Mariah licked her lips. “Since I was taken, Uri’s been . . . strange.”
“Strange how?”
“Secretive, not telling me things. Maybe it’s to protect me. But he’s acting sketchy. Lying all the time. And then he gets angry.”
That sounded familiar. Arden had spent far too many years in Niall’s shadow not to know the signs of corrupting power. It had scared her too. Perhaps that was the reason Mariah was being so open with her.
Or maybe she was willing to talk because they had been friends. She’d helped to break Mariah out of govie custody. Arden didn’t mind using that connection.
“What about Lasair’s inner circle? Where are they?” They couldn’t have all died in the refinery. Someone had to have made it out.
“They’re all missing.”
“Every single one?” She couldn’t believe they’d all perished.
Her suspicion traced back to how Uri had ended up leading Lasair as well as what had remained of the other gangs. He was consolidating power within Undercity. Grasping larger portions than Lasair originally controlled. She wondered why. Whatever was happening here was a dangerous and deadly game.
“Some are dead, but most are missing. The govies got a few. And there were others who joined the remnants of the other gangs to fight against us.”
Questions swirled in her mind. Gang members did not just switch allegiances so quickly. But she knew these questions would have to wait for another time. Staying too long here put her in danger of being caught. Roan’s squawking in her ear had become more insistent. She needed to get what she came for.
“Where’s my brother?” Arden would not lose any more family. Not even one who wouldn’t care to see her and might even try to gut Arden himself.
Mariah looked away, refusing to meet Arden’s gaze. “I don’t know.”
“I know Uri has him.” It was a bluff, Arden suspected, but she didn’t know any such thing. Piecing together Mina’s intel, which had been correct until now, Arden was positive they had custody of Niall. The proof was everything she’d seen that day. It only stood to reason that if Niall was alive, Uri would have him.
How did Niall fit into Uri’s plans? It was difficult to understand why they’d kept him alive. If the power had already shifted within the gang, they should have killed him. It was the only way to keep his loyal followers from fracturing into an internal war. Unless Uri and Mariah were the only two original Lasair members who knew he was here. Perhaps this was why they were in a hideout Arden knew nothing about.
Mariah’s distress screamed from across the room. The other girl refused to lift her chin to connect her gaze with Arden’s.
“I know he’s alive,” Arden insisted when the silence became too much. “You might as well tell me where.”
Eyes shining, Mariah bit her lower lip. She began to shake her head. It wasn’t a “no.” It was a more violent denial, as if she were afraid to say.
“Where is he?” Arden pressed again, sensing that the other girl would break with a little more prodding. It was easy to inflect the frustration she felt into her voice. She had very little time left here. Needed to get out as soon as possible before she was discovered.
Mariah’s gaze met hers. “He’s not here anymore.”
That stopped her cold. “What do you mean?”
“He was here, Uri had him beaten.” Mariah wouldn’t meet her eyes. “He was in bad shape, no one was allowed to help him. And Uri made sure that no one Niall knew was in the room with him. I wasn’t sure how much longer they were going to keep him alive. Then last night—” She shook her head. “He’s gone now.”
“He’s dead?” Arden’s mouth went dry.
Mariah looked up, her eyes wide, and her voice wobbled, her words barely audible. “No, someone took him.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know,” Mariah said. “Uri’s been furious all day. Questioning everyone.”
Like a bright light in her head, realization set in. Arden had been shortsighted. She’d seen the Twins last night. They took Niall. That was why they’d been following the boy. There was no other explanation as to why they’d followed him out of the club. Niall was what they’d wanted with Lasair.
She should have asked herself what the Twins wanted last night. Or perhaps should have said something to Mina and the crew instead of thinking she could handle this on her own. Arden had been so close to Niall and she’d failed. And it was all her fault.
She reminded herself that Niall knew the consequences of his actions and was ultimately responsible for his own life. He’d gotten himself caught, had made his own decisions. Still, she felt that cloying sense of regret creep into her consciousness again, mostly because she’d left him in the refinery. He was her brother. Family had to count for something.
At least now she knew where he probably was. If the Twins did take Niall, that meant that Crispin had him. What sorts of secrets did Niall have that not only spared him with Uri but also gained him Crispin’s attention? He was always up to something, and it looked like his schemes had finally caught up with him.
It was only a matter of time until Uri figured out who had taken Niall. Which meant the clock was ticking. She had to get back to Mina and her crew and let them know. They had to figure out a new plan that matched a much slicker opponent.
But Arden’s instincts were driving her crazy. Mariah was still acting strange even after admitting that Niall was gone. She chewed on her lip and kept opening her mouth, only to immediately close it again.
“What else are you not telling me?” Arden asked.
Mariah shook her head.
Arden waited. Mariah obviously wanted to say something. She’d wait Mariah out even if she felt the pressing need to leave. Each second it became more dangerous to stay. They stared at each other. The weighted silence dragged on for what felt like minutes. Whatever Mariah was holding back was significant.
Finally Mariah let out a breath. “I didn’t know. I want you to believe that. If I had, I would have told you.”
