Chapter 26
Shit!
Jack is already near the exit of the diner before I register what’s happening.
I dart after him through The Translucence, following without his knowledge. That also means I can’t jump in the car we left double parked on the cross street. Not that I would have had time to get to it without losing Jack’s position anyway.
If he gets back to Hell’s Gate, we’re fucked.
He’s fleeing west on Kingston Avenue toward the middle-class neighborhood of Glenside East. He must be heading to the intersection with Beacon Street, which also serves as the western border of Hell’s Gate further south. Once he’s in Glenside East, it’s just a few blocks down to protected Hell’s Gate territory.
That can’t happen.
I jump through The Translucence to propel myself to the intersection with Beacon Street, intending to cut him off. When I see his silhouette rushing toward me, I breathe a sigh of relief.
I cross over into the human dimension and brace for war.
Jack nearly stumbles when he sees me appear twenty yards in front of him. A cold smile spreads over my lips as I stalk forward, waiting to see what he does next. I’m itching for a fight, but knowing this coward, we’ll be running first.
Sure enough, after just a second of thought, he hangs an abrupt left and takes off down Martin Street. While that route will take him toward Hell’s Gate as well, his only hope of finding safety would be a main access point like Beacon Street. He’ll still have to cut west at some point.
“Fuck,” I mumble as I launch forward. I really hate running.
Sixth Street runs parallel to his path and is a closer route south for me, so I race down Kingston toward the intersection with Sixth, hoping he won’t double back. If he does, I’m screwed.
Then I see Gabi.
“He went right on Martin!” I shout to her.
Thankfully, the streets are relatively empty at this time of night. During the day, there’s no way she would have seen or heard me from a block away.
She pauses for just a second before taking off down the street her father just did.
Reassured that he can’t double back, I sprint down Sixth, my heart hammering in my chest. No matter what happens, I have to reach him before Gabi does. I don’t trust the bastard not to hurt his own daughter to save himself. He’s already proven he’s that selfish.
I dodge a few pedestrians who stare after me in irritation. A couple shout profanities, but I ignore them as I speed past. I’m faster than humans, although not by much in this dimension.
Just has to be enough to catch Jack Wells.
I spot the intersection with Lincoln Avenue up ahead, relieved that I don’t see any sign of Jack speeding by on the cross street.
I’m just a few yards from Lincoln when a man steps out of a bar into my path.
The collision is hard and violent. Both of us go sprawling to the ground in a hurricane of limbs. Asphalt rips into my knees and elbows as I land in the street with a thud. My vision foggy, I squint over to see the man screaming at me. He doesn’t seem badly injured, just pissed.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” he yells.
“Sorry,” I rush out, pushing myself up.
Pain radiates from several parts of my body as I stagger forward, picking up speed with each step.
“Hey! Get back here, asshole! Hey!”
Hell no. I’m not risking everything because some dude is having a bad day.
I dart across the street to make the left onto Lincoln, while the stranger continues shouting threats from behind me.
Adrenaline quickly drowns out any remaining distractions as I power down the sidewalk.
A second later, Jack emerges from Martin Street onto Lincoln. His gaze darts around the intersection, then locks on me. We’re closer now, and he freezes in place. His eyes go wide with recognition.
That’s right, asshole. Remember me?
“You,” he breathes out as I approach.
He glances to his left, then thinks better of it. He must realize he can’t outrun me. Especially, since he’d have to go in the opposite direction he needs to go.
I take several long strides toward him, more confident now that I’ve got him trapped. Gabi appears behind him as well, strengthening our position.
“You okay?” I ask her.
“Yeah. You?” she returns.
I nod.
Jack’s jaw drops further when he realizes we’re together.
“You know him?” Jack asks his daughter.
“I’m in love with him,” she answers without hesitation.
His expression goes blank before scrunching with disgust. “You can’t be serious. Do you know what he is?”
