Chapter 19
LEX
The Obsidian
Tired as fuck.
We’re all slouched around The Obsidian like hungover frat boys waiting for Laing to get to the fucking point. No clue why he dragged all our asses out of bed this early, but I’m about a sip of lukewarm coffee away from throat-punching him for it.
I’m wedged in a booth, my thigh pressed against Cade’s. To our left, Dad and Roman are huddled around a high-top with Knox playing referee between them. Apparently, my mom and the Whitmore’s weren’t essential enough for this early-morning bullshit.
Sabine and Khoza are crammed in the booth to the right with O’Malley while Cal and August have given up entirely. The two idiots have their damn heads lying on a table and are both snoring loud enough to rattle the glassware.
In the far corner, Ellie and Haley look like they’re almost back to sleep. They’re curled up next to Briggs, his arms holding them both in a blanket of muscle.
Trifecta Boyfriend Mode: activated.
Nate, Tex, and Rez are all three leaning against the bar, nursing espresso like it’s bourbon when the door creaks open. Kenji struts down the stairs and whispers in Laing’s ear, handing him something like it’s all some sort of secret drug buy in a sleazy action movie.
“What is going on?” Cade leans over.
“Who knows,” I mutter with a yawn.
Laing clears his throat. “We picked up chatter that The Lotus Market is opening tomorrow night.” He pauses and tosses a flash drive to Knox. “Right here in the city.”
Knox catches it, already booting up a laptop. “You’re kidding.”
“What’s a Lotus Market?” I ask, rubbing sleep from my eyes. “And why the fuck did you wake us up at the ass crack of dawn to talk about shopping?”
“This isn’t about shopping,” Knox corrects.
“It’s an elite, two-night trafficking auction,” Laing confirms.
The screen behind him lights up, revealing a map of Hong Kong with at least twenty red dots blinking across the coast. Each one has a name and a black-and-white photo of a girl beside it.
My stomach knots when I notice the name by the dot flashing in the top right corner.
Wei.
Shit.
Laing doesn’t wait for questions. “When I was a kid, they took my older sister. She was seventeen at the time. Grabbed her right out of her friend’s apartment.”
My gaze drops to his hands, twitching at his sides.
Fucker notices, pockets them, and continues. “We found her body in an alley a few months later. From what my father said, it looked like she ran. Whether it was from the Lotus Market or her buyer none of us know and…”
He pauses.
No one says a word.
“Whoever she ran from shot her in the back six times before she even made it to the street.”
“Oh my God,” Cade whispers beside me, reaching for my hand under the table.
Laing turns back to stare at the map. “Then a few months ago the Lotus Market came back through Hong Kong.” He exhales slowly. “This time they took my little sister, Meilin. Snatched her while she was walking out of school.”
He swallows and turns back to us. His hands find the edge of the table, knuckles bone-white by how hard he’s gripping the damn thing.
“We traced her to The Lotus Market, but by the time we got there it was closed. Vanished. Like it never fucking existed.”
He looks me in the eyes. “I’ve been looking for her ever since.”
Damn it. If you had told me yesterday that I’d ever find common ground with Tattooed fucking Dragon-Dick, I would have punched you square in the face. That’d I’d ever offer to help him? Shit.
“What do you need from us, Mortal—um,” I ask, my voice coming out rougher than it should. “Sorry. I mean.” I clear my throat. “What do you need from us, Laing?”
There’s a faint curve in the bastard’s lips at my hesitation on using his nickname.
“I need to get inside that market. Extract intel. Save who we can, but more importantly, identify the sellers.”
He pauses.
“I need to find her.” His voice cracks, but his posture stays rigid.
I nod.
Knox speaks up, breaking the silence as he scrolls through the files. “The market’s set to open tomorrow night at ten. Hotel off Canal in Chinatown.” He frowns. “That doesn’t give me much time to plan.”
“We’ve worked with less,” Nate adds, stepping away from the bar and taking a seat. He opens up his laptop, typing fast. “Laing, do you know if—”
“Well, well, well,” a sultry voice cuts through the tension.
All our heads turn as a chick in a leather jacket over a tight, lacy black tank saunters up. Late twenties, maybe. Golden-brown skin with hair that spills past her shoulders in long waves of inky black fading to neon pink.
“Nice place you boys got here. Real murder-meets-mixology vibe.” She lets her dark eyes track slowly over the space, a confident smirk playing at her pink lips. “I dig it.”
