful tone.
“They’ve displayed loyalty without games,” Jake gives him a bright smile.
“She needs to understand who we are.”
We all look at Gabe in disbelief. His cold expression is locked down tight.
“Are you insane?” Cade protests nervously and glances at each of us to back him up.
“She’ll run,” Ace agrees raggedly.
They turn to me, but I’m really thinking it through.
Jake has made a lot of good points. I don’t think she knows just how far South or Shade will go with their targets. But from the beginning, she’s treated them the same way she treated us. No fear. Acceptance.
He’s right. She sees us all. She already knows we’re monsters.
“Tell her,” I look at Jake calmly to find him frowning thoughtfully.
“ No ,” Cade snaps. “If she talks, that spells big fucking trouble for her.”
Ace’s mouth opened to blast Cade with rage and snapped shut in surprise. He didn’t say it would be trouble for us . His focus is on her .
Ace’s eyes meet mine with a curious head tilt added.
I didn’t think Cade had it so bad for her, too. He and Jake have kept their interest well hidden. Why?
Possibly because they saw her reaction to Gabe and wanted to stay out of it. Or they thought we wouldn’t let them into it if things got serious.
Were they planning on leaving if she stayed with us? The thought is sobering. I’m not sure if I could be that self-sacrificing, but apparently, they can.
Until we screwed it all up by believing lies.
“If she sees us more clearly, she’ll understand that we’re willing to get our hands dirty against the guilty,” Gabe points out to them as if he’s oblivious to the undercurrents going on around him. Hell, he probably is. Fresh off the anniversary of his mother’s death, having his heart broken, realizing he tried to destroy the woman he’s obviously in love with, and desperately trying to make amends without acting like it. He has his plate full.
“I’ll tell her,” Jake casually agrees and walks out, ignoring Cade’s protest.
“Fuck,” Ace whispers in defeat.
“She has to know we will back her plays,” Gabe insists. “Trust begins somewhere, and it’s past time for it. Maybe if it had happened sooner, all the mistakes wouldn’t have been made.”
We’re all quiet after that.
All that’s left is to wait for her judgment of us as the broken men we are.