Chapter 19 #2
“I plan on it,” giving her tight-lipped smile, I place the picture back where she had it and take a seat on the bed while she finishes getting dressed. Ryder hasn’t talked about Graves and Rocky, but I haven’t really asked about them either.
“Would you take me to visit Graves and Rocky before we leave?”
Jessie turns to face me, her head whipping to her door. Her voice is barely above a whisper when she says, “Ryder would be pissed if he found out I took you, and I’d be lying if I said I was comfortable taking you there alone anyway.”
“Jess, we’d be fine, I won’t do anything stupid, I just want to see them, that’s it.”
She seems to think it over for a moment, chewing her inner lip. “You know there are cameras there that he has access to, right?”
Shit, I hadn’t been thinking about that. “Can you temporarily disable them? Just for a few minutes, that’s all.”
She breathes a sigh, “Yeah. Yeah, I can. But only for a few minutes, otherwise Ry’s gonna throw a conniption fit.”
“Thank you!! Thank you!!” I squeal, clasping my hands in front of my chest. “Okay, get dressed,” I wrinkle my nose, “And maybe a shower.”
“Hey!” Her face pinches as she picks a shoe up off the floor and chucks it at me. I quickly block the hit by scrunching up with my knee to my chest and arms covering my head. “I don’t stink…” She sniffs her pit, “that bad.” She bites back a smile, “Fine.”
I laugh so hard, it feels like my insides are on fire. “I haven’t laughed this hard in… Well, I can’t remember when.”
“Glad my hermit ass was able to appease you,” She replies sarcastically, but even she can’t fight the urge to laugh anymore. “I’ll meet you downstairs when I’m done.”
“Okay, make sure you scrub extra good in there,” I say, laughing even harder.
“Are you trying to get hit by the other shoe?” She holds up the shoe for extra dramatics, dangling it by one finger with her elbow propped on her cocked hip.
“Okay, okay, I’m leaving!” I snicker as I shut the door behind me.
Being able to laugh with Jessie after days of darkness was healing in a way I can’t begin to describe.
Who needs a therapist when all I need is for life to go back to the way it was?
Life will never be the way it was, Kelsey.
A pang of sorrow jabs me right in the heart, shattering the lighthearted moment of fun I just had.
When I came back downstairs, Ryder was no longer in the kitchen.
Now that I know what the plans are, I didn’t find it necessary to go looking for him.
So, I dig around in the kitchen drawer for my stash of weed and roll up a joint.
Sitting outside, smoking a fat one on the porch, listening to complete silence, except for the birds chirping, is the exact kind of peace I need right now.
I prop my feet up on the railing and lie back in the cushioned patio chair.
My lighter flicks to life, and I draw in my first puff as the flames scorch the end of my joint.
I almost moan at the much-needed burn in my lungs.
I hold my phone in my hand, flipping it over and over, deciding whether now is a good time to call my parents or not.
Can I even sound happy right now to make them believe everything’s been fine?
Should I tell them about Lilith, or would that cause unnecessary worry to them?
“Ugghh!” My head falls back against the chair as I squeeze my eyes shut. Why does this have to be so complicated?
“Uhh, you good?” The deep voice jolts me from my thoughts, my feet hit the ground with a smack, and I straighten in the chair.
“I’m fine,” I say dryly, taking another hit and holding it before exhaling. “Can I help you?”
He chuckles, “You wanna share that?” He nods towards my joint.
“Not particularly.”
Regardless of my ultimately saying no, Hayden walks up and snatches it from between my lips. “You know the rule, sweetheart, puff puff pass.” I roll my eyes in response. Suddenly remembering Ryder’s threat, I swallow, but it does no good in alleviating that knot.
“I, uh, should probably head inside.” I give him a tight-lipped smile that he doesn’t return.
As I stand up and walk towards the door, he stops me. “Are you okay? Like, actually okay?”
I’ve been asked that a million and one times since returning, but when he asks, my heart skips a beat and fills with something akin to grief or maybe regret.
But why? Oh yeah, I ruined his and Ry’s friendship for starters, and then I didn’t heed either of their warnings about how dangerous all of this is.
“Yeah. Yeah, I am.” I give a sad half-smile over my shoulder, before stepping inside.
Right before I close the door, he says, “I’m here for you.
We don’t have to talk, it can just be silence, but if you ever need a friend to just sit with…
I’m here.” My eyes sting with the threat of tears.
Leave it to Hayden to know exactly what to say.
I slowly shut the door with my back pressed against it.
