Chapter 30 Spencer
It’s been almost a month, and I still have nearly nothing on Jade.
I’ve tried, fuck have I tried to let it go, but I just can’t.
She’s everywhere, in our school, our home, the clubs.
Her pomegranate scent lingers all over the house, and no matter what room I’m in, little things let me know she’s been there even when she's not.
It’s driving me insane, crawling under my skin like an itch I can’t scratch.
The only thing I found was that one of her twin blades was missing from her right boot a few nights after the murder at the station.
But before I could even call her out on it, she had them both again.
She never mentioned it being gone. I wouldn’t have even known if I hadn’t snuck into her room the night before our meeting last week.
As far as evidence goes, that’s pitiful. I can’t even bring myself to tell the guys about it because I know it won’t be enough.
All of this has pushed me to a point of desperation so strong that I’m willing to do anything to uncover the answers I know are here, waiting to be discovered.
Desperation led me to the point of having Jade secured and knocked out in the trunk on our way to Hopper's interrogation rooms.
That same desperation drove me to call Jamerson and Ant for help instead of my brothers. I know they would never assist me with this, much less let me go through with it.
Yeah, I’m desperate.
The only problem is that I’m not sure if I’m desperate to be right or wrong anymore.
Fuck!
I slam my fist into the steering wheel so hard that my knuckle splits. Ant side-eyes me from the passenger seat but doesn't comment. I can’t blame him; I’ve been a mess all night, and I know they can tell.
I’m usually pretty laid back. Not much gets to me, but Jade has, and now I’m a fucking mess for everyone around me to see. Hiding this from the guys isn’t helping, but they would never go for it, not even with permission from the boss.
Which I have.
I busted my ass to look up everything I could, used every skill I had, which is a fucking lot and still got nowhere.
So I went up the chain, right to the boss.
I have an email for Froggie for work and emergencies.
It’s encrypted by someone who might even know their shit better than I do.
I tried to do it independently, but had to give in after so many dead ends and failures.
I explained my suspicions to the boss in the least crazy, stalker, fucking madman way possible.
Playing hard on the implications this could have on Vengeance and the dangers we’re putting ourselves and Rick’s family in.
It was a low blow.
I don’t need to trust Jade to know she would never hurt Rick's family or anyone else who didn't deserve it. She looks at Clair like she's her savior, and I guess, in a lot of ways, she kind of is. But desperation makes people crazy, and I’m so done with feeling crazy over this.
The boss permitted me to bring her in and get answers by any means necessary. While I don’t intend to go further than asking questions and using a possible scare tactic, I’m grateful for the boss taking this seriously. It made me feel slightly less insane.
Thanks to my lead foot tonight, we pull up to the club in record time. Unfortunately, the sedative I hit Jade with isn’t long-lasting, and I would rather get her here and down to the rooms before it wears off instead of dosing her again.
A second dose will keep her out longer, and right now, every minute is precious. It won’t take long before the guys realize she’s missing, and I need to get all the answers I can get before that. I’ll never get another chance like this one, so I need to make it count.
We pull up to the shed that sits at the back of the property. Only full members of Vengeance know that it’s more than a shed. Well, us and the unlucky bastards who end up down there with us.
I’m not sure if it’s something Froggie added or something that was there when he bought the club, but it doesn't matter much. Inside the shed, there is a cellar hatch that leads down a set of concrete stairs to five rooms, which we use for interrogation or torture, whichever is needed.
I pop open the hatch and hesitate for a moment. Her hands are bound, and so are her feet, her head lolled to the side, giving the appearance that she's simply asleep. I know better, though. It’s just the effect of the sedative. I would know. I’m the one who hit her with it.
I look at her for a moment, feeling like an asshole for doing this, but I push the feeling away; I have to know, or I'll never get past this shit.
Jamerson reaches into the trunk, intending to scoop her up and bring her down. We rarely bring lower ranks with us, but when we do, they do the bitch work. I don't know whether it’s being helpful or sucking-up, but I never complain.