She’s hot, yeah. But so is a lit match before it burns the shit out of your fingertips. Must be that Mari-something everyone keeps yapping about.
“Marisol,” Tex says, stepping forward. His voice is gruff with surprise. “Nice of you to finally show up.”
She flashes him a slow smile as she strides toward him. “Missed you too, hot stuff,” she says, playfully slapping him on the cheek.
“Marisol,” Nate mutters, his tone clipped.
“Ahh!” Marisol shrieks like a banshee when her eyes lock on Sabine. She breaks into a full sprint, throwing herself into a hug like they’re long-lost lovers. “Where’s my baby?”
“Baby?” I mumble to Cade.
He shrugs.
“Celeste is with Jacques, chérie,” Sabine says, untangling herself.
“Did she just call the fucking snake, baby?” I whisper again.
“I think so,” Cade replies, scrunching his nose.
“Bummer.” Marisol pouts dramatically. “But you look absolutely stunning, chica.”
She air kisses both of Sabine’s cheeks, then spins to Laing like she just remembered he existed.
“Laing.”
Out of nowhere, the bitch launches a blade at Dragon-Dick’s face. He catches it by the hilt mid-air, the tip missing his eye by an inch. Without blinking, he slams it into the wood.
“Mar,” Laing mutters, his voice flat. “Still a walking red flag I see.”
“Awh, honey,” she says, twirling a strand of hot pink hair around one finger. “Don’t tell me you’re still upset over—”
“Marisol,” Nate cuts her off, not even glancing up. “Don’t start.”
“Who are you?” Ellie blurts from the booth, her ocean-blue eyes wide.
Marisol pivots, clocking Ellie and Haley both curled up with Briggs in the corner booth.
“Ahh…” she says, grinning at Ellie. “You must be the blonde Barbie Zeke wouldn’t shut up about.” She eyes her up and down and shrugs. “I don’t see it.”
Marisol’s eyes drag over to Briggs. “Two at once now? Classy, cowboy.”
Before anyone can reply, Nate slams his laptop shut. “Knock it off,” he barks. “For those of you who haven’t guessed, this is Marisol.”
The chick curtsies.
“She’s the daughter of Alejandro Vega, head of Los Cuervos out of Miami.”
“And,” Laing cuts in. “A raging pain in all of our asses.”
Marisol blows him a kiss. “If I’m such a pain in the ass, then why did Zeke choose to come see me instead of any of you?” she says casually.
“What?!” Ellie screeches, nearly launching herself from the booth.
Marisol hums in amusement. “So there was something between the two of you then? I knew it!”
“No… it wasn’t.” Ellie stops, glancing back at Briggs.
He doesn’t say a word. The guy just stares at her like she just knocked the wind out of him.
“It wasn’t like that,” Ellie whispers.
A muscle ticks in Briggs’s jaw, but he still won’t speak.
“Clearly,” Marisol chuckles.
“What the fuck do you mean Zeke came to see you?” Tex snaps.
She spins a chair around and drops into it backwards. “He came by a few days ago,” she says while picking at her neon nails.
“Days?” Knox echoes. “Zeke came and saw you days ago and you’re just now showing up here?”
“What?” Marisol scoffs, glancing up from her manicure. “I got here as fast as I could. But, Daddy had some cartel mess he needed me to sort out first.” She waves him off. “You know the rules, Mr. DJ. Daddy always gets first dibs.”
Cade and I step up beside Nate’s table.
I brace my palms on the edge and lean forward. “What did Zeke want?” I ask, my jaw locked tight.
Her eyes flick up to me. “Who the hell’s the Russian?” Marisol asks, pointing a long, neon pink acrylic nail in my face.
“You better put that finger down,” I snarl.
“That’s Lex,” Nate says, pulling her hand from my face. “He’s one of Bella’s boyfriends.”
“Boyfriends?” She smiles. “Kinky. Didn’t think B had it in her.”
“Marisol,” Nate warns. “Just answer the fucking question.”
“He came and said that he needed to borrow the ring.”
“A ring?” Cade asks.
“The ring,” she corrects, rolling her eyes. “Daddy’s fighting ring. Said he needed it for a Red Hour. Whatever the hell that is.”
Fuck.
Me.
“He said Red Hour?” I ask. My heart is pounding so hard I’m convinced everyone can hear it. “Specifically?”
She nods.
