“Doesn’t sound like much of a choice.”
“No,” he answered, his gaze hard on me. I could feel the intensity of that single word, the need for me to understand. “It wasn’t a choice at all. I would do anything for my family. Anything.”
Silence fell, and we started eating to fill the sudden space between us. I could feel myself wanting to believe him, to believe in him. Everything he’d told me matched what Ethan had said and what Carter had warned me about. There was still one thing, though, that didn’t fit.
“What about London? You said your mom protects you and Gina, but not her? Why didn’t it work for her?”
“London.” He shook his head. “She and my mom never got along. She didn’t believe in anything my mom did and kept trying to pull Gina away from it. She never accepted her help.”
“But they have her.”
“Yeah.” He didn’t speak for a long time, staring at his plate—his expression withdrawn. “I thought if I kept the cars coming, they’d leave my family alone. They never stopped reminding me, though. I’d bring in a car and one of them would tell me that he’d dropped by the bar to see my sister. Or how they’d followed my mom home. So, I’d go get another car. Gina and my mom didn’t know what I was doing, but London figured it out.
I showed up to the factory and she was waiting for me there. I told her to leave, but she wouldn’t. She wanted a job and she thought the Templars could help her. She didn’t know what she was getting into, just that they had money and she needed it to pay off the loan on the bar. She thought it would fix all their problems and Gina would come home again.”
There was pain in his voice, different than Gina’s, but still the same. The pain of losing someone you cared for, and the guilt of not being able to stop it. I wanted to reach for him, to somehow make it better, but he hadn’t finished his story yet and I knew I needed to let him say the words, even if I suddenly didn’t want to hear the ending.
“We were arguing in the parking lot and they heard us. A group of guys came out and when London told them what she wanted they just took her. When I tried to stop them—” he broke off, his hand coming up to rub at his neck. He still wasn’t looking at me. “They took me, too. Said it’d be a good lesson for me. There’s a guy there in charge of it all and they brought her to him like she was some kind of fucking prize.” His hands closed into fists on the table. “He kept saying how she’d be his special pet. She tried to fight him, but that guy isn’t normal. He started…praying, I guess. I don’t know what language it was, but the rest of them started repeating him. Chanting it over and over. And London…she just dropped. She had her hands over her ears, screaming like they were beating her.”
Chanting. It was if he had slapped me, my body flashing from hot to cold and back again as I listened. It wasn’t simply a story, it was a script that was just waiting for me to learn my lines. My mind kept flashing back to the paint on my car and the messages in the apartment next door. The chanting. The unbearable pressure in my head. I knew exactly how they’d taken London. I licked dry lips, forcing myself to speak.
“Where were you?”
“There were five of them on me, making me watch. Whatever they did to London they tried with me, but it didn’t work. I couldn’t stop it, though. When I’d fight them, they’d jump me, and it’d start all over. When she finally stopped screaming they threw me out and told me to find another car or my sister was next.”
“They kidnapped her.” My tone was horrified. “Why didn’t you call the police?”
“The cops don’t have a clue. By the time they showed up, London would have been theirs. You saw her. She’ll do anything for them, say anything for them. Gina and I have been back so many times. It’s no use. The only way she’s getting out is for them to let her go.”
His words were chilling. “Gina didn’t want me to do this. What do you think?”
Alex paused mid-swallow, his beer bottle held at his lips when his gaze cut to me and his expression was troubled again. “I don’t know,” he spoke slowly, “Gina and I are different.” He placed his beer bottle on the table and studied it as he spoke. “I’ve never really been the kind of person to run from things. If something is after me, I face it head on. I guess that would be my advice. You can’t run forever, and you might as well know what you’re up against.”
I nodded, though his advice went against every instinct I had to escape and do my best to disappear again. I hadn’t done very well the last time I’d tried that, though. “Does Gina know about what happened to London?”
“Some of it, I never told her why London went to them. The guilt would kill her.” A hard edge crept into his voice. “It’s my fault they took her. I have to fix it.”
I sat without speaking for a long time, staring at my plate. “Why are you telling me all of this?”
He leaned forward. “Because I want you to understand that I will never abandon you. No matter what happens, I will always come back for you. You have to promise to trust me.”
There was an intensity to his words that caused me to draw back a bit, my breath catching with the force of them. “I promise,” I said awkwardly, and he nodded, sitting back in his seat to finish his beer. We didn’t speak again until the water came to clear the plates. Alex paid the check and pushed up from the booth. I followed, standing next to him uncomfortably for a moment before finally looking up. He was watching me, and I stopped hesitating—stepping forward to wrap my arms around him in a hug, my cheek resting against his chest.
“You’re not a bad guy,” I told him, and for some reason felt him tense in my hold, still for a long breath before his arms finally wound around me, holding me tight to him.
Finally, I slipped out of his grasp, keeping hold of one of his hands to pull him towards the door. “Come on,” I said over my shoulder, “Let’s get this over with.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
* * *
The parking lot in front of the warehouses was as desolate as I remembered, though my car was nowhere to be found. I wasn’t surprised—Ethan had likely called it in for a tow when he’d run the plates, and it was probably waiting out the rest of its cursed life on death row in a police impound yard. I’d been quiet on the ride over, weighing the possibilities of what was about to happen. Alex pulled to a stop in front of one of the closed-up warehouses and killed the motor, both of us staring silently ahead.
