The Price We Pay

by Alora Kate

I went to meet with Keylan.

  He didn’t come alone.

  “I hear many thangs about you.” The man, who I assumed was Carlos, stood next to Keylan. There was a black town car behind them, along with Keylan’s motorcycle. We met at the same location as always, the one where Mack and Harper had been.

  He spoke with a heavy Italian accent and looked nothing like a biker. He looked like he was in his twenties, which was too young to run a fucking club. His suit was black and shiny with a white button down shirt under it.

  “Good, I hope,” I replied, and glanced at Keylan who was in his normal pose. His ‘power pose’ with his arms on his chest, feet spread apart.

  “You work hard,” he dragged out and overdid the accent. I’m pretty sure he was faking it. “Harder than most.”

  “Thanks,” I said after a few seconds because he was staring at me like he wanted me to thank him. What the fuck was going on?

  “I’m not here to play fucking games.” I turned around and moved to get on my Harley. I had no time for this shit.

  The young man came towards me, laughing, “Sorry dude. My bad.”

  “What the fuck is going on?”

  “Just pissing you. Don’t get your panties in a bunch,” he said, still laughing.

  I’m dealing with a fucking child!

  I got on my bike anyway. “Tell me what the fuck is going on!”

  He put his hands out to the side in some kind of grand gesture. “I’m Carlos.” Then he spun around in a circle.

  Fucking Christ.

  Maybe the heat was getting to him.

  “You’re not Carlos,” I told him.

  “Okay, okay. I’m Carlos Jr.,” he put his hands on his hips, “but still, I’m Carlos.”

  “You’re his kid?”

  “I was his kid.”

  I flexed my fists, trying to remain calm with his next words.

  Don’t show emotion.

  Don’t show anything.

  He leaned in towards my bike and whispered, “Don’t tell anyone but dear old Dad got a bullet to the head a few days ago.”

  He’s wasn’t this way he was because of the heat. He was this way because of who his father was. Because of how he was raised.

  I raised an eyebrow and wished I had the option to record this conversation.

  “Dear old Dad was a bastard.” He stood back up glancing around the vacant lot. “Seriously, he was a bastard. His mother dumped him in the police parking lot when he was born and never looked back. Made the man bitter if you ask me,” he joked and turned to Keylan. “I like him.” He pointed at me while Keylan nodded.

  He turned back around with a large grin on his face. “Follow me.”

  I turned the bike on, waited for him to get into the town car, and Keylan and I followed him.

  We drove into downtown San Diego and ended up in the parking garage under one of the wealthiest hotels in the city, The Carmichael.

  I checked my phone while the town car parked and had nothing from Jaxon.

  I just had to get through this meeting. Alive.

  “Frisk him,” Carlos told Keylan before entering the elevator.

  I’m glad I had nothing on me but my gun and cell phone.

  “I’m not my father,” he said eyeing me when Keylan started patting me down. “It hasn’t even been a week since Dad took the bullet and people already want me dead! Can you believe that shit?”

  I did believe that shit but said nothing.

  He let me keep my gun but took the bullets out before we got in the elevator.

  Taking the elevator to the very top, Carlos strode right to his bar as soon as we entered the condo. “Whiskey?” he asked as he dropped two ice cubes into the glass. His condo was massive and encompassed the entire top floor. You could tell that Carlos Jr was flashy and had no trouble spending his father’s money. As far as I could see, the condo was filled with crystal, luxurious furniture, and expensive paintings. The hardwood floor was so beautiful I didn’t want to walk on it.

  “I’m good.”

  He handed me a glass anyway and I followed him to the gray couch in the middle of the room. Keylan stood behind him, while I sat in a matching chair off to the side.

  “I’m not like my father,” Carlos told me something I already knew. “I do things differently.” He sipped his whiskey and I realized I’d not touched mine. I hated the shit but I’m not about to turn him down again. I slammed it and set my glass down on the glass coaster sitting on the oversized coffee table in front of me. “It’s 2016 for God’s sake, and the man just wasn’t willing to change. He wouldn’t listen to anyone.” He sipped on the whiskey again.

