Chapter 21 #4
Just as Aron stooped to work on the lock for my cell, there was a loud crash that rang down the hall.
Everyone in the room froze, staring as voices from shouting men echoed down the space, the thundering of boots so loud that each one sent a chill through my body.
The other girls cried out and ran, hiding behind the chesterfield, obviously nervous that we were about to get caught red-handed.
But when I saw a familiar face emerging from the dark, I breathed a sigh of relief and almost started laughing and crying at the same time.
Maverick entered, his grey cut with the black burning spade on the back and shoulders as clear as the blue dragons on the Beasts. He and James locked eyes, and for a brief moment, the hope we’d all felt temporarily abated as they grimaced at each other.
“This is your friend?” James asked, gruffly. “A Spade?”
“He’s no different than the one you had me bring Mina to…” Gavin snapped at him.
At that, James immediately shut up and changed his tune, though he remained a little stiff as he nodded to the blond biker. “Mathers.”
“O’Hare.” He returned the nod before looking around at the group, his men now entering. I recognized Taz and Animal at once, by the distinctive scars and sheer size. But when three beautiful faces followed them in, I cried out and lunged for the barrier, reaching for them.
One by one, Vail, Lee, and Shaw rushed over, all reaching for me through the partition.
I was crying hysterically, only now realizing I’d been pushing the thought of that gunshot I’d heard at the school having possibly hurt one of them.
But they were fine! They were here, and they didn’t look hurt or anything.
I was so fucking grateful that I broke down completely as they all fired questions at me, all at the same time.
Their voices mixed together as just noise in my ears, and I didn’t hear a single fucking thing.
“Wait, wait!” I said, after pulling myself together. “You guys are okay? None of you are hurt? How about the others? How’s Haldon? What about Meredith? Did anyone else get hurt?”
Lee reached through and seized a handful of my shirt, pulling me close.
His warm smile was exactly what I needed to see right now.
“Haldon will be okay. He’ll have a sexy-ass scar, though.
” I laughed breathlessly—more relief. I’m starting to feel light-headed from it.
“Meredith is fine. She’s with him at the hospital right now.
They tried to take her, but holy shit, that was a mistake.
I think she severed four fingers off his right hand? ”
“Three,” Shaw confirmed, his blue eyes shimmering in the low light.
He was probably pressing the hardest against the bars, desperate to get to me, and I was burning with the same need.
I just wanted to feel all their arms around me with nothing blocking us.
He seemed absolutely panicked, his face pinched and gaunt, like he’d been in hell for the past few hours.
I reached for him, too, running my fingers up through his hair at the back of his head while he rested his head between the bars.
“Three,” Lee grinned. I swore that nothing put this guy off. Well, except for Logan. “Then she went head to head with Celeste, who was helping the Jackals grab the girls. It’s because of her that Rebecca was grabbed,” he added darkly, his smile vanishing as quickly as it came.
Fucking Celeste! God, I wish I would get a chance to have a go at her.
“Meredith gouged one of her eyes out with a pen. Then took off her boot and used the heel as a way to hack into her.”
“She’s… Celeste is…?”
“No, not dead. But she’s gonna carry a lot of fucking scars on her face from this.
” Lee didn’t sound at all sympathetic, and I felt the same way.
Celeste made a lot of bad choices and never learned anything from the repercussions.
She was gladly putting other girls’ lives in jeopardy, all because of her desire to be the top of the school, the queen standing at Hunter’s side. Speaking of…
“How the hell did you guys get in here? The Jackals are around, and it sounded like Elias had security-”
“We snuck in the old way,” Vail spoke at last, and I looked up at him, wishing that I could just wrap my arms around his neck and hold him so fucking tight that no one could pry us apart.
Vail pulled me flush against the barrier, our noses just brushing over each other.
“The Spades got in on their friend’s boat.
It’ll come up to the docks as soon as we’re ready to make a break for it. ”
I still had my doubts, but they all seemed so calm and sure of this plan, that I didn’t question it.
“I can’t believe you guys are here…” I whispered to them.
“Like we wouldn’t come for you,” Vail said softly, his fingers sliding into the belt loops of my jeans.
I blinked away the tears that were welling up, not wanting to cry now, especially while we were still in danger.
