Chapter 38
CADE
The Obsidian
The second we get back to The Obsidian, Lex heads straight for the vodka.
It had taken a small miracle to choose who was staying downstairs and who was coming up here without making what Nate called a scene.
I get it.
What started out as a plan for a fake website spiraled into Roman creating an actual charity in Bella’s mothers honor.
Roman poured his blood, sweat, and tears into the thing.
Going through Izzy’s things took a lot out of him.
Mom noticed the grief hovering, so she jumped in and helped set the charity up. Made it legit in less than a few days.
Plus, the girls worked their asses off to make tonight’s Casino Night a success. And it’s been a massive win. The donations were raking in and the last thing we needed was a spotlight on us for the wrong reasons. That money is going to help so many people fighting the same darkness that took Izzy.
The same darkness I pray never swallows Bella whole.
A heavy thud of a glass hitting the counter breaks the silence.
“Someone better start talking,” Lex says, pouring himself a shot and shooting it back. “Right fucking now.”
“Briggs,” Tex says. He nods at Caleb who’s lounging in a booth with my sister perched on his lap. “You’re up.”
Ellie shifts as Caleb slides her off of him and stands. He steps forward, tie half-loosened and hands a white envelope addressed to Knox.
“The hell’s that?” Lex asks, pushing off the bar and striding toward Knox.
“Zeke gave it to El,” Caleb says. “When he had her pass him the necklace.”
Knox opens it and frowns. “Blank sheets of paper?”
“That’s Zeke’s big pretty please secret? Fucking blank paper?” Lex scoffs, rubbing his neck. “Should’ve shot the—”
“Lex!” I cut in, rising from the booth next to Khoza. “Knock it off, babe.”
Lex shoots me a glare. He scrapes the chair next to Knox out and plops down in it.
“Does the twenty-two mission mean anything to you?” Caleb looks to Knox. “‘Cause he said that he hadn’t seen me since the twenty-two, and I ain’t got a clue what that means. Last time I saw Zeke was Memphis.”
“Twenty-two?” Knox squints while rubbing his temples. “Twenty-two,” he repeats before leaning back and shaking his head. “No. I have no idea what he—”
“I do,” Nate cuts in. He reaches over the table and yanks the papers out of Knox’s hands. “This is about Krolek.”
Lex’s breath hitches at the name of the trafficker who got Bella put in Miami. I grip his shoulders and force him back into the seat, thumbs pressing into the tension there.
“Care to share?” Lex huffs.
“It was a long time ago,” Nate starts, lifting the paper to the light. “When Bella was what? Seventeen?”
“Sixteen,” Tex corrects. “Intel came in on her birthday.”
“Right.” Nate nods, setting the blank sheets down. “Anyway, long story short, we saved twenty-two minors from one of Krolek’s men that night. The bastard never showed and shit got bloody, but none of the kids were harmed.”
My fingers halt on Lex’s shoulders. “How’s that about Bella?”
Nate shrugs. “No clue. Bella didn’t even go on that mission. Zeke had her side-lined so Krolek wouldn’t see her.”
Tex snorts. “She was not happy about getting benched.”
Footsteps pound behind us. The table darkens as Khoza’s shadow engulfs Nate.
“Eish! You’re forgetting one very important part of that night,” he says, his deep voice vibrating against my chest.
“What’s that?” Nate asks.
Khoza leans down and picks up one of the sheets. He flicks a lighter and drags the flame beneath the paper. For a second—nothing.
Then, ink bleeds into existence. I suck in a breath as he lays the sheet down in front of a very wide-eyed Nate.
“How that Polish bastard sent word to his men,” Khoza adds.
“Holy hell,” Lex mutters.
“What does it say?” I ask, peering over Lex’s shoulder.
“This one’s a letter,” Nate says as he slides it to Knox. “For you.”
“And this one…” Khoza says, revealing the second page with the flame. “Looks like…” He squints. “Math? And some sort of drawing.”
Lex glares up at him. “Zeke gave us math?”
Khoza shrugs and hands it to Knox.
“Not math.” Knox scans it, eyes narrowing. “It’s code.”
Lex huffs. “For what?”
Knox turns the page on its side. “Guys,” he says, eyes blown wide as he glances at Lex. A small smile curves at his lips. “I know how to get the collars off.”
“You sure?” Lex asks, his voice shaky.