“What?”
“I found something out, and I—” Her eyes filled with tears. “Uri was the one who betrayed us. He sold us out to the govies, and the Solizen, and who knows who else. He’s the reason they were ready for us at the joint refinery. Why we lost so many people.”
Uri was the mole . . . Uri was the mole . . . Uri was the mole . . . The words played through her head in a taunt. A blistering headache formed. How could she not have seen it? It was one thing to backstab the leader in order to wrest control. That was accepted. But they never betrayed the gang. Never sold themselves out to outsiders. Gaining control of Lasair didn’t mean fracturing their lives, or restructuring the power in Undercity. It was beyond comprehension.
Arden felt like she’d been shot full of phase-fire. She gasped a breath. Her chest burned. She’d never known that a betrayal could hurt worse than an open wound to her side. It was too much to process.
The plan had to have been in motion for a while. He’d worked so subtly that no one had realized. This move had to be about more than control over just Lasair. Otherwise Uri could have done that in any number of ways that wouldn’t have caused this much internal destruction.
She remembered the moments before they stormed the joint refinery, wondering why they were working in tandem with the other gangs. Had he meant to devastate the other gangs in Undercity so he could seize a larger territory to control? If that was true, Uri wanted control of everything, perhaps all of Undercity.
Who else had known? Niall had been there. He’d talked with the other gang leaders. Had Uri tricked him too? Perhaps Niall somehow suspected an inside betrayal and set in motion things to hinder it. Maybe even that was the reason Uri had kept him alive.
She’d stupidly played into Uri’s hands by leaving Lasair on her own. Arden thought back to when Uri had threatened her. He’d told her never to return or he’d kill her. At the time she’d thought his threat was about Dade, yet now she realized
that it was about much more. Arden was yet another piece he’d had to remove in his climb to grab power.
Now that she knew, she wasn’t going to let him win. There was no backing away from this. Uri would pay for his betrayal.
“How did he do it?” Arden could barely make the words audible past her clenched teeth.
“I don’t know.” Mariah’s mouth twisted. “But I’m going to find out.”
She’d been played. Arden wanted to walk up to Uri and smash his face in before she gutted him with her knives. It was by the thinnest thread of control that she held herself back. This was not the time. She knew that. She’d make her move eventually, but she needed time to properly pay Uri back for all his duplicity.
Of all those who could have been the mole, she hadn’t expected it to be him. Kimber maybe. Arden sucked in a breath as she remembered the girl. “Where’s Kimber?”
“She’s missing too.”
Of course she was. And that was just as suspicious, especially when all these “dead” people were turning out to be still breathing. “Did she work with Uri?”
“I have no idea. I don’t think so.”
Roan yelled in her comm again, jolting Arden. She had to go. “Come with me. We can find a place for you.”
Tears were thickly falling down Mariah’s face. “I can’t leave.”
“You’re going to stay with a traitor?” Arden didn’t understand.
“It’s complicated,” Mariah argued.
Arden was aghast. “After knowing what he’s done? You’d choose him over your family?”
“Didn’t you?” Mariah asked.
The question hit like a knife plunged to the gut. Arden wanted to deny the accusation. It wasn’t the same thing at all. Dade hadn’t tried to have them killed. He was trustworthy.
Uri was a piece of shit.
Yet she understood Mariah’s dilemma. Would Arden give up Lasair for Dade if she had to do it over? She knew she’d choose Dade again, but maybe she’d manipulate the situation a bit differently.
This was something Mariah had to come to terms with on her own. Arden couldn’t help her. “You’ll always have a place with me. But know, if you choose him, then you’ll be my enemy.”
Mariah closed her eyes as if the words pained her. “We’re already enemies.”
Maybe, but today had proven that Mariah still had loyalty to Arden. Maybe someday they could make this right.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Dade had gone with Saben to help construct his family’s temporary residence and to see what else they could collect—albeit illegally—to help ease the struggle of the other displaced families.
They hadn’t been gone all that long. A couple of hours at most. Not long enough for all hell to break loose.
He’d meant to sneak into the compound even though Mina knew where they had gone. She’d helped them acquire building supplies. Still, he’d wanted to avoid any pointed questions about their disappearance from the others. Saben wasn’t ready to share about his family, and Dade respected that.
They’d just stepped into the living area when the yelling stopped Dade short. He focused all his attention on trying to figure out what was going on, trying to decide whether to investigate or avoid it. Mina’s crew members bickered as much as they joked. Usually, it wasn’t too bad, even though Dade had made a pointed effort so far to stay out of it. But now their voices were loud and harsh, carrying down the halls. This wasn’t the usual skirmish.
Dade and Saben looked at each other. Saben’s eyebrows shot up, and he shook his head. In response, Dade shrugged before he jerked his head toward the direction of the noise, indicating that he thought they should check it out.
They slunk down the hall, not wanting anyone to know they were there. It sounded as if the yelling originated from the command center. They’d already made it halfway down the hall before Dade heard Arden’s voice. It was at full tilt and raging.
