by Sara Hubbard
“She’ll talk. You might be willing to go to jail, but I’m not.” He clears his throat and his voice isn’t angry anymore. “You let them catch you in the hospital after your sister died. You knew they’d go there and find you. You didn’t care. It was like you fucking gave up. I’m not like you. I’m a fighter.”
I cringe at his words. Partly because I don’t like someone telling me I’m a quitter, but also because he’s not exactly wrong. After I went off on Darren Black, I practically ran to Claire. I needed to be with her. I needed to see if she was okay. I knew the cops would come for me, but it didn’t matter. Seeing Claire was more important. When they told me she’d died of her gruesome injuries, I could have left, and run far away…but part of me died in that room with her. When the cops came, I had no fight in me. I felt like I deserved to be locked up, because I’d failed her.
I swallow those emotions down. And I swallow down the raging fire inside of me that wants to rip Reed to pieces. “She won’t talk to you, but she might talk to me.”
“I’m not so sure.”
“I give you my word I’ll get it out of her.”
He’s quiet a moment. He has few options and he knows it. Even if she talked and he managed to find Jack, he would still have to worry about me. He knows I know everything. Or, at least, enough to screw him with his father. Which means he’s got Vik to wrestle with too. But he clings to hope, agreeing to my request.
“All right. Come meet me. Just you. And Jack. I see anyone else and I put a bullet through her skull. Don’t test me, Niko. I’ll do it. I won’t hesitate.”
Reed gives me a location in the middle of nowhere. Vik tells me he knows the spot. He and Reed went hunting there a half-dozen times over the years. Reed says he’ll bring Ivy, but I don’t believe him. That would be too easy. I know he can’t give her up. He can’t let her live any more than he can let Jack. And he’s probably added me to his list now, too. So I’ll need to be careful of that.
“We can take him down,” Vik says.
I nod, knowing it’s true. I’m going to have to kill him. It’s inevitable. Though I don’t want Ivy to see me do it. She saw me lose control once and I could see something shift inside of her. Her eyes changed when I looked up at her as I stood over Darren’s unconscious body. She told me that wasn’t true, but I don’t believe her—not completely. I behaved like a savage that night and she saw with her own eyes what I’m capable of when pushed. That has to scare her on some level. It fucking scares me. I was a monster. I am a monster. And once again, in case she’s forgotten, I don’t have a choice but to show it all over again.
24
IVY: The metal door to the outside slams shut and his voice vibrates and echoes through the open space as he announces, “I’m back.” I jump in my seat. He staked both of my hands and they continue to drip with blood. Though they burn with pain, the rest of me has gone cold. I shake my head at him as he approaches, not wanting to find out what he has planned for me next. My throat constricts, but I manage to let out a please. I look up at him with pleading eyes.
His expression is different. Pensive. I heard his phone ring outside but I have no idea who it was. He talked for a few minutes, maybe longer. His words registered to me barely louder than a murmur. I debated screaming for help, but no doubt, the person on the other end wouldn’t be interested or question him. He and his family have probably heard more than one scream for help in their lives, probably from their very own victims.
The reality of my situation hits me hard. I’m tied to a chair, with no hope of escape, and the man standing a few feet away from me, looking down at me with his head tipped to the side, is intent on torturing me until I can no longer bear it. He bends at the knees so we’re eye level. I turn my head away, flinch, and try to turn my shoulders, anything so I don’t have to face him. I can still see him from my peripheral. He studies my face, his eyes roaming over my forehead, eyes and lips. My body starts to shake again and my tears fall harder now.
After a loud sigh, he says, “Your boyfriend is attempting to make a trade.”
I face him now, my brows pinching together. He’s lying. Niko wouldn’t do that.
“Your brother for you.”
I shake my head. No, that’s impossible. I didn’t even tell Niko where Jack was and he didn’t want to know. Reed’s bluffing. He has to be. Even if he has Jack, he would never trade him for me, because he would know what that would do to me. But what’s the alternative? Let me die? He wouldn’t do that, either.
“You look worried.”
I count to ten, take a breath and force myself to keep my voice even. “This isn’t going to turn out well for you. Y…y…you have to know that.”
He shrugs, starts to pick dirt from his nails with his bloody knife. But he only ends up rimming his nails with blood. I know Niko doesn’t have Jack. He couldn’t. Because he got on a bus a yesterday. Niko wouldn’t have had time to go to Sterling and bring him back for the meet. The timeline is off.
“Please,” I say. “Just let me go. I won’t say anything. And Jack won’t either. That’s why he left. We just want all this to be over.”
His eyes are steel. “You’re going to be passed out from pain and unable to talk by the time you’re willing. So I have to find another way to make you talk.”
Realization hits me like a hard slap to the face. “You can’t do this! He’s your cousin.”
He shrugs. “There’s no going back now. Niko has been out of this game too long. I will take him down easy. I’m not fair. I don’t play by rules. I’ll cheat to get the better of him if I have to. But I will win.” He saunters over to the other side of the plant where there are a handful of other chairs. Some are lawn chairs. Probably from some kids who come here to party. He drags one over by the arm, its legs screeching along the concrete floor. He sets it down ten or so feet away from me. “This is where he’ll sit. Everything I had planned for you I will do to him. Except he’s a man, so I’m inclined to get a little messier. Cousin or no, I’ll open him up and take out his organs while you watch if I have to. But you’re going to talk. You’re going to choose him or your brother. And I think we know who’ll you choose.”
Like a child, I sob uncontrollably. I can’t help myself. No matter how hard I tense up my body and try to be brave. The pain in my body is nothing now, not compared to the hurt I’m going to feel if Reed has his way. I need to get out of here somehow. I can’t let Niko die. I can’t lose him again. Because that’s what it was like when he left me; it was like he died. No contact. I couldn’t see his face or hear his voice. He was just erased from my life. A ghost. Always haunting me. In my dreams. While I was awake.
Fury bubbles inside of me, collecting in my gut. I want to grab his face and smash it to the ground. I have never been so helpless and so angry. I scream in rage, so loud it pierces my ears.
And Reed laughs.
25
NIKO: Vik hangs back a mile or so behind me as I drive out to meet Reed. I have a tracker in my car and it’s signaling to Vik. Just in case he loses me or anything goes wrong. I feel safe with Vik at my back. We can outwit and outsmart Reed. Even if he thinks he has the upper hand.
I plugged in the GPS coordinates Reed provided on my phone and it lets me know where I have to go, calling out turns and such. There are no street lights out here, just the moon and it’s hiding behind dark clouds. My headlights shine ahead, lighting up dust motes and dirt kicked up from the road—if you can call it that. It’s barely passable, especially in my car. Low to the ground, it’s not much good for off-roading.
When I get to the spot Reed wants me, my phone tells me to stop. I hold down the brake and put the car in park. Then I look around. I see nothing. Trees and weeds. That’s it. I wait for a good ten minutes before I see lights approaching from behind me. I worry they’re Vik’s, but he’s not that careless. If I know my brother, he parked in some bushes and moved in closer on foot when he saw me stop.
I stay in the car and wait for the appro
aching car to come up alongside of mine. The lights shine in my rearview mirror and I squint through the bright light before tipping the mirror up to get it out of my eyes. A truck stops and Reed is in it.
I roll down my window and he mirrors my movements. My cousin glances around before he speaks. “You didn’t bring him.”
“And you didn’t bring Ivy.”
“What are we doing, man?” he says. “We’re family. We used to count on each other. And a woman comes between us?” He’s right. We’re family and once upon a time, we were friends. But I’ve barely seen him since I got back and I don’t know him anymore. And if family meant a goddamn to him, he wouldn’t be holding my girl hostage right now. He would have come to me and we’d have worked this out. To me, he’s nothing now. Just a man that’s wronged me and depending on how badly he’s hurt her, he might also be a man I want to make suffer.
“Where is she?” I demand.
“Nowhere near here.” He shakes his head. “Get in and I’ll take you to her. That’s the only way this is going to work. I know you don’t have Jack. I got a source that says he left Sterling yesterday. Hopped a plane to Toronto.”
“Is that so?”
Reed shrugs. “Yeah. So get in the car.”
I know this is a bad move. I don’t need anyone to point it out. In fact, I can hear my brother as if he was here. He’d say, ‘Pull out your fucking gun and shoot him in the face. We’ll find the girl later.’ But I can’t do that. Reed might have been quiet in high school, but he was also determined and able to commit atrocious things without his conscience creeping in. For all I know, he could have buried her somewhere and she’ll run out of air if he doesn’t get to her in time. He’d do something like that. That’s why I have to give in. And just hope he doesn’t kill me before I get to her.
I turn off my ignition. Hope to God that Vik doesn’t let me down. Then I push open my door and slide into Reed’s truck. He holds out two zip-ties. He gestures with his head to my wrists.
I glare at him, wondering once again if this is a good idea.
“You won’t see her again if you don’t. She’ll be dead by the time you find her.”
I bite down hard and swallow my anger. He’s blood and I want to hurt him. I want to rip him apart like the man who hurt Claire. The only thing stopping me is the hope that I might see Ivy again. Though in this moment, I wonder if she’s still alive. I can’t imagine a world where she doesn’t exist.
He ties my wrists together tightly. While I focus my hate and communicate it with a death stare, he pats me down and pulls out the backup weapon in my boot. He also finds a knife in my pocket and removes my Glock from the holster under my arm. “I’m sorry about this, cousin. I really am. Of all the family we got, I liked you the most. I hoped maybe we’d hang out more, but that obviously won’t happen now.” He forces a smile. Then, without warning, he picks up my gun and slams it into my temple.
My head is heavy on my shoulders. It throbs and aches with enough force to make me want to scream. I don’t. I focus. I’m tied to a chair and there is a slow drip of water nearby, like a leaking faucet. Steady and quiet. When I finally open my eyes, I am relieved to see Ivy in another chair facing me, maybe ten feet away. At first, I’m elated and I struggle to break free from the ropes tying me to the chair so I can get to her. Then I see her face and the devil inside of me breaks free. Heat grows inside of me like a volcano and I’m ready to explode.
I count to ten. Try to calm down. I need to be her rock, make her feel like I’ve got this and we’re going to be okay. Even if I don’t know that myself. “Ivy, baby?”
She half smiles, but it’s insincere and I can see from the strain on her beaten face that she’s in pain. I assume it’s from her face but then I see her hands and I struggle more, jolting about in my seat until there is blood on my wrists. Helplessness. It’s an awful feeling. And I feel it in spades now. It’s like a knife slashing over every inch of my skin while someone throws salt on me.
I search for Reed and he stands to the right. His weapon is down at his side while he looks off to the exit, away from Ivy and me. Guilt. About what he’s done, or what he has to do, I don’t care. I only care about ripping him apart, but I can’t do that while I’m tied to a chair. I need more time. Just enough to stall him until Vik gets here.
“Reed, this ain’t right. We can get through this. Just tell me what’s going on. Why would you steal from Yuri? He’s your father. He’d give you the money if you needed it.”
He laughs out loud. “You think I need the money? Nah, it was never about that.”
“Then what is this about?”
He sighs. “I guess it don’t matter anymore. Neither of you are going to tell anyone.” He comes close enough that I can lunge at him if I can just manage to get through these ropes. While Ivy’s hands are tied to the chair arms, my chair doesn’t have them, so he’s got my hands tied behind my back. That works in my favor because it means I can try and wiggle out of them without him noticing.
“A few years back we were torturing this guy that stole from us. Just me and him. Dad wanted me to take care of the guy. The guy started talking and he didn’t stop. Turns out, he worked for the Dantes from Sterling City. And he knew of a place they stashed money off the coast. Weighted and sealed containers hanging from buoys on ropes. He killed the guy and recovered those packages. All from gun money. Over ten million dollars. Dad kept all of it and he told me to keep my mouth shut because he didn’t want to share it with the rest of the family. There were other things too he never told the family about. Kept most of the money we all earned and handed us all pennies. I wasn’t having it anymore. So I started taking stuff from him. Little stuff at first. Stuff he wouldn’t notice.”
“You barely stole anything at all. Nothing compared to the money he has.”
“I know. It wasn’t about the amount; it was the fuck you. It was watching him freak out and throw things and lose control. Eventually, I would have moved on to bigger stuff. When he was focused on the stuff that didn’t matter.”
I scoff at him. “Your father is a prick. No doubt about it. But maybe you don’t kill us. Maybe you come clean. That will be an even bigger fuck you.”
“The family will never follow me if they know I betrayed him. To them, that’d be worse than holding out on them.” He shakes his head and taps the barrel of his gun against his temple before aiming it at Ivy. “I ain’t going out like that. With everyone turned against me.”
I twist my arms behind my back. The rope is rough but clunky and it doesn’t tie tight. By now, I’ve managed to loosen it enough to pull one hand out. I grip the rope tight with my free hand so the rest of the line doesn’t drop to the ground.
“You know what I have to do,” he says. “I don’t like it, but it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.”
“Let her go,” I growl. I grip the edge of the seat. A creak rings out but it’s still attached.
“I could have let you live, but I’ve made an enemy of you now and we both know you have to take enemies out before they take you.” He ambles forward, like his feet are heavy. “You both have to die.”
“No,” Ivy says. “Please no. Don’t hurt him!”
“You’re going to die,” he says. “You can sit here and watch me take apart my cousin or you can give me Jack’s address. He hopped a plane yesterday. Where did he go?”
She shakes her head, tears streaming down her face. Her voice is strangled and it guts me. I can’t watch her like this. I can’t let her die like this. I keep fighting with my restraints and manage to get my other hand free. While his back is to me, I reach down and untie the knots on my feet.
Ivy’s eyes meet mine and they flicker back to Reed. She keeps talking, keeps up the charade to buy me some time. “I don’t know. He never said anything about a plane. He never told me.”
“You’re lying.”
“No!” she sobs. “I swear.”
He raises his hand and slaps her across her face. The thwap
echoes through the vacant space. My ankles are free now and I push off my chair and lunge for the bastard. He spins just as I reach him and we fall to the floor, the gun flying from his hand and skittering across the floor. We roll around, each of us getting shots in. He’s strong, but I’m stronger and I’ve always been able to take a punch. I pound on his face, some blows connecting and some blocked with his forearm. My fury builds and my punches come faster now. He’s losing and he knows it. His hands rise to protect his neck and face but I keep going.
I barely hear Ivy yelling at me in the background. I’m like a dog that’s tasted blood and I want more, as much as he can give me. Then she screams louder and I stop, my fist mid-air, about to connect with his face one more time.
Reed looks up at me through the bloody mess of his face. My breathing is heavy. Ivy says my name again. This time it’s quiet. I don’t want to look at her, because it’ll bring me back to the night I almost killed Darren Black. I’ll see that look she gave me then, the look I never wanted to see again.
“Please stop,” she says. “Just look at me. Niko?”
I turn my head in her direction but my eyes are cast to the floor.
“It’s over,” she says, her tone pleading. “Please. Just stop.”
When I look up at her bloodied face and her bloodshot eyes, I swallow hard. “If I let him live you’ll always be looking over your shoulder. He could hurt Jack.”
Her voice is strangled when she says, “I don’t care. I’ll take my chances. Don’t be this person. Please just untie me.”
I nod, feeling choked up to almost the point of tears. Reed mumbles incoherently on the ground before his head rolls to the side and he falls unconscious. She’s right. I don’t want to do this, no matter how angry I am, but if she hadn’t pulled me from the darkness, I would have kept going.
I put my cut up hands on the cold concrete and push to my feet. My clothes are ripped and it hurts to stand upright. I stumble over to her and drop to my knees. Quickly, I untie her hands and then I drop my head into her lap and she caresses the hair on the back of my head.