  “Stubborn old bastard,” he said right before he drank the rest. “So, where’s your partner?”

  “Sleeping shit off,” I lied, sitting back in the chair.

  “He likes to party?” Keylan finally spoke up.

  Shit, maybe that was the wrong thing to say. “He did last night.”

  Keylan kept his stance but didn’t reply. He had barely made eye contact today and I wasn’t sure if something was up or if he didn’t like his new boss. He could be following new rules also.

  Carlos sat forward, with his elbows on his knees. “I need more drugs. I want more drugs.” I nodded, he continued, “I’m venturing out. There’s money to be made. You’re already bringing them across the Mexican border, so I’m guessing you could do the same thing for Canada.”

  If there had been whiskey in my mouth, I’d have spit it all out. “Are you shitting me?”

  “Go big or go home!” he said standing from the couch. “That’s what they say and that’s what I’m doing. I’m expanding and taking over.”

  I stood because he did, I wasn’t sure what to do.

  “You’ve got two days.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You heard him,” Keylan said, still avoiding eye contact. “Two days.”

  “I’ve got no contacts up north.”

  “Not my problem.”

  I tried my best not to jump up and start beating the crap out of the man, so I dropped my head and cussed silently.

  “This is what I want,” Carlos added. “And going forward, I’m going to get what I want. It’d be best if you did what you're told. I kind of like you and Keylan does also.

  “Christ,” I muttered pulling my head up to look at Carlos. “You’re serious.”

  “Dead serious. You’ll figure it out,” Carlos said, pulling out his cell phone. “If you’ll excuse me,” he wiggled the cell phone and put it to his ear. He then walked out of the room.

  “What the hell?”

  Keylan pulled out my bullets. “We aren’t friends, Latch. Just business. Here.” He put his hand out and I grabbed my bullets from him.

  “What do you think about all of this?” I asked.

  “I hated the bastard.”

  His answer surprised me because he’d worked for the man since she was fourteen. “Sounds like you weren’t the only one.”

  “I don’t like this one either,” he said as I walked out of the room.

  Marvey

  I slept through it all.

  Chapter 20 - Harper & Jaxon

  Harper

  “Harp.”

  I heard my name again and it sounded just like Randy’s voice but I ignored it because Randy was gone.

  “Harp!”

  I opened my eyes and was blinded by white light. My arm covered my face as I sat up. I wasn’t in a bed but on a hard floor.

  “Get up, Harp.”

  It was Randy again.

  “Randy?”

  “There you are,” he said with a small chuckle.

  I lowered my arm and slowly opened my eyes, adjusting to the light. I mean, it was horrid. Worse than looking at the sun.

  “Randy?” I asked again, looking around and seeing nothing but white space. No walls or doors in my view.

  “Hey, beautiful.”

  I swung my head around and saw him sitting across from me Indian styl
e, smoking a cigarette.

  My worst fear came to life.

  I knew where I was.

  “I’m dead!”

  “Technically,” he said blowing out smoke.

  “Technically!” I yelled and he laughed at me. “You’re dead Randy, that means I’m dead. I mean, just look around us!”

  “This isn’t Heaven,” he said and he tossed his cigarette up in the air and it disappeared.

  “Shit! I’m in Hell!” I stood and started walking, but there was nothing to walk towards. It was just nothingness everywhere.

  Randy was at my side, his voice in my ear, making me jump. “You’re not in Hell, Harp.”

  “Not cool, Randy! Not cool.”

  “Sorry about that, Harp.” He had the most beautiful smile, he looked so young and happy.

  Carefree and humble.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, staring him down.

  He smirked, typical Randy. “I brought someone to see you.”

  I had no time to think let alone blink before my brother appeared next to Randy.