“Lex,” Knox says, eyes narrowing on me. “What’s wrong?”
“The Red Hour,” I start, glancing over at Rez who’s already rushing toward me. “Is phase one.”
“Of what?” Knox asks.
“Our initiation,” Rez answers, calm and cold. “It’s the first step to becoming a Hollow King.”
“Damn it!” I roar, running my hands through my hair. “Rez he’s gonna?!”
“I know.” Rez nods, grabbing the back of my neck and forcing me to lock eyes with him. “Take me off of dancer detail, cousin. I’m going with you.”
I don’t argue.
DING.
“It’s him,” I whisper.
Nate snatches my phone from my grip and plugs it into his laptop. The room goes quiet as Luca’s message takes over the screens on the walls.
@LucaWasHere
Well Lexie, seems like this time you won’t need a clue.
Thanks to the little pink crow’s loose-lipped debut.
Same game, new rules. Only one way to win.
I’ll see you bleed, again and again.
No gallery walls, no spotlighted frame.
Just chains, and teeth, and a bloodstained name.
The Red Hour begins… no white knight to save thee.
Only forty-eight hours ‘til we meet in sunny Miami.
Marisol breaks the silence. “Well that was creepy.”
“What exactly is this Red Hour, Barinov?” Tex asks. “What the hell does he mean?”
I fumble for the words, so Rez answers for me.
“There are three phases in the Hollow Kings’ initiation,” Rez says, his deep voice steady. “The Red Hour. The Blackout. And The Naming.”
“Sounds fun,” Marisol says through a smirk.
“It’s not,” Roman snaps, taking over the conversation. “The Hollow Kings were formed to be a brotherhood of the strongest. Daniel and I wanted it pure. So years ago, with the help of Rez’s father, the three of us created the initiation to ensure only the elite survived the cut.”
“Did you say cut or cult?” Marisol asks.
“Knock it off, Mar,” Tex warns.
“It was a way to filter out the weak,” Dad adds, ignoring Marisol completely.
“For The Red hour, we threw new recruits into three back-to-back fights at The Pit. One against a Northvale football star. One against another recruit. And the third…” His gaze cuts to me, heavy with history we’ve barely discussed. “A masked Hollow King.”
“You win all three, you move on to The Blackout,” I finish, my voice finally deciding to work.
“So Luca’s copying your initiation?” Knox frowns, rubbing at his jaw.
“Seems like it,” I admit.
“Shit,” Rez grumbles, yanking out his phone. “Pick up, fucker.”
“Who are you calling?” I ask.
“DeShawn! Hey man, you with Chase?” Rez blurts into his phone.
“Damn it,” I mutter to Cade. “I didn’t even think about that.”
“What?” Cade asks, his voice shaking a little.
“Okay good. Call the others.” Rez’s icy-greenish-blue eyes bounce between me and Cade. “Make sure no one leaves Redspire until Lex and I get there.”
“Oh,” Cade whispers. “Do you think Luca would really take one of—”
“Just fucking do it man!” Rez yells loud enough Cade flinches and shuts up. “We’ll be there as soon as we can.”
“Look, I don’t mean to be insensitive about Iz or anything,” Laing says, stepping up behind us. “But while you’re down there in Miami getting your face bashed in, what the hell are we supposed to do about the Lotus Market?”
Shit. I forgot about that.
“He’s right,” Cade says. “We can’t all be in two places at once.”
“Then we’ll split up,” Nate says, looking up. That familiar command already slipping into his tone. “Two teams. Each one gets a sniper, hacker, and muscle. Team one: me, Laing, Kenji, Khoza, and O’Malley. We’ll take Chinatown.”
His eyes flick to Briggs. “Stick with the girls. If the Lotus Market really is in town, they could become targets quicker than you think. Don’t let them out of your sight.”
Briggs nods and tightens his arms around both Ellie and Haley. “I’ll keep ‘em safe.”
“The rest of you,” Nate says, snapping his laptop shut and rising, “you’re with team two in Miami.”
“You and Rez should head to Redspire,” Tex says. “Make sure they all know to watch their backs for the next forty-eight hours.”
“Wait what’s going on?” August yawns, him and Cal finally waking the fuck up and blinking at the room like two dazed golden retrievers.
“Idiots,” Cade mumbles under his breath, shaking his head.
“Call your coach, Rez,” Nate adds, completely ignoring the two Row Rats. “Get that football team on alert too.”