Chapter 87 Luca
LUCA
Ivy walks out. It’s the only time I’ve ever been happy to see her leave my sight. Because I need her out of here. And safe.
“I still don’t understand,” Brooke whispers as she stiffly backs away before leaving.
My focus is now solely on the Decider. “So, when do I get to meet the rest of the gang?”
“I’ll contact you when it’s time for the initiation.”
“Will the Keepers committee attend?”
“Gatherings are held virtually. It’s too dangerous for all the key members to assemble in one place.”
“Damn. That’s disappointing.” I chuckle. The chumps who have been traumatizing teenagers for decades are concerned with their own safety. They should be. “Looks like I’ll have to extend them personal invitations myself. I just need a list of their names.”
Decider remains mute for a minute before he finally speaks, “That information isn’t disclosed to new members.”
I shake my head. “For a society built on trust and truth, you all are really secretive.”
He raises his hands, signals for someone to enter. Cain is being escorted in by one of the minions who gives him a shove as Decider laughs. “Did you really think we wouldn’t find your accomplice lurking around in the shadows?”
I was counting on it. “You didn’t notice him at the previous challenges.”
Decider’s head tilts to the side, and I can picture the superior expression on him. “Keepers know all. There were no spies or breaches.”
“Then I guess you all got played, Nicholas.”
There’s a jolt in his posture that brings a smile to my face. “Do you want to drop the theatrics now or when I show up at your house tonight off … Where was it again, Cain? Calhoun Street? It really is game over.”
Cain gets the signal, shifting as he punches the minion next to him while Garrett simultaneously appears and takes the other minion to the ground. And I watch the Decider as he backs against the wall.
He charges at the exit but doesn’t get far as I swing my arm, clotheslining him before he goes down.
I hunch over him and remove his mask. “All that training for the Tomb has come in handy. Or maybe it was the fucking mind games that taught me so well.”
“This will not stand, Montclair,” Nicholas croaks, his hand still on his throat as he coughs. “Garrett, the price for you will be death. Cain, you’re dead too. All of you are finished.”
“Funny how you know his name, and he’s not even a player,” I say as he realizes we know even more about him. “There’s nowhere for you to go. So, run if you dare. Because it’s time for your fate to be decided.”
I haul him to his feet then sink my fist into his gut. He doubles over with a groan. “You will pay for this.”
“And who’s going to do that? I’m waiting for your little Keeper buddies to come save you. Are they not coming?”
His voice is furious as he swings and attempts to hit me. “I’ll kill you myself.”
Blocking the punch, I snatch his hair, hauling his head back. “Try your best.”
I drag Nicholas to a chair and bound him to it as Garrett and Cain get the others tied up also. “Now, time for a little truth and tell. You owe me that much.”
Nicholas tries to get loose but can’t, and I smirk as his panic surges. “I don’t owe you shit.”
Cain steps in front of him as he says, “But you do me. My sister died playing Mercy. I thought it was an accident. But now I believe her teammate—you—sacrificed her to win. Is that correct?” Nicholas squirms as Cain shouts, “Answer me.”
“She signed up to play. She was going to kill me if I didn’t do it.”
Cain states, “I don’t believe that. She said it wasn’t worth it, and she was done playing. That’s the last thing she said before she left.”
“I had to,” Nicholas says.
Moving in front of one of the hooded figures, I take off his mask to reveal the identity I already know. “Adam, I also know where you live, work, eat, and shit.”
Garrett pulls off the other’s mask as Cain announces, “And finally we have Colin joining the party. But not for long.”
Colin says, “Threats will not work. The Keepers will pose more of a threat than you ever will.”
“Oh, it’s not a threat. An eye for an eye is what I’m after.” Cain takes one of the daggers off the table and plunges it through Nicholas’s arm. “But first, we have business to get to. Give us the names. Every. Single. Member.”
Nicholas hollers, thrashing around as he curses.
Cain calmly bends down to his eye level. “We have all the time in the world. You however, don’t.” He pulls out the blade then shoves it back into Nicholas’s arm a few inches away from the first cut.
I ask, “For the trust challenge, who decided on tormenting Ivy with the recording of her mom?”
Nicholas grumbles as the two others remain speechless.
As soon as I get closer to Nicholas, he confesses, “I came up with the location and walking across the catwalk, but I didn’t suggest the audio. It was an AI recording that was made to sound like her.”
“Who was it?”
He clenches his teeth together as I pull the blade out of his arm.
“You can tell me who it was, or you can pay the price for it.” I put the blade against his forearm then push it just enough to break the skin as I slowly drag it up his arm.
His screams echo through the air before he confesses, “It was Harold. He suggested adding the audio. The thirteen members have to approve all the challenges, and they get to have input on everything.”
“Tsk-tsk. Where’s that loyalty at now, Nicholas?”
Colin adds, “He thought it’d catch everyone off-guard because they’d believe the hardest part of the challenge was over.”
The bastard doesn’t know what that one decision cost him. “Yeah. I figured that. Now, give me the other twelve names.”
Nicholas says, “You’ll never touch them. They’re leagues above your juvenile antics.”
“We were good enough to get to you,” Cain chuckles.
I lift my foot and kick the back of the chair as the once almighty Decider helplessly crashes to the floor before I plunge the blade into his shoulder. “We’ll manage. The Keepers aren’t the only ones with connections. I have resources of my own.”
Nicholas hollers, “If I tell you, I’m dead.”
I lean over him. “If you don’t, death will be the only thing you wish for. And it won’t come for you. Because I get to decide when to end your suffering.”
“I’ll tell you,” Colin squeals before he rattles off a list of names.
When I focus back to Nicholas, I can see his fear increasing as I tell him, “Looks like we might not have a lot of time together after all. Pity.”
He mutters, “You’ll regret this. You could’ve had it all.”
“I’ll regret playing more than anything I ever do in my life. The only consolation is knowing that no one will ever play Mercy again. That’s my decision. I am the Decider after all. You picked me.”
His face twists into fury as he yells, floundering around, but he’s incapable of freeing himself.
I glance to Cain who is ready to do what I promised he’d be the one to do.
He stoops beside Nicholas and shoves the dagger into his temple.
As much as I wanted to gut the motherfucker, it was Cain’s rightful place.
His sister was taken because of this game and this player.
And even though I know it doesn’t rectify the void entirely, at least there’s one less Keeper in the world.
“Are you sure they’re not observing us now? That these stooges are the only ones here?” Garrett questions.
“Yes, it was always just these three fools. The others don’t get their hands dirty I’m guessing,” Cain answers before he kills Minion One while I take care of Minion Two.
Garrett surveys the carnage, still ready to go. “Where to now?”
Cain glances to me. “Hospital to get your wrist stitched up?”
“No, it’s fine. I’ve had worse cuts from fighting at the Tomb.” I had to make sure Ivy got out safely, so I made sure to not cut myself too deep. Saving her was my only thought. Thankfully, it panned out.
“Okay. Then let’s finish what we started,” Cain states.
“So, what’s the next step?” Garret asks.
We brought him in at the last minute. He was spiraling after Remy’s death. Mercy did create one thing—vengeance. Because we’re all craving it.
“Next we kill the Keepers.” Every. Single. One.