by Kenya Wright
“Because it’s part of a world that you can’t understand. A darker one that’s hidden from the sheep.”
I held the bottle in mid-air. Caden’s face flashed in my mind.
Her bringing up sheep made me think of Caden. He was always categorizing everyone as sheep or wolves like there was a mass of people who were just the puppets controlled by the real people in power.
Lotus looked off in the distance. “I saw him fight. I’m sure of it. That face looks the same.”
“And what was his name when you saw him fight?”
“This place doesn’t allow names.”
She’s just as crazy and secretive as him.
For some reason, I relaxed. It was like a special psycho police officer had come in to help. Who else could deal with Caden, but someone from his world of secrets and power.
I looked up at her. “What will you do?”
“First, we drink. Next, we talk. Then, we decide.” She motioned again for the bottles. “I tracked Freddy’s phone when he sent me the first message. I’ve been watching Freddy since, trying to figure out why he would contact me after all this time. I saw this Caden’s house blow up. I followed behind them as they ran with you to the boat. I had to call in contacts to find you all here.”
Please, let her help us.
I grabbed two glasses and slid the ice bucket toward me. “You were in the house on the island?”
“Yes. I pretended to be a maid.”
“I don’t remember you there.”
“People never remember the help. Nonetheless, his fingerprints didn’t show up in any system. That means he’s heavily connected. Do you know anything about his past?”
“No.” I poured us both a drink of dark rum, filling them halfway in the glass, and dropped in some cubes. “He said his job required secrecy and I believe he’s done some evil things in the world. Very powerful stuff.”
“I’m sure of it. I took his fingerprints from a glass in his house. Nothing came up. I bet he’s done bad things.” She lifted her mask off. A long black ponytail fell to her hip. A gorgeous face stared back at me. This Lotus was a beautiful woman, no getting around it. The soft lighting decorated her features into a stunning glow. Flawless cheekbones. A wide, red mouth. Puckered lips. Dark creamy skin. Eyes the color of a lightning and thundering sky.
“How the hell did I not notice you?”
“I was in disguise. Wrinkles. Gray hair. Fat body suit.”
“O-kay.” I took a gulp of the rum. The liquid burned my throat as it slipped down. The sting hit me next and it was much welcomed after all this craziness. “Wrinkles and a fat body suit. That’s Caden’s style—disguise and spying. You’re going to be a big help.”
“But are you okay with me killing him?”
That question had me choke on the rum a little. I coughed into my hand.
“I’m just wondering how far you want me to go?” She lifted the glass to her mouth and finished it all in one swoop. She swallowed and shook her head like she was waving away a fire. “Good rum. This is a good sign also.”
“I don’t want Caden to die.” I set my glass on the bar. “I don’t want anyone to die, but. . .”
She grinned and grabbed my still filled glass. “Someone will probably die. Better him than you and Freddy.”
True, but Caden’s death was something I didn’t want on my soul. After all these games, I despised him. However, I wasn’t ready to plan his death.
“There are only two ways to stop an obsessive love.” Lotus walked over to me and ran her fingers through my hair.
I moved away from her. “Don’t touch me.”
She laughed. “Why not? Freddy always liked the kind of woman that brought friends to his bed. I watched him make love to so many women in one session. A few drunken nights, he invited me to join his lovers.”
She looked at my eyes as if trying to gauge my reaction.
“I never joined. I never wanted him when he couldn’t remember. What about you?” she lifted her hand to my hair again. I gently pushed it away. She smiled and backed up. “You remind me of his mom, but are you like the other women he’s been with? In the end, they all ended up being more in love with his bank account than—”
“I’m not like anyone he’s ever been with and we won’t be sharing our bed.”
“And that is why he’s in love with you also.” She nodded as she studied me some more, walking in a slow circle around me. “Yes. Caden is obsessed and powerful. He is a man that does bad things but has no fingerprints to ever catch him.”
She continued to circle and then stopped behind me. “They exist. It’s just his friends are so high he’s no longer in the system. He is a man of lies.”
“Yes.” I didn’t look back. There was no reason. After dealing with Caden, I knew how to deal with people like her. Lovable predators. People that could crush a person in seconds but chose not to because that particular person intrigued them.
“I bet that Caden could get me a lot of money from somewhere on this planet. If I had his identity, I would know what I was getting into.”
“What do you mean?”
“Somebody will want him alive or dead. You don’t get this powerful without having big friends and huge enemies.”
“You’re going to give him to somebody?” I asked.
“Yes. That is an option instead of death.” She got in front of me. “I must be compensated somehow since you’re getting the man.”
“Freddy would give you something too.”
She nodded. “Freddy will keep me covered in diamonds and wanting for nothing for the rest of my life.”
“I’m sure of this too.”
She went back to the bar and made another drink. “I’m just going to kill everyone for now besides Freddy, you, and Caden.”
“Excuse me?”
She finished the glass and walked off. “This really is good.”
“Wait.” I hurried behind her. “You don’t understand. Caden has probably considered every future move by us. He’s good at playing—”
“Yes, game master. Noted.” She turned around. “You must wait in here.”
“And do what?”
“Not get killed while I kill everyone else.”
I blinked.
She didn’t crack a smile. “You’re going to hear a lot of noise. Stay on the ground even when you hear bodies fall.”
She dropped her hands to her thighs and pulled the daggers out of the straps holding them to her. “They’ll probably scream.”
She gripped the daggers and that was the only way I could describe them. One was bronze, the other silver. They had jagged edges that gleamed in the light. Dragons were carved into the handles. Each of the creatures had shiny stones serving as their eyes.
Jesus Christ. She looks like she could be in Tomb Raider.
Showing off, she spun them in her hand. “I’ll whistle one time to let you know that I’m still alive.”
I focused on breathing. “Okay.”
“When I whistle three times together that’s when you get Freddy and run. Just leave the room. Go to his. Get him out of here. I left him a letter in his room that I’m sure he’s reading by now. I explained that he’s to wait in there for you to come to him.”
“Where?”
“Anywhere.” She stopped spinning the daggers. “Run in any direction where the fighting is not happening. Run fast, Dawn. So fast, your feet burn and you’re out of breath. I will find you two later.”
“And Caden?” I asked.
“I get Caden. That’s the deal.”
“But what will you do with him?” Guilt sank in my heart. Hadn’t he saved