Yet, I was so grateful that they were here, that they came for me, that a few tears managed to free themselves from the corners of my eyes.
That was when the door to the cell clicked, and Aron swung it open. Before I could move an inch, Lee stepped in and lifted me up off the ground into a crushing hug.
“Don’t fucking hog her!” Shaw snarled, pulling on my shirt.
“Give me one minute,” Lee sighed, and I sank into him, my giant teddy bear.
Across the room, I could hear James and Maverick speaking softly to each other, and I only managed to catch snippets of their conversation as I clung to Lee.
“Heard from them?... When?... I know you can’t say where, but…
she what? A boy?... Really? And it’s his for sure?
... Fuck me…” James’ voice had been breaking a little and when I peeked over Lee’s shoulder at him, I saw him raking his hands through his hair, a wide grin breaking out upon his face, and several tears were falling from his eyes.
Whatever Maverick just told him, it looked like it was the best news he had ever heard in his life.
James pulled Maverick in, hugging him tightly, and muttered again and again, “Thank you. Thank you…”
“Guys, we gotta go now !” Animal was saying, phone pressed to his ear. “Something’s going on topside. Mathers, call in the boat.”
Maverick and James broke apart, and the Beasts and Spades ushered the girls together, assigned one or, in some instances, like with Animal, two. My three boys stuck by me, crowding me close, as we moved to the group.
“Remember, move fast and keep quiet. If we see someone, let us take care of it. No screaming. You got that? Not a sound!” Taz said, keeping Rebecca close to his side.
“When we get to the docks and get you on our friend’s boat, go right below.
Listen to your partner. If we tell you to lie on the ground, you lie on the fucking ground.
If we say to jump in the water, well, if you can’t swim, hold on to someone who can. Alright?”
The girls all nodded, some biting into their fists to keep quiet, but we all understood the severity of the situation. This was our only chance.
Taz led the way down the hall, our group moving after him, and Maverick and James brought up the rear with Gavin.
I was surprised to find that, at the end, there was a metal grate set of stairs leading up.
The thought of being trapped beneath the earth, that if I screamed and screamed, no one could possibly hear me, had my anxiety bubbling to the surface, but I grabbed Vail’s arm, using him to focus on instead.
He led our foursome up after the others, who gathered at a single metal door, with Taz peering out the small, foggy square glass window at his face.
Beyond, I could tell it was night by the pitch-blacksky, which should help aid our escape.
We waited, and waited, for what I wasn’t sure, but I could only assume it was their friend with our transportation.
He’d need to be sneaky to reach the docks without the Faceless noticing.
Behind us, James’ phone buzzed in his pocket, and because we were all too afraid to even breathe loudly, the sound was clear as it angrily droned on and on.
Cursing under his breath, he pulled it out and held the screen up, the light from the screen illuminating his face. The moment he saw the caller, he paled and whispered, “Elias…”
“You have to answer it,” Maverick said to him.
James gritted his teeth, and I knew the last person he ever wanted to talk to was that asshole, but we couldn’t have the prick sending someone down there to see why he was being ignored. He answered and pressed the speaker so that we could hear. “Yeah?” he grunted.
“O’Hare.” Elias’s voice on the other end made me cringe, instinctively moving closer to Vail, who in turn, wrapped his arms around me to pull me in closer.
“What now?” James asked, frustrated. He was barely holding it together.
“I want to know what you’re doing.”
“What the fuck do you think I’m doing?” he snapped furiously.
“I’m sitting here with a kid I never knew I fucking had-” The boys all looking to me, stunned.
“-only to find out you’re gonna put her through what you had planned for my son.
All so you can break me because he outsmarted you, and your pride can’t fucking take it.
Well, congratulations, you fucking did it! ”
When the soft, silky chuckle filled the space, it made me feel like he was right here with us, and I didn’t like it. I wanted out. I needed out of here!
The laughter abruptly stopped, followed by a deathly silence on the other end, before Elias’s voice dipped several octaves and seethed, “What are you doing?”
Maverick looked up at the rest of us, and he looked afraid. More than that. He appeared absolutely horrified. All around me, the girls started to shift where they stood, some whispering to each other in fear or confusion.