At this point, we’re just a few feet from each other. Any chance of him escaping is out. In my experience that makes him even more dangerous. I’m proven right when he reaches under his jacket.
Ah, fuck.
A second later a gun is pointed in my direction. I’ve lost count of how many times at this point.
“Dad, no!”
Jack doesn’t even look at his daughter. His icy focus remains fixed on me.
“You gonna shoot me, Jack?” I taunt, holding out my arms.
“Better than that. I’m taking you with me. You got away before, but you won’t again.”
An chill runs through me. Memories come screaming back.
“We’ll take care of you.”
Bullshit. He took me to a fucking warehouse, where he handed me over like an animal for auction. They stripped me, beat me, interrogated me, and locked me up. Who knows what would have happened if Damon hadn’t tracked me down and helped me escape during a botched transport to another location? We didn’t know about Matteo until it was too late.
I later learned all the buildings and trucks used to traffic us were owned by Crossroads Logistics—a megacorporation belonging to the Wells family.
If only I’d known the two people I’d been hunting (the stranger who betrayed me and the person who owned the infrastructure responsible for so much evil) were one and the same.
“You will never touch me or another of my kind again,” I growl.
He scoffs and waves off my threat. “Your boyfriend ever tell you about our time together?” he tosses at Gabi, his gaze still locked on me.
He cocks the gun, and I swallow a wave of nausea. I know his threats are hollow. Even if he shoots me, I won’t let him take me anywhere. Fear is a funny thing, though, because knowing doesn’t mean shit to my pounding heart.
“He was so scared the day I found him on the street,” Jack continues. “So, trusting. Followed me right into hell without a single question.”
I clench my jaw, staring daggers into him.
“It’s true?” Gabi gasps, horror all over her face as she stares at her father. “You’ve been hunting people. Turning them in to be tortured!”
“People?” he spits out, waving his gun toward me. “They’re not people. And what happens to them after I get them off the street isn’t my problem.”
The shock on Gabi’s face quickly morphs into rage. “You’re disgusting! I can’t believe I shed a single tear over you!”
“I’m exactly what you will be when you finally learn the truth about what this world is and how it works.”
“I will never be like you.”
He releases a cold smirk. “Your mother used to say the same thing and look what happened.”
“Because of you! You made her do all those terrible things to protect us!”
He laughs. “Is that what she told you? Please. Your mother is just as corrupt as everyone else in this godforsaken city.”
Angry tears gather in Gabi’s eyes, and I’ve had enough of this bullshit. If I have to take another bullet to end this once and for all, so be it.
I signal Gabi to keep distracting him. I’m pretty sure she understands when she sniffs and wipes her sleeve across her eyes with more drama than necessary.
“You’re lying,” she hisses. “Mom’s proven she cares about me. You, on the other hand…”
“Oh? And how has she done that exactly?”
“She showed me everything, Dad! The room in the wine cellar, the laptop…”
While they argue, I sneak closer to Jack. My focus remains locked on the gun that’s now pointed at nothing in particular. I know I’m a hundred times stronger than this prick. It would take nothing to disarm him if I can just… get… close enough.
Gabi’s doing a good job keeping him engaged.
Once I’m within three feet, I leap forward and strike his gun arm as I tackle him to the ground. He screams in pain, and the gun goes skidding toward the street.
Gabi shouts something, but I ignore her as I focus on securing the man beneath me.
“Get off me, you asshole!” Jack yells, struggling beneath my weight.
He cries out when I yank his damaged arm further behind his back.
Except, now that I’ve got him, I don’t know what to do with him.
“We need a way to get him to?—”
A siren screams behind me. I twist back and my stomach drops at the sight of a cop car pulling up to the curb.
Fuck!
Jack squirms beneath me, frantic when he notices as well.
“Help!” he shouts. “Someone help! This man is attacking me!”
Two officers rush out of the vehicle, guns drawn.
