Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Freya
A s I look around into the dark night, the trees sway back and forth, creating an eerie atmosphere that fills me with unease.
I haven’t been down here in years. I fight back all the memories that threaten to play in my mind. Memories I’ve locked up deep within me, then thrown away the key. Nothing good ever came from living here. Only bad.
I move toward the wooden stairs that lead back up the cliff to Lucas’s place, watching every shadow that dances around me. A towel, and a black hoodie sit on the bottom step, and I freeze. I look around frantically, but no one’s there. Lucas is slowly making his way along the shore, watching my every move.
I quickly grab the towel, dry myself off, and throw the sweatshirt over my head. It falls above my knees, and Gage’s signature sandalwood and spicy scent overwhelms me. He left this here for me. Why? He hates me and I hate him. This makes no sense.
Lucas comes up behind me, taking the towel from around my neck, and he starts drying himself off, removing his wet shirt in the process. I try to avert my eyes from his naked chest, but it’s near impossible. I need to get out of here before my body decides to take over again.
I bound up the stairs, taking them two at a time, eager to reach the top of the cliff.
“See you around, little thorn,” Lucas yells, and I flip him off again over my shoulder.
Gripping the handrail tightly, I struggle to regain my breath at the top, feeling lightheaded and dizzy. The house seems alive with the constant ebb and flow of people, accompanied by the echoing melodies of music.
With the hood pulled over my head, I keep my gaze lowered as I make my way to the cliff edge, searching for where I dropped my phone. I pick it up and find my brother’s number. My fingers tremble as I press dial and silently pray that he’s still around to give me a ride home. With each ring, hope rises, only to be dashed as the call is sent to voicemail. Fuck. I’ve got a couple of missed calls from Amirah, along with texts asking if I’m okay. I quickly type back telling her I just jumped off the cliff and ask if I can borrow her car or get a lift from one of their drivers.
My phone vibrates in my hand.
Thank fuck you are okay. You scare the shit out of me when you get all weird and do reckless shit. Richard is waiting—the black Rolls Royce. Text me when you get home x
I reply, thanking her, and make my way over to the front of the mansion, keeping my head down to avoid making eye contact with anyone. Spotting the car waiting for me, I hurry to it and eagerly climb in, settling back into the plush passenger seat.
Resting my head against the door, I struggle to keep my eyes open, fighting off sleep. Even though I trust Richard and have known him pretty much my whole life, I need to stay awake. Be alert. I’ll never drop my guard again because when you do, people take advantage of it.
“Just drop me at the tracks please, Richard,” I say with a yawn, and he nods.
Richard pulls up shortly after, and I take a moment to thank him before getting out. The asphalt bites into my feet and I grit my teeth. While I walk away from the car and into the cool night, the outpost house is engulfed in headlights, almost blinding me, but providing light for the path over the tracks. Four guards stand directly in front of me. I flip back my hoodie and one of them steps forward, eyeing me up and down.
“What are you doing on this side of the tracks?” one of the guards says, moving closer, and I fight the urge to punch that smug look off his face. I’m tired and I just want to sleep.
I sidestep him, ready to sprint over the tracks, but he blocks my path again. “I’ll make this easy for you, since you clearly need help. You move, and I go back over there to my side of the tracks. Simple, right?” I smirk, placing a hand on my hip.
He laughs, a wicked gleam in his eyes. “If you want to go over there so badly, get on your knees, baby, and show me how much you worship elite cock.” He grins, cupping his dick through his pants, and I roll my eyes. I’m so done with this fucking asshole. It’s been a hell of a night, and all I want to do is roll into bed and sleep for days.
I start walking, barging past the guard whose mouth needs washing out with gasoline. I get a couple of steps over the tracks before a hand grips my arm, pulling me to a stop.
“Get the fuck down on your knees. Now,” he growls.
All the humor from before is gone, and I swallow hard. Sweat drips down my back. He could kill me, but not without their approval. I fall to my knees.
Tires screech to a stop from somewhere behind us, a car door slams, then a gunshot rings through the night. The guard drops his hand as he stumbles backward, checking himself for injuries. I look around, my knees digging into the road.
The headlights from the car blind me. Lucas storms over, gun in hand, aiming it at the guard. His lips curl back and he looks me over, his eyes softening for a second before hardening again. The guard’s arms are shaking, and I feel sorry for him for a split second before I remember what he did to me.
Another loud gunshot splinters my ears, and the guard falls to the ground. He killed him. Oh God. But why? Was it for me? My heart pounds harder and harder as Lucas turns his gaze on me, and he looks scary. His chest rises and falls, and I can’t move. I can’t breathe.
There’s a loud whistle over the tracks and I break eye contact to find Kai and a couple of members from 18 Hood surrounded by a bunch of people who have stepped out from the shadows and into the light. Bear and Zion flank Kai and look like they are ready for war.
Kai’s wearing a black oversized hoodie with their written logo on the front. He eyes me up and down before meeting my gaze. I press my lips together, and he nods.
“Let her the fuck go, or I won’t hesitate to put a bullet between your eyes. I don’t give a fuck about the consequences,” Kai growls, taking a step forward so his foot lands over the first track. He looks lethal, glaring at Lucas with his rifle in his hand, ready to fire if they make one wrong move.
Lucas laughs, shoving his gun into the front of his slacks. “Watch your fucking mouth. We’re the ones in charge here—not you. One wrong move, brother, and I’ll kill you all.”
Lucas reaches down, offering me his hand. Kai raises his weapon, finger on the trigger, and I’m ready to bolt, not wanting to be stuck in the middle of a shootout. Part of me wants to protect Lucas from them, and that confuses the fuck out of me. I should hate them. My family is on the other side of the tracks, not here. Not in Daringville—they abandoned us.
