Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
Freya
I haven’t slept since Dominic took Hazen away, and Gage carried me kicking and screaming out of the house and brought me to Lucas’s. I’m pacing his bedroom for the millionth time, wondering if Hazen is okay. Is he alive? Fuck.
“Will you just chill out?” Lucas groans from his bed. I glare over at him. He’s kicked back with his hands wrapped around his gaming controller.
“Why are you so chill about this? Hazen could be dead for all we know,” I snap, and Lucas shakes his head, dropping the controller onto the bed.
“Come here,” he says, and I huff, moving over to stand next to the bed. He takes my hand, pulling me so I fall on top of him. I shove against his chest until I’m sitting on his hips, glaring down at him.
“Hazen will be fine. I promise. Dominic won’t let it get that far. Hazen’s an heir of The Brotherhood; he can’t kill him. Okay?” he says, and I nod.
I move off Lucas and settle in next to him, watching the do or closely and waiting for Hazen to come back. The door opens, and I sit up, but curse when it’s just Gage.
“Sorry to disappoint you,” he says, swirling his keys around his finger.
“Have you seen him?” I ask, and Gage shakes his head.
“But he messaged me. Let’s go for a drive.”
I roll over Lucas in my haste to get off the bed, and my knee collides with his balls, making him groan. But I’m in too much of a rush to apologize.
Gage drives us out of the private estate and through the streets of Daringville. He turns down a dirt road with nothing but forest surrounding us on either side.
“Where are we going?” I ask, sitting up straighter in the front seat as I watch the trees fly past my window.
“Just a place that we head to when we need to talk privately without anyone else around. No one knows about this place but us,” Gage says, and I hear the warning in his tone.
Bringing me here is a risk, but it also means I’m one of them now. They trust me, and that means everything to me. Now that Alec’s gone, having them by my side makes me feel less alone. Never in a million years did I think this would happen—working with and falling in love with the enemy—but fate has other plans.
We drive down the dirt road for a good ten minutes until a black motorbike comes into view, with a familiar guy leaning against it. He takes off his helmet as Gage brings the car to a stop, and I’m out the door in a second, running toward Hazen. He looks up just before I crash into his body. He groans and I pull back, checking him over. Part of me can’t help noticing how good he looks in a leather jacket and jeans .
“I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” I ask, taking his hand in mine.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he says, but I can see past his bullshit answer. His breathing is raspy, and he’s leaning against his motorbike for support. My fingers curl around the hem of his T-shirt and I lift it up, taking in a loud inhale. Deep blue and black bruises line his ribs.
“I’m going to kill him,” I growl, lowering his top back down as gently as I can.
“You can’t,” he sighs out in defeat.
“But we have to do something,” I say, taking a couple of steps backward and hitting a wall of muscle. Hands grab my shoulders, holding me in place.
“I’m going to the cops,” I say, folding my arms over my chest.
A rumble comes from Gage’s chest behind me. “What’s the point of that? They’re all in Dominic’s pocket.”
“Not everyone is. I know a good cop. You guys are going to get initiated and become leaders, yeah?” I ask, looking at Lucas, then at Hazen across from me.
“Yeah, but not until Dominic is retired,” Hazen says.
“If I can get Dominic out of the way for at least a little bit, can you speed up that process and do it now?” I ask.
“But we need Dominic to hand over the reins. That’s how it works,” Gage says from behind me, and Lucas chuckles.
“Actually, The Brotherhood law states that if a leader is dead or out of action, and that includes being locked up, a past leader can do the initiation,” Lucas explains with a grin.
I lick my dry lips. “Who? Who would help us do this?”
“My father,” he replies.
“He wouldn’t go against Dominic,” Hazen says .
“He would for this. To have his son as a leader. And my mom is already worried about Dominic going too far. Besides, my father hasn’t got much time left before death takes him. Trust me, he’ll do it,” Lucas says.
“Your mom did help us earlier, so it seems like she’s on our side,” I admit, and Lucas nods.
“She will do this for me.”