We’d left the restaurant while it was still light out, but dusk had fallen by the time we arrived, the setting sun casting a red haze over the tin tops of the buildings, giving them an ominous glow. For all that I’d spent the night in the parking lot, enough had happened to distract me from being too curious about my surroundings. Now, however, I craned my neck to take a better look at the large lot the warehouses encompassed. There were ten buildings total facing us, all of them with large, double bay doors that were closed and locked with heavy chains threaded through the metal handles. A gated access road sat between them, framed on either side by five buildings, their large doors shut tight, with a large, faded Keep Out sign hung haphazardly on the chainlink.
“How big is this place?” I asked Alex, catching a glimpse of rows of buildings further back.
“I’m not sure,” he frowned. “This was the biggest factory in Dust.” He’d settled back in his seat with his arms crossed over his chest, obviously torn at his decision to bring me now that we were here. “That road runs all the way through to the end. There are more buildings further back.”
I shifted in my own seat to feel the press of the gun at my back, finding it reassuring now instead of terrifying. “Who owns this place? Aren’t they trespassing?”
“They bought it,” he grunted, “I heard some of the guys in the shop talking about it. The cops can’t come in here without a warrant, and from what I can tell, no one really gives a shit about what’s going on.”
I knew better, though Ethan’s single-minded interest didn’t exactly boast an entire team of investigators on the case
, especially since he’d recruited me to his cause. I swallowed down the acrid taste of fear in the back of my throat before pulling out my phone. “I guess we should see if London’s still around.”
“No need,” he said, pointing at a group of people coming towards us on the access road, “They have this whole place wired with cameras. They knew we were here the moment we pulled in.”
I didn’t want to think about what that meant for my previous visits, instead concentrating on the figures crowding behind the gate. It swung open a moment later and they poured out into the lot. I counted six—five men surrounding London, all dressed in the same black death metal inspired theme I’d noticed before. As they drew closer, I realized that two of them were almost pulling London along, flanking her on each side with a hand clamped onto her upper arm. She was dressed in the same black t-shirt and jeans I’d first seen her in, only this time she was sporting a fresh bruise under her left eye, a slack expression on her face as she stumbled along. I tore my attention from her to focus on the others, realizing that two of them were the men I’d first encountered at the bar. The man with the scar on his face seemed to be leading the pack, with his lanky friend close on his heels. All six of them had their hair dyed black with a greasy, strung-out appearance to their pale skin. Waxy, almost.
“There was no way they were going to let you see her alone.” Alex’s voice was grim, glancing over at me. “You okay?”
I nodded because the truth was impossible to explain. The pressure inside my head had begun before we’d even turned into the lot, the faint whispering of chanting that clouded my thoughts and my judgement was growing louder with every step the group coming towards us took.
Alex’s gaze returned to the approaching men as he opened his car door. “These guys are real assholes. Try not to piss them off.”
I stared after him, his words echoing through me. We’d just spent two hours over dinner and never once had he mentioned the situation we were in now, even though he seemed like he’d expected it. I’d played this scenario out in my mind a dozen times since deciding to find London, and each one had been a casual meeting with a few friendly questions. I knew now how naïve I’d been, but there was no going back. Alex was already out of the car, circling around to my door, and I stepped out before he got to me—my gaze seeking his for a brief, questioning moment that found no answers before we turned.
“Alejandro.” Scar-face smirked, his red-rimmed eyes sliding from me to the car and back again, “You’re late.” I refused to meet his gaze, remembering what had happened the last time I’d looked at him.
“I brought you the car.” Alex’s tone was hard, and the scarred man laughed.
“One car. The deal was two.” He jerked his head towards the Mercedes and the other two men not attached to London split off, circling around behind us. Alex swore under his breath, his hand closing on my arm to pull me with him off to one side, putting distance between us and the car. One of them slid behind the wheel, the motor purring to life, and I watched with an ever-increasing sense of danger as our only means of quick escape disappeared through the gate and down the access road. I realized, too late, that I hadn’t thought far enough ahead—that the car Alex was driving was meant for the Templars.
“I’ll get you another car,” Alex ground out. He hadn’t let go of me, his grip on my arm almost painful. I tried to pull away and he only tightened his hold, drawing me closer to him. I stumbled against him, dizzy, the pressure behind my eyes increasing with every breath. “That’s not what you wanted anyway, and you know it. Don’t fucking try to back out of it now.”
“It’s not what we wanted, Alejandro.” Girly-voice laughed, raising the hair on the back of my neck. “Lucus was tired of your whining and gave you a choice. You should be grateful he agreed.”
“Fuck you,” Alex growled, taking a step forward and dragging me with him. He pointed at London, “What happened to her face?”
“She was punished,” Girly-voice shrugged, his attention sliding to me, “It’s important for pets to do what they’re told. Your sister will thank us for training her so well.”