“I’m fine, Kai,” I say, and he nods but doesn’t lower his gun.
I take Lucas’s hand and let him pull me to my feet. He heads over to his car opening the back door and pulls out a black bag before passing it to me. I look inside finding my uniform and shoes.
“I’ll be seeing you real soon,” he says before grabbing the back of my neck and pulling me in for a heated kiss. Butterflies scatter through me and then it’s over. He pulls back and walks over to his car.
Pulling my black sneakers out of the bag, I step into them before walking across the tracks straight to Kai, who messes up my hair, his fingers getting caught in the wet tangles.
“You fucking scared us, Frey,” he says, hitting me in the arm. I shove him away playfully. “And tell me my eyesight is fucked because I swear I saw you kissing the enemy.”
“Yeah, you’re seeing shit,” I reply, having no idea what to say about that. He’s right, I did, and I have no idea how I feel about that.
“Hey, kid,” Zion says, scuffing up my hood, and I swat him away, laughing.
We don’t move until the guards disappear into their security box, carrying the corpse with them. Kai keeps his arm over my shoulders as we walk through the streets. My wet hair clings to the back of my neck and the hood keeps me warm, but only just.
Music echoes through the streets, and they are full of life. A few people walk around with bottles in their hands, muttering to themselves, and others are huddled together talking smack.
“You weren’t really going to shoot them, were you?” I ask.
Bear scoffs, but doesn’t say a word. He hardly ever talks, and most people don’t understand his silence. They are afraid of it because they feel they have to fill in every moment of silence. But I find it refreshing, and if they’d been through what he has, then they’d understand.
“You know I’d start and finish a war for you,” Kai says, squeezing my shoulder, and I smile, believing every single word. He’s my ride-or-die, and I’d do the same for him.
“Now are we going to get fucked up or what?” Zion asks, picking up a rock from the ground and throwing it at a traffic sign.
“Yes, I need to forget tonight ever happened,” I reply, and Zion hollas into the sky.
It’s about to get messy.
If I hear one more tick from the clock in the diner, I’ll murder somebody.
My head’s throbbing, threatening to crack under the pressure, and I wouldn’t blame it if it did. One last area to clean before my shift’s over, and it couldn’t come quickly enough. The day has gone by painfully slowly, and I blame Zion for making me chug that wine from the cask. That pushed me over the edge. Bile threatens to come back up my throat at the thought of it. The taste of burned fruit lingers in my mouth.
The diner’s empty by the time I finish cleaning. I lock the door, leaving the key in the lockbox, and pull out my phone. My messages to Alec have gone unanswered, and I try not to worry. He’s a grown-ass guy, and he can take care of himself, but it doesn’t stop the churning in the pit of my stomach.
He missed another shift at the diner, and they are threatening to fire him. He needs this job, but apparently, he doesn’t seem to think so. He’s so caught up with this little drug operation that he’s throwing away everything else. I just hope he doesn’t get into trouble. Nothing good comes from getting involved with guys like that.
After pulling Gage’s hoodie out of my shoulder bag, I throw it over my head, lifting the hood up. I should have torched it the moment I got home, but I haven’t. It’s warm, and it’s the only jumper I have without holes in it. That’s the only reason why. Not because it belongs to him, and I can still smell his signature aftershave. No fucking way. I don’t do things like that when it comes to guys like him. Only desperate groupie bitches do. Fuck that.
I look around the empty parking lot, hoping to find my brother’s car, but he’s nowhere to be seen, yet again, and there’s a small part of me that hoped Lucas would be here. A really stupid, pathetic part of me. I don’t need anyone to come to my rescue—especially them.
I sigh, starting the walk home, the streetlights illuminating the empty parking lot.
My phone vibrates in my hand, and for a split second I pray it’s Alec, but Mia’s name appears over the screen. I frown, sliding it unlocked. Before I can even say hello, she rushes out, “Have you seen Alec?”
“No, why?” I don’t bother telling her he didn’t show up for work or that I’m worried about him. She’s one of them, and I don’t trust her. Never have.
“He’s gone missing.” Mia starts crying through the phone and I pull back, squeezing the bridge of my nose.
“Mia, listen, he’s going to be fine. He’s just caught up in some stuff. He’ll be back soon.”
She continues to cry, then eventually hangs up without saying goodbye. I shove my phone into my back pocket and squeeze my eyes closed. Fuck, now Mia is worried and I’m no closer to finding him. My head pounds behind my eyes, and I just want everything to go back to normal, with Alec home safe.
After opening the door to our trailer, I shut it behind me and flick the lock automatically. It’s pitch black inside, and a shadow moves from somewhere to my right. I jump, flicking on the lights, fists up and ready to attack. My mother stares back at me, eyes as wide as saucers, and she cocks her head to the side. My shoulders relax slightly with the realization it’s just her and not someone else. She’s clearly off her face, and I can’t deal with this. I raise my eyes to the ceiling, shaking my head slightly.
“What the fuck do you want, cunt?” she growls out, her jaw moving from side to side.
“It’s me, Freya. It’s okay, Mom,” I say, taking slow steps toward the kitchen. She watches me intently before throwing her head back and laughing like a loon. She falls onto the couch and stares out the window into the darkness.
She starts mumbling to herself, and I leave her, heading to my bedroom and locking the door behind me. It’s a necessary precaution in case Mom tries to get in later to steal some more things to sell to support her habit.
My phone vibrates against the pocket of my pants and there’s a message from Mia telling me to call her if I hear anything about Alec.
I’d know if anything bad happened to him. Amirah would have told me if things with the boys had taken a turn for the worse, and I’d feel it in my bones. Everything is going to be fine. We are so close to getting out of this town—it has to be. Right?