“Well, it’s settled then. Tonight we become the leaders of The Brotherhood,” Gage rumbles at my back, then he spins me around and claims my mouth in a hot, demanding kiss.
Lucas hollers, clapping his hands together, and I grin against Gage’s mouth.
Checkmate, Dominic.
I’m back in familiar territory, and it feels like a lifetime ago since I’ve been home. Everything’s the same, yet everything’s different. Everywhere I look, I see him. The hill he took me down when we stole a bike, and he taught me how to ride by shoving me head-first down that same hill. When I fell off, with grazes across my knees, he was there with an ice cream, making it all better.
My feet carry me through the park that used to feel like home, but now it just feels like a distant memory. Without Alec here, this side of the tracks doesn’t feel like home. It never really did. Anywhere he was, was home. The closer I get to our trailer, the further I want to run back. Is she home? Does she already know? How’s she going to take it?
I stop just outside and take a deep, heavy breath in, then let it out. Just get it over with. Twisting the door handle, I step inside, and a figure jumps in front of me, pu lling me into a headlock. I shove her off and she falls to the ground. Her wide eyes, the size of saucers, stare blankly up at me before a smile claims her mouth, and she laughs.
“Oh, Freya, it’s just you. Thought you were that slut, Harriet.” She shakes her head, then starts mumbling under her breath. She slaps her head, throwing her hands around. Yep, high as fuck. This is going to be fun.
I reach out my hand and she smacks it away.
“Where the fuck have you been?” she asks, lifting herself up and off the ground. She moves into the kitchen and starts pulling out drawers, throwing the couple of pots and pans we have onto the ground.
“Around,” I say, coming to stand on the other side of the kitchen counter so that the door is easily accessible. “Mom, Alec... he’s... he’s...” The words get stuck in the back of my throat.
She doesn’t stop, doesn’t hear a word I’m saying. I squeeze my hands into fists and bang them down hard against the kitchen counter. She jumps backward, holding a glass in her hand. Her eyes are wild and staring right through me.
“Alec’s dead, Mom,” I say, and she doesn’t blink, doesn’t move for several heartbeats. Nothing crosses her features and my heart breaks. “Did you hear me?” Tears well up in my eyes. “Alec is dead.”
“You’re a fucking lying cunt. You little—” she screams, throwing the glass toward my head. I duck just in time, and it smashes into a million pieces against the wall behind me. She moves like lightning, coming straight for me, and I manage to dodge out of her way. I bolt straight for the front door, slamming it in her face, and I run.
“Don’t you ever come back here, Harriet, or I’ll kill you,” my mother yells after me. She doesn’t even know who I am. Fuck. There’s no saving her, is there? The dream that Alec and I once had of escaping here and creating a better life for her is gone. Shattered. And I don’t think I can save her because she doesn’t want to be saved. Drugs are her life, and I’m nothing to her anymore.
The streets are quiet as the sun crests over the row of run-down shops. A loud whistle comes from across the street, and Kai steps out of one of the shops, shoving something into his jeans pocket.
“Where the hell have you been?” he snaps when he gets closer.
“Around,” I say, avoiding eye contact. Does he know about Alec?
“I haven’t seen you in ages, and that’s not like us. I haven’t heard anything about Alec—no one’s peeping a word. Have you?”
My chest squeezes tight. I open my mouth, but the words won’t come out. Kai moves closer.
“Ah fuck. Just tell me.”
“He’s gone,” I say, and Kai frowns.
“But we’ll find him,” Kai promises, and fuck , I can’t.
I squeeze my eyes shut. “He’s dead, Kai.”
Silence greets me. Then a bird screeches from above, and I open my eyes, but Kai’s gone. He’s halfway up the street, and I run to catch up. When I reach him, I yank on his arm, but he won’t stop.
“They’re dead,” Kai growls out, staring off ahead toward the train tracks.
“It’s not them,” I say, standing in front of him with my hands on his chest, forcing him to stop.