I didn’t know what to say to him. I guess a ‘thank you’ would’ve been better than closing the door on him.
“You ready?” Jessie startles me, causing me to jump back like a spooked kitten with my hand over my rapidly beating heart.
“Shit! Where did you come from?” I glance around aimlessly for where she was hiding.
“I’ve been standing here…” She answers slowly. “I was waiting for you to snap out of whatever daze you were in.”
Oh. How long had I been standing there? Has that been happening more often?
“Anyway, you ready? We have to hurry before Ryder gets back.” She grabs her keys from the wicker bowl on the counter.
Suddenly, I’m not so confident in seeing them anymore. Taking a deep breath, I exhale slowly, “Yeah.”
Perspiration coats my forehead and hands. I wipe my hands on my ripped jeans and try to hide my anxiety.
“Now, you have to be quick. I’ll deactivate the cameras as soon as we get to the door, and we’ll have exactly ten minutes to get in and out.”
“Okay.” I worry my bottom lip. I have to figure out what I will say to them, if anything. Wait, “Are they conscious?” My head snaps towards Jessie, and a devilish smile pulls at her mouth.
“Somewhat.”
“What do you mean?”
“Between the three of us, they haven’t had much of a break between torture.” I assume she means her, Ryder, and Hayden. “They’re in and out of consciousness, but they should be a little alert for your visit.”
I stare out the window, watching the trees speed by.
We chose to ride in silence today. I don’t think any of us have been in the mood for music, except for maybe Hayden.
Music fuels his soul. I feel immense guilt when it comes to Hayden.
Ryder has given him shit ever since I was abducted.
It wasn’t his fault. He tried to get me to go with him, but I insisted I was fine.
However, how was I to know people were out specifically for me?
Not to mention, nobody truly knows their motive for it, especially since Lilith now seems to be the root cause of it all.
The only way I might be able to find out who Lilith is is by talking to my parents, but how in the whole wide world of fucks do I initiate that conversation?
“Oh, hey, Mom, so I was kidnapped last week by an alleged illegal racing mafia who happened to turn me over to Lilith. Who is that, by the way?” Yeah, I can’t see that boding well.
“You’re twirling your hair again, you okay?” Jess points out.
I immediately stop and clasp my hands together in my lap. “Yeah, I’m good.”
“So, what was it like when they had you?”
“Terrifying.” The one-word answer was more than enough. All I felt was fear, repulsion, and hatred the entire time. “I thought they’d kill me or auction me off to some sort of sex trafficking ring.” And that was the honest-to-God truth.
“I’m so sorry. I wish we could’ve stopped them sooner. Ryder immediately called in the whole squad once we realized, and Teegan hacked all the street cams he could to track their every move.”
Oh. My eyebrows could touch the peak of Mount Everest. I hadn’t known that. I knew Ryder said Teegan was the only reason he got to me so soon, but he never went into detail. “I had no idea street cams could be hacked.”
“There’s very little Teegan can’t hack. That’s another reason we will need to hurry in there, I’m sure Teegan has a way to get the cameras back up and running if Ryder happens to notice them off before our timer.”
“I have a question,” I ask nervously. I don’t know what’s making me ask this, but fuck it.
“Yeah?”
“Has Ryder ever been this way over anyone else? Like, overly protective and possessive?”
“Nope,” She pops the P. “Why? Starting to realize he actually cares about you? You’re a member of the pack now, you know that, right?”
I gulp, damn near choking on my saliva.
“You good? I know we all keep asking, and you’re annoyed by it, but you went through a lot.”
“Yeah, I… I’m just a little nauseous.”
“You’ve been nauseous a lot lately…”
“Nope, nuh uh! Don’t even go there. I have the IUD.”
Jessie laughs maniacally. “C’mon, a little Kelsey running around? Soo cute!!” She squeaks.
I glare at her, burning a hole right through her. “Okay, fine. No, little Kelsey’s… Yet.” Her eyes dart towards me as she grins widely, flashing all her perfect white teeth. I roll mine with a huff.
It’s not that I don’t want kids. I’ve always wanted at least two, but I want to wait for the perfect man. You know, the fairy tale life.
We park in a remote alley close to a bank, deciding walking would be less obvious than Jessie’s candy apple red Ferrari.
“So, where exactly is your office?” I wonder, glancing out of the windows at the surrounding brick offices.
“The bank.”
My head whips in her direction, “I beg your finest pardon?” I stare, mouth gaping open. I couldn’t have possibly heard her correctly. Absolutely no way are they running this whole operation from a damn bank!