Before he can grab her, I lunge forward and scoop her into my arms. I’m not sure why I do it, but it’s done, and I can’t exactly put her back down now. I initially had zero intention of touching her, more than happy to let him carry her, but at the last moment, my body moved.
I try not to focus on the why as I make my way through the shed and down the cold, damp stairwell.
With nothing else to focus on other than my thoughts or Jade in my arms, my thoughts are the safer option.
I don’t want to cause her harm, just get answers, and if the sedative were to wear off while Jamerson or Ant had her, she’s liable to freak out.
Jade doesn't like to be touched, and she likes it even less when she doesn’t know someone, especially if that someone happens to be a man.
Not that I’ve been paying attention.
But I can’t blame her.
I’m not much better, especially right now, but at least I’m a face she knows.
We head into one of the rooms, and just like always, a single sturdy chair is waiting for us in the center—tools and other equipment are laid out on a long table to the far right.
The lighting is terrible on purpose, and the room is damp and grungy to give a setting that puts most people on edge. I wouldn’t want to wake up here.
I doubt this will affect Jade with the time she’s done in the pit and living in the rings, but I needed somewhere that the guys wouldn’t get to as quickly when they discovered her missing, and this was the easiest option.
I set her in the chair, and someone hands me zip ties. I grab them without looking, cutting the ropes from her arms and legs, and I get to work binding her to the chair.
Now we wait for her to wake up and hope she’s willing to talk.
Somehow, I doubt it will be that easy. Nothing with Jade ever seems to be.
It doesn’t take long before she stirs. Ant and Jamerson stand off to the side of the room, whispering back and forth, but I ignore them. I haven't been able to take my eyes off Jade since I put her in that damn chair, silently willing her to wake up so we can get this over with.
She cracks an eye open, and our gaze pulls to each other like a magnet.
I expect her to be confused or maybe even scared, but a smile spreads across her face, slow and menacing instead. It reminds me of that smile Zander often gets right before he gets stabby.
I have to repress the urge to shiver at the sight of it. Reminding myself mentally that she might be dangerous, but I’m not here to hurt her, and she's zip tied to the damn chair.
“Hello, Spencer,” she says, her voice rough from lack of use, as if she just woke up from a nap, or you know, was knocked out.
Jamerson hops in when I say nothing.
“We do the talking here,” he tells her, kicking the leg of her chair as they make their way to my side. It causes her to sway slightly. The sedative must still be minorly affecting her.
I have to hold back from lashing out at him, reminding myself he has no idea who she is.
I didn’t tell them on purpose so they could do their job without worrying about the consequences.
Which could come back to bite them should the guys find out, but I can’t afford to have them being jumpy.
I might have found nothing on her, but my gut tells me she’s the biggest monster in the room.
It has since I saw her for the first time, and that's not something I can make myself ignore.
“Is that so?” she asks him without looking away from me, her voice a mocking tone that both pisses me off and makes me respect her more, simultaneously.
I knew Jade wouldn’t crack easily, but part of me was curious to see how far she could be pushed.
Apparently, grabbing her off campus, knocking her out, and taking her to an underground room so that she can wake up, tied to a chair, isn’t too far.
Good to know.
I can feel both the guys’ eyes on me. I’m sure they want to get this going, but I’ve told them nothing other than that we needed to grab her and get her here for questioning. Of course, they can’t question her without knowing what to ask, so it falls to me.
“Are you ready to share, Demon?” I ask her, my voice dripping with disdain at the stupid nickname I’ve given her. It’s fitting, but I hate how easily it rolls off my tongue.
She cocks a brow at me as if she can sense my thoughts, but says nothing.
After a moment of silence, Ant steps up to the table. He grabs something before joining us again in the center of the room.
I reluctantly pull my eyes from hers in favor of seeing what it is he grabbed. The table has many things, but mainly, it has weapons. Things that will make even the most tight-lipped captives spill it all, courtesy of Zander.
Ant comes up behind her with the knife he just grabbed and lightly traces it against her throat in a way that’s meant to be intimidating. Too bad he doesn't know Jade better. I can almost guarantee it won’t have his desired effect.