“On the ground, hands above your head!” they bark at me.
My panicked gaze crosses to Gabi. If I cross into The Translucence, not only will more people be aware of my identity, but I’d also be leaving her alone. I swore I’d never do that again.
“Now! On the ground!”
“Okay, just…”
I release Jack’s arm and climb off him slowly.
“Aden was just protecting me. The man on the groundis the one who had the gun!” Gabi cries.
The officers study her, then focus back on us.
By now, I’m face down on the sidewalk mirroring Jack’s position. We’re both powerless as we wait for them to choose which of us is the villain and which is the victim.
“You have ID?” one of them barks at us.
“Back pocket,” I say.
“The other one is Jack Wells,” Gabi says. “You don’t recognize him?”
I strain my neck to look at her, confused by her blurted announcement and indignant tone.
She said it like his name should mean something to them. Maybe it’s just her privilege talking. She’s always lived in a world where everyone recognized her. Or maybe she’s just scared and babbling. Either way, I have no idea what she’s trying to accomplish.
“Jack Wells?” the officer says in surprise. “The Jack Wells?”
“Yes!” Jack cries. “Yes! I’m Jack Wells. This man was mugging me.”
Shit. I try not to be annoyed with Gabi for giving us away. She’s scared. Just trying to help. She?—
The officer hovering over me launches toward Jack. His partner does the same, and soon they have him cuffed and secured while he screams profanities.
“What the hell are you doing?!” Jack wails as they jerk him to his feet. “Hey!”
I remain on the ground, not sure what to do. When they drag him toward the car, I slowly push up from the pavement, watching for any sign of conflict. But they’re clearly focused on Jack.
“Don’t you know who I am?” he barks as they shove him forward. “Hey! I’m talking to you!”
“Shut the fuck up,” one of the officers says.
“You can’t arrest me! It’ll only take one phone call to get me out and ruin you!”
“Who says we’re arresting you?”
“What? Hold on?—”
I watch in disbelief as they gag him and shove him in the back of the car. They slam the door with Jack still twisting and raging in the back seat.
“You saw nothing,” one of the officers warns as he rounds the car to the driver’s side.
“Not a thing,” Gabi replies with surprising calm. “The bounty is yours, just do us one favor?”
The officer stops and lifts a brow.
“Tell them this is a gift from Celeste and Gabriela Wells.”
He scans her briefly, then nods and joins his partner in the vehicle.
I still don’t know what the hell just happened when the car pulls into the street and heads west on Lincoln Avenue.
Pressure on my hand has me glancing over to find Gabi’s smug smile. I’m even more confused. She has a completely different demeanor than the frantic damsel in distress from a moment ago.
“What was that?” I ask.
“Justice.”
I furrow my brow, and she shrugs.
“Dad said everyone in this godforsaken city was corrupt. I took a chance that includes law enforcement.”
Wait.
My gaze snaps back to the vehicle traveling down Lincoln Avenue. It’s barely visible as it crosses Beacon Street into the heart of Glenside.
“They’re taking him to the Watershed District,” I say. “They must be on The Shadow’s payroll.”
She leans into me, and I tuck my arm around her. “Guess Dad was right.”
I shake my head. Unbelievable.
“I fucking love you,” I say, pressing a kiss to her hair.
“Good, because I’m fucking tired and ready for an H.E.A. on a tropical island.”
“A what?”
“Happily ever after. It’s a romance thing.” She waves a hand, and I laugh at her expression.
“Not sure about any romance bullshit, but if an H.E.A. includes sex, I’m in.”
She snorts a laugh. “Without a doubt. Good thing I stole some of that condom jewelry.”
I pull her close, and as her arms tighten around me, a strange feeling courses through me. Something warm. Soft. Gentle.
Something like…
Peace.
Yes, for the first time since waking up on the streets of Slate City, I don’t hate this concrete slice of hell. In fact…
I kind of want to stay.