“Like fuck it isn’t. Don’t fucking tell me you’re with them now? Is that why you’ve been spending so much time over there?” His chest rises and falls against my palm .
“You know I’ve been looking for Alec, and they’ve been helping me,” I say, swallowing the words I really want to admit. That yes, I’ve fallen for them.
“You’ve fallen right into the enemy’s hands, Frey, and they killed him.” The way he says Frey almost brings me to my knees. Alec always called me that. Fuck. Everything is too much. My hands fall from Kai’s chest.
“I’ve gotta go deal with this shit, but it’s not them. It’s Dominic, and he’s going to pay,” I say and start walking off toward the cop shop.
Kai follows me, falling into step beside me.
“Go home, Kai.”
“Fuck off, little one. I’m coming with you, or I’ll be storming over those tracks and killing every motherfucker. You know this could start another war, right?”
“Yes, but I’ve got a plan. So don’t fuck this up for me,” I say, and Kai sighs, not uttering another word. My best friend knows when to shut his mouth. I have no doubt in my mind that he’d go to war to avenge my brother, but then it would only get him killed, and I can’t lose someone else.
“Does ya mother know?” he asks.
“Yeah, I told her this morning, but she didn’t believe me. She’s high as a kite,” I say, kicking a rock along the road.
By the time we walk across town, the cop shop is open. Kai waits out the front, refusing to come in, and begs me not to go to the pigs. He hates them just as much as I do, but I’m hoping that one guy I spoke to earlier will be able to do something.
The lady behind the desk greets me. “Can I see Drew please?” She smiles and disappears through the glass door.
“Back again?” Drew asks, meeting me in front of the desk.
“Yeah, I’ve got some information about my brother. Can we do this in your office or?” I ask, staring through the glass door behind the front desk at some other cops in uniform watching me. There are dirty cops everywhere, in The Brotherhood’s pocket. If what I’m about to tell this guy gets to Dominic before they take action, I’m fucked.
“Ah, yeah, follow me,” he says, moving down a hallway and into an interrogation room. He shuts the door behind him, and I take a seat behind a large table.
“What is it?” he asks, dropping into the seat opposite mine.
“My brother is dead.” Pain rips through my chest, and I don’t think it’ll ever get easier saying those words. I swallow hard, trying to force down all the emotions swarming inside me. “And I’ve got evidence that Dominic Hendrix did it.”
The cop stares at me for several painful seconds before he runs his fingers through his curly black hair. “Show me what you’ve got.”
I spend the next twenty minutes showing him the texts from Mia and the motivation for killing my brother.
“Where’s the body?” he asks.
“A white van came and took it off the fence. He’s buried on the Hendrix property.”
“You’ve got something here, but I’m just not sure if it’ll be enough.”
My fingers clutch onto his necklace in my pocket. “Wait, I forgot this,” I say, placing the necklace on the table.
“What is it?”
“My brother never took this off—we’ve got matching ones. I found this in Dominic’s office. Can’t you test it for blood or something?”
“Ah, yeah, we can try, but with your DNA on it, too, I’m not sure if we’ll get a hit. Let me grab some papers so you can write down your statement, and I’ll take that in for testing.” He lea ves, and a little of the weight on my shoulders lifts.
He returns with some papers and takes the necklace, putting it into a Ziplock bag. I write out my statement and sign it, handing it back to him.
“What happens now?” I ask, praying that they can just go and arrest him.
“We’ll go over all the evidence. It’s enough to arrest him as a suspect, but I’m just not sure if it will stick. I’ll do my best,” he says, and I smile.
“Thank you, and if you can keep him here for as long as you can, that will help.”
“Do I want to know what you have planned?” he asks, collecting the papers and standing from his chair.
“Nope,” I say, shaking his hand, then I head back out the front door to meet Kai.
“All good?” Kai shoves his phone back into his pocket and hops up off the curb.
“Yeah, I think so. Things around here are going to change. Hope you’re ready.”
Kai side-eyes me, shaking his head. “I’m ready for a war, kid.”