61. Caspian
CASPIAN
Cold metal dug into my wrists. My thigh stung from the graze of a gunshot. The field dressing the EMTs gave me could barely pass as satisfactory in a real fucking hospital, but they weren’t exactly trying to keep me alive.
Fucking whatever. I’d been through worse. This graze wouldn’t end me. Nor would Ryuji’s shoulder wound. We’d both be fine, and then we’d get the fuck out of here.
Fucking jail. We were sitting in the police station’s lockup, waiting to be processed. Arrested for an assassination attempt on the mayor. Bullshit, but we knew this was what they wanted. To pin everything on us, make us the fucking scapegoat.
At least Leona got free. God, watching her run was like shoving a knife into my fucking chest. I ached for her.
My fingers tingled with unease, like they knew something was deeply wrong with the world because she was out of my reach—but that could have just been because these goddamn cuffs were cutting off my circulation.
I repositioned myself on the metal benches surrounding the concrete walls of our holding cell. My knee knocked into Ryuji’s, twinging my graze and jostling him. He hissed in pain.
“Sorry,” I murmured, giving him a half-hearted shrug along with my apology.
The holding cell was empty besides me and my brothers. A smart choice on the cops’ side of things, because it looked like Ryuji was about ready to shank anyone else who walked into this room.
One side of it was covered in bars, while the remaining three concrete walls closed us in.
A long metal bench was attached to the wall, stretching across each of the three concrete sides of the room.
Another bench sat in the center of the cell.
We’d clustered in the L of one corner, three on one side, three on the other—so we could all see each other without putting our backs to the bars.
Obi, Wynn, and Ciel sat on one side of the L, while Max, Ryu, and I sat on the other.
I tugged at my handcuffs again. They left the cuffs on all of us even though we were locked in the holding cell. Just to fuck with us.
No one had spoken a word yet.
We’d all been silent since our arrests, mouths practically zippered shut as per Obi’s orders, but I couldn’t hold it in anymore.
“She’s okay, right?” I asked through gritted teeth.
Beside me, Ryuji’s forearm braced against mine. The press of his skin calmed my nerves somewhat, though I still felt ready to burst.
“She’s fine,” Obi answered. He sat statue-still, back ramrod straight. “She got away. I had someone waiting for her.”
“Who?” Ryu scoffed, flipping some hair out of his face. “Felix? That fucker. Byrne?”
Max shook his head. “Not here.”
My jaw clenched. “She’s safe, though?” They’d both walked us through the high-level plan before we agreed to letting her go, but we didn’t know many of the specifics. “You arranged it, Obi?”
“I did. Our woman is remarkable and strong. She will be fine.”
Wynn relaxed slightly, leaning against Ciel. Ryu nudged me again. When I looked at him, his eyebrows furrowed with tension. As best as he could with the cuffs, he entangled our fingers before he turned back to Obi.
“What’s next?” he asked. “You know how much I fucking hate jail. It ruins my fucking skin.”
“I’ve made arrangements for us to be placed in the same cell block as Greco’s capos,” Obi said.
“The same ones we got arrested in the Bronx,” Max added. “Greco has been trying to get them released, but they’re sitting ducks in there.”
It was like you could see the puzzle pieces putting themselves together inside Ryuji’s head by his expression. I smirked as he grinned.
“Maybe jail won’t be so bad after all,” he chuckled. “I’m always down for a good murder.”
I laughed. “You’re insane.”
He propped his chin on my shoulder. “You love me.”
“Yeah,” I said, to his utter delight. “But you’re fucking bananas.”
“You’re head over heels,” he pressed. “It’s kind of embarrassing.”
“Shh, you’re annoying,” I replied. “Okay, so the capos. We take them out next. Then we wait until Leona can get us out? What if things go wrong on her side?”
Obi let out a breath, but his hands were clasped tightly in his lap. “The Department Chief will get us out when the time is right. That’s part of the favor I’ve asked of him. But after we kill the capos, we need to land ourselves in solitary confinement. Ryuji, you’re the man for the job.”
“How am I supposed to get us into solitary confinement?” Ryu asked.
Max leaned in closer, smirking. “Ever started a riot before?”
Ryuji’s eyes went wide. “A riot?”
“A big one,” Max said.
“Can you do it?” Obi asked.
“I was trying to keep this a secret, but the feds missed my last resort knife.” Ryu’s smile was feral. “Yeah, I can do it.”
I’d seen how many weapons they’d pulled off him. It took multiple minutes. “Where the hell is it?”
He blew me a kiss. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
And then he cackled.
See? I knew it. Fucking insane.