“Yeah.” Knox nods, his eyes scanning fast. “It’s gonna take some time but…” He lets out a breathy laugh. “I can do it.”
A warm rush of relief washes over me so fast it makes me dizzy. Under my hand, Lex lets out a rough breath. His shoulders finally dropping an inch at the first piece of good news in nearly two months since we lost her.
“Thank God,” I murmur.
Lex’s hand comes up, covering mine. “How long?”
“Not sure yet,” Knox admits. He looks around us toward the bar. “Laing, come here.”
Laing sets down his drink and pushes off the barstool. The closer he gets, the tighter my grip becomes on Lex’s shoulders.
Knox hands him the sheet. “What do you think?”
Laing’s eyes skim it once. Then again, slower.
“Damn, Z,” he huffs under his breath, a low laugh following.
“What do you think?” Knox repeats.
Laing hands it back. “I think it’ll work.”
He pauses.
“Once we get close enough.”
“The hell does that mean?” Lex mutters, tension snapping right back into his shoulders.
I start rubbing slow, firm circles into the muscle.
Laing leans over Knox’s shoulder and taps the bottom corner of the page. “I mean all of this?” he says. “Yeah. That’ll work.”
Another tap.
“But this right here is the fucking problem.”
My stomach drops.
Laing straightens, dragging a hand down his jaw. “We have to disable Luca’s remote access first.”
Silence slams into the room.
“Zeke’s code won’t mean shit,” Laing adds, shaking his head. “If Luca triggers this first.”
Lex goes still under my hand.
“What is it?” I ask.
Laing looks at us and sighs. “Dead man’s switch.”
Ellie gasps from the corner booth.
“How do we stop him from doing that?” I mumble.
“It’s probably in here somewhere,” Knox says. He takes the lighter from Khoza and runs the paper back over the flame to darken the ink. “I’ll scan it in and get to work.”
I nod and force a tight smile.
“You said the first one was a letter,” Ellie says, her voice soft. “W-what did it say?”
Knox grabs the other page and runs it quickly over the flame.
“Basically,” he says. “Zeke says that this is a schematic of the collars and how to hack it, blah, blah, blah…” He runs his finger down it. “Talks about the dead man’s switch, no shocker there… And oh! How to deactivate it, that’s good.”
He continues to skim the page. “Ah!” he shouts. “Here’s something.”
Knox’s eyes find Lex.
“What?” Lex mutters, voice snapping on the t.
“He asks me to tell the guys. I’m assuming that’s the two of you—” He waves a hand between us. “That not everything you’ve seen on Luca’s camera is real.”
Knox shoots a quick glance up at Tex and nods.
“That there is and I quote, No way in hell I would ever hurt my little sister. Not now. Not ever. She’s everything I have left.
My only reason to keep breathing in this hell Luca calls Eden.
Everything I’ve done in this place has been to keep me and her alive.
Or to find my way back to her. So when you see…
” Knox stops himself, smiling as he reads.
“So when you see what?” I ask.
“When you see something that doesn’t make sense, pretty please trust me. It ain’t what it looks like.”
“Called it,” Tex says, grinning with dark eyes a little glassy.
“There’s more,” Knox adds. A small laugh escapes his mouth as he eyes Zeke’s words. “So when you get here, Lex, for the love of God don’t fucking shoot me.”
I chuckle. “Is that it?”
Knox shakes his head. “Briggs, I need you to go grab your brothers, some suits, and a few masks,” he continues reading the letter aloud. “The three of you have a party to attend.”
Knox flips the page over. “Nate, is there something else in the envelope?”
Nate opens it up and shakes it out. A small piece of plastic, no bigger than a hotel room key falls out.
“What is that?” Lex asks, leaning forward.
“Inside the envelope you’ll find a keycard,” Knox reads. “It’ll get you access to—what the hell?!”
“What?” Lex and I both say in unison, panic flooding our voices.
Knox swallows. “To my sister and Luca’s engagement masquerade.”
DING.
I flinch at the sound.
@LucaWasHere
The crowd once roared for blood and bone.
Where kings were crowned on shattered stone.
The sand still drinks what men will spill.
An empire born on iron will.
If the lights go out, Lexie, don’t be afraid.
The dark is where your debts are paid.
The city sleeps while I pull the strings,
For Rome is where the devil sings.