  I choked up and started to cry. He looked like my brother. Not the one that was addicted to drugs. The one that I knew, the one I grew up with and played with in the backyard. The one who’d tease me when his friends were around, but after they left he would tell me that boys had cooties and germs and to stay away from them.

  “Harry,” I said softly afraid to move towards him.

  “Hey, sis.”

  “Oh my God, it’s you.”

  I finally made my move at the same time he did. I held him tight, sobbing on his shoulder. I didn’t care if I was dead. I had my brother again.

  “I came to tell you something,” he said into my ear. “You need to wake up.”

  “It’s okay Harry, I’m ready to go.”

  He pulled back. “My sweet sister, you are not ready to go.”

  “I’ve missed you,” I said cupping his cheek.

  “I fucked up, Harp, I did. But it’s not time.”

  “Time for what?” I was confused but then, I wasn’t.

  It was really weird.

  It’s like I knew where I was, and I could feel myself and my body but at the same time, I couldn’t. Like I was air.

  “It’s not time for us to be together.”

  “You need to wake up, Harp,” Randy said and Harry agreed with a head nod.

  “Wake up?” I questioned.

  “It’s not your time,” Harry repeated, squeezing my hands tight.

  “I want to stay with you,” I swung my head to Randy, “and with you.”

  My brother let go of my hands and I threw myself at Randy. “Why did you leave me?”

  He hugged me tighter and whispered in my ear, “You’re gonna be an amazing wife and mother, my dear friend.” I nodded.

  Then my brother pulled me back to him and I asked him the same thing, “Why did you leave me?”

  “I love you, Harper Ziegler.” Before I could tell him I loved him back, he pushed me so hard that I fell. “Now wake up!” he yelled at me.

  I was falling, the white light was getting smaller and darkness was taking over.

  I fell into a black hole with no bottom.

  Did he just push me to Hell?

  Jaxon

  I swung my fist down on Arsen’s face again and watched more blood splatter onto the floor. His once white teeth were now completely full of blood, his face had multiple open wounds and his eyes were just about swollen shut already. He wasn’t tied to the chair, he was free to fight back, but he wouldn’t. He just sat there, playing a game.

  “Where is she?” I asked again, watching a slow smiled creep over his lips.

  “Do you want to play another game,” he spit blood on the floor, “Jaxon?”

  “I want to know where they are!”

  He laughed in return. Before I could hit him again, Gabe pulled me out of the room. Shutting the door, he turned to me. “Shane broke. We got a location.”

  “Let’s go,” I said wiping the blood from my hands onto a towel one of the guys had handed me. I needed to make sure I got tested, but I figured a man like Arsen Wells wouldn’t put his life on the line sharing bodily fluids.

  “There’s another problem,” Gabe said as we walked out of the building.

  “What?”

  “He said there was a bomb in the building where the girls were.”

  “Do you believe him?”

  “I hope they’re just fucking with us, but we can’t take any chances.”

  “Right. We need to call it in.”

  We made our way outside, with some of them following us. “We’ll take care of Arsen later, he can sit there until he dies for all I care.”

  “I couldn’t agree more.”

  Twenty minutes later, I was doing CPR on Harper.

  Three fucking minutes’ worth of compressions and she still wasn’t waking up.

  Gabe stayed with me while his men retrieved Marvey and whoever else was in this building.

  We were running out of time.

  Gabe dropped to his knees and checked her pulse again. “Slight pulse Jax, we got to get her out of here now.”

  I stopped and picked her up into my arms. “Ambulance.”

  “It’s here, but they wouldn’t let them in because the bomb squad hasn’t cleared the building yet.”

  I carried her down the ten flights of stairs with Gabe right behind me, while two men from the bomb squad passed us, moving up the stairs. The EMTs were waiting for us with a gurney, and I laid her down while they started working on her.

  “No pulse,” the girl said, while they pushed her into the back of the ambulance.