His body locked up at the sound. He had never heard her yell, not like that. There was a wobble to the sound that indicated she was beyond furious but not out of control. She knew exactly what she was doing.
Then he began to run the rest of the distance, desperate to see what was going on. Heart pounding, he stopped at the threshold to the command center. Dade didn’t bother to hide his presence. Everyone was too caught up in the argument to notice him anyway. The anger in the room instantly put Dade on alert. His hand strayed to the phaser at his hip.
His gaze darted as he took in the scene as fast as he could, trying to process what was happening. The fight looked to be between Roan and Arden. Though Venz, Coco, and Annem were there too.
Roan gestured to the wall of visiscreens behind where Venz sat. He was in Arden’s face, yelling, “Didn’t you think you were being monitored?”
Clenching her jaw, Arden yelled back, “Of course I knew, and I didn’t care.”
Venz looked distinctly uncomfortable. He slumped in his chair, trying to make himself appear as small as possible as he watched Roan and Arden with wary eyes. His hair was all over the place, as if the night had been particularly troublesome and his hair had suffered from the wrath of his hands.
Coco and Annem stood by the door. They hadn’t turned when Dade and Saben arrived. Annem’s arms were folded, and she looked contemplative. Coco stood beside her, her shoulders hunched and her head tilted forward, ready to charge. She hadn’t inserted herself in the fight yet. Though it looked like it might happen at any moment.
Annem must have sensed that too. She reached forward to grab Coco’s forearm. It seemed to be enough to hold Coco in place.
Mina and Nastasia must still be gone. If they had been here, this would have been stopped by now. Or at least the argument would have been somewhat civil.
Roan and Arden moved closer to each other. Stood toe to toe, each snarling. Their faces were flushed, and their hands were clenched, brought halfway up their bodies, looking close to blows. They both were posturing, neither one taking the first shot with their fists.
Tension had crackled under the surface for days between Arden and the rest of the crew, but most especially between her and Roan. It had only gotten worse when they’d “lost” the Lasair boy they were supposed to tail. Dade had expected it to come to a head, though not in quite so dramatic a fashion. He’d only been gone a few hours. The hideout looked intact. Everyone was alive. What could have possibly happened while he was out to cause this?
Roan’s face was a mask of rage. “You put everyone in danger with your stupid antics.”
“You didn’t have to come for me,” she yelled back.
Dade’s gut twisted. He’d known she was up to something last night. She’d lied to Mina and made it clear to him that she was running her own agenda. He had known that as soon as he left her alone, she’d do her own thing even if she hadn’t said as much to him. Dade should have pushed her to tell him what her plans were, and maybe he could have helped. But once again she’d left him out as if his opinion didn’t matter. Only this time, whatever she’d done had caused the cautious working accord of the group to crack.
Not that he was any better. They were both running their own agendas without helping the other. Obviously, that wasn’t working. One of them had to give.
Frustration nearly overwhelmed him. He reminded himself that she was alive, so whatever she had done couldn’t have been too bad. Still, he’d unwittingly helped her accomplish it by willfully keeping his mouth shut about the Lasair boy. He only had himself to blame.
Arden threw up her hands. “I’m not going to sit on my ass when I can get information.”
Roan wasn’t having it. “That’s because you didn’t let us know Lasair was there. You can’t just unilaterally decide to run an op.”
“I made it clear that I was here on my own. I don’t have to wait for Mina to give her okay. That’s not how I work. I don’t have to ask you or anyone else for permission.”
“You are a part of a group,” Roan said. “When you do some
thing, it affects us all. We were tailing that dealer for the group, not for you.”
“I don’t want to run with your group at all.”
Roan spread his hands wide. “You can leave at any time.”
“Who died and made you the de facto leader? You can’t kick me out of here. Last I checked, you followed orders, not gave them.”
Roan growled and squeezed his hands into fists. He leaned forward, using his body to get into her space, to intimidate.
“You gonna hit me?” she taunted. “Go ahead and try. I’ll lay you out.”
Her eyes heated with passion. Dade found her glorious. This was the most dangerous girl he’d ever met, the Arden that had attracted him in the first place. The power inside her had been stoked to life again. It had been slumbering, recovering from loss and pain.
Now she was back, more badass than ever. Dade hadn’t realized how much he’d missed her fire. The strength that he knew couldn’t be broken.
He loved her. It had started out small at first, that potential well of feeling that had the possibility to grow. Seeing her every day and knowing how hard she worked to keep her focus caused that love to deepen. It had become something staggering in strength. It grew daily as she displayed her grit and determination.
She was everything to him. That she always fought so hard. That she questioned everything. The way her mind worked was stunning. Arden was both beautiful and fierce, but what made her special was the dichotomy between the softness of her heart and the steel of her will.
Coco stepped forward to interrupt. Despite her small stature, she got their attention. It might have had to do with the fact that she’d unstrapped the blast-phaser that had been across her back. She held it cradled in her arms, her finger on the trigger, with the barrel still pointed away. Then she gave an ear-piercing whistle and yelled, “Everyone shut the hell up.”
The Stolen Sky (Split City Book 2) Page 15