“Let her go,” Alex snarled, and the two men holding her laughed.
“It’s a trade, Alejandro. You first.”
A trade. The words shot out at me through the conversation, blazing through the dark fog clouding my mind, and I twisted in Alex’s grip to look up at him. “What trade?” I tried to jerk my arm free, but he held on tight. “What the fuck is this, Alex?”
“Yeah, Alex,” Girly-voice mimicked, “What the fuck is this?”
“Hey Avery,” London spoke up out of nowhere, her tone listless. She seemed to have just realized where she was. “You wanted to talk to me.” Her attention shifted slowly from me to Alex, her forehead crinkling slightly in confusion. “¿Qué haces aquí, Alex?”
“Estoy aquí para llevarte a casa,” he answered. There was a sudden warmth to his voice, and her eyes widened. A hesitation settled over the rest of the group as each person tried to translate what was said. I didn’t speak Spanish, but I knew enough to pick out the single word that changed everything. Casa. Home.
“No,” I gasped, fighting Alex’s hold on me, prying at his fingers with my free hand before hammering my fist into his chest. “What the fuck are you doing? Let me go, you asshole. LET ME GO!”
The last came out as a scream, my voice echoing back at me across the parking lot. Alex grabbed my wrist, forcing me back against his chest and I twisted and kicked trying to get free. “Avery, stop. Listen to me. I’ll come back for you. I’ll fix this.”
“Fuck you.” I kicked backwards at his shins with my heels and he grunted but only tightened his hold, trying to drag me towards the men.
“I don’t have a choice, don’t you understand? I have to save her. I’ll come back for you.” He kept talking, his voice pitched low, panting against my repeated attempts to break free until across from us, Scar-face made a disgusted sound.
“You really need to learn how to handle your women, Alejandro. Watch and learn.” He let go of London and raised both his hands up, palms open with his fingers spread, his face tipping back. Girly-voice pulled free of London and shoved her hard forward, sending her sprawling onto the asphalt. Alex swore, letting go of me to move towards her.
It all happened very suddenly then.
It was the wind I noticed first, gusting hot across the pavement, whipping my hair into my face, making it hard to breathe and distracting me from the low droning chant that had started from somewhere behind the warehouses. The sound lifted, swelling around me and I stumbled backwards, tears blurring the shapes of the men before me as they closed in. My hands raised, crying out blindly to stop them while the chanting filled my mind, taking over every part of me, keeping time with my heart. Pain radiated from the mark on my shoulder, coursing through me with every beat and every syllable that droned on and on unending. The force behind my eyes continued to grow until I could think only of tearing my eyes from their sockets in an effort to alleviate the pressure. I swayed, about to fall, uncaring of what might come after, a promise in the darkness that would make it all stop if I just gave in.
“Avery.”
Carter’s voice cut into my awareness like a knife, slicing effortlessly through the darkness to find my core; seeking the only part of me that remained free. I turned my head but couldn’t see him, his voice seeming to move directly through my mind.
“Avery,” he said again, and I grasped to his voice as if it might save me from drowning. He was calm, commanding in the three simple words he spoke. “Pull your gun.”
There was no thought in me, only reaction that obeyed him without question. My hand slipped to my back, groping beneath my jacket until my hand closed on the handle of my gun and slid it free.
“Good.” I could hear the approval in his voice. “Now point it at someone.”
There had been an abrupt pause to the surge of bodies towards me when the gun appeared, the chanting seeming to falter al
ong with their steps, the pain vanishing as quickly as it began. I swung my arm up, pointing my gun wildly at the nearest figure, blinking furiously to clear the tears from my eyes so I could see properly. It was Girly-voice, his expression somewhere between surprise and dismay, though there was fear in his eyes when he looked at me.
“There,” Carter sounded satisfied, “You have their attention. Now, repeat after me.” I nodded without taking my eyes off the men, though some small part of me wondered why I was repeating what they could obviously hear. “I’m going to shoot the next person who moves.”
I took a breath, swallowing back the sob of fear that threatened to escape and shifted the gun between them, pointing it briefly at each before returning my focus to Girly-voice. “I’m going to shoot the next person who moves.” To my side, I could see Alex standing stock-still, his eyes wide with shock. London was standing listlessly in his grasp, her uncaring gaze focused past the scene playing out before her. I turned the gun towards him, fighting with myself not to pull the trigger, the surge of anger burning away the remnants of darkness clouding my mind.
“Move,” I told him. “Over there with the others.”
“Avery—”
“Shut up.” There was no emotion left in me now, my voice cold. “One more word and I swear to god I’ll shoot.” I felt suddenly powerful with the gun in my hand, more in control than I’d been in a very long time. I might not be a hardened criminal, but I was no stranger to consequence. Something in me dared him to push me to prove it; I almost wanted him to.
For a second it looked like he was about to argue, his gaze flicking from my face to the gun and back again, a muscle in his jaw working furiously. My finger found the safety on the gun and switched it off with an audible click. That got him moving, shuffling towards the others and pulling London along with him.
Into Dust: The Industry City Trilogy - Book One Page 12