  I climbed in and no one questioned it. The driver shut the door while the female ripped Harpers shirt open, placed the paddles on her, and shocked her. Her body jerked off the bed and fell back down. Harper’s arm was dangling off the side, so I grabbed it and held on tight while she was shocked again.

  The EMT checked her pulse.

  “We got her back!” she yelled to the driver and I heard him talk on the radio.

  I kissed Harper’s hand and noticed that her chest had burn marks on it.

  The girl was hooking up an IV and pushing fluids while the sirens rang out.

  “What’s wrong with her chest?” I asked, still holding Harper’s hand.

  “From my experience, I’d say she was hit with a Taser a few times.”

  I dropped my head and cursed under my breath, still holding her hand. I should have killed that man when I had the chance.

  “She’s got a few of them,” the girl said and I popped my head up and watched her examine Harper's body. “That could have been the cause for her heart to stop, but I’m not a doctor.”

  They tortured her. They burned her and scarred her for life.

  The rage boiling in my body was heavy. I was ready to jump out of this ambulance and go back to Arsen and really give him the beating he deserved. It was overwhelming and suffocating me from the inside out.

  The ambulance came to a stop and I stepped back and let them do their job. I followed them into the ER where they met up with a doctor and some nurses and wheeled her back. It took everything in me to listen to them and leave her side. One of the nurses offered to bring me to the waiting room but I told them I’d be fine. I prayed for Harper, but I needed to check in with Latch. I hadn’t returned any of his messages.

  “I’m on my way there,” he said answering the phone. “My uncle called.”

  “Thanks. Marvey was in a different ambulance but I’m sure they brought her here also,” I told him. “I’ll find out.”

  We hung up and I heard someone call my name, making me turn around towards the ER doors. Laken and Pacer were walking in, hand in hand.

  I stood there as they made their way to me. “Why are you here?”

  “Kind of a long story which I can tell you another time but I’m here for you guys.”

  She hugged me and Pacer gave me a chin jerk.

 
“Harper’s here, I need to make sure they brought Marvey here also.”

  “I’ll do it,” Laken said, patting my arm. “Talk to Pacer.”

  She walked off and we sat down in the lobby.

  “This is the third ER we’ve been to,” Pacer said sitting back in the chair with an arm out on the empty seat next to him.

  “How did she know?”

  “Gabe butt dialed her a few hours ago and she listened to everything until the phone got disconnected.”

  I dropped my head. “Christ.”

  He smiled. “She’s nosy.”

  “She is, and somehow we ended up at Gabe’s office and she hit it off with the Tristain guy and he told her everything. So, here we are.”

  I was happy to see them together and my mind was preoccupied for a few minutes which was a good thing.

  “Do I need to do the whole big brother thing?” I asked swinging my head to him.

  He raised an eyebrow at me then smirked. “I thought you were a fan?”

  “I’m a fan for life, but don’t think I can’t take you if you fuck with my sister.”

  He looked away. “You have nothing to worry about.” I believed him but there was something else going on.

  “Laken and I aren’t blood-related.”

  “I know,” he said still looking the other way.

  “Then you know she’s been through some shit prior to coming to live with us.”

  He nodded.

  “She’s strong-willed, stubborn and irrational sometimes,” I told him, “but she deserves the best. To be happy.”

  He finally looked back at me. “I’ll do my best to give that to her. But I’m not perfect. I might look like it and live like it, but I’m not perfect.”

  “No one is.”

  “I have issues,” he said under his breath. “But nothing for you to worry about.”

  I had no time to ask what issues he had.

  “Marvey is here, and I told them I was her sister so I could go back and see her.”

  I stood. “I need to check on Harper.”

  “Okay. Pacer and I will go to Marvey.”

  “Shit,” I ran my hands over my face, “Latch is on the way.”

  “Then we’ll wait for him,” she offered sitting next to Pacer.

  I walked over to the nurses’ desk and they made me wait a few minutes before I could go back and see her. The young blonde nurse pulled the curtain back and Harper was propped up in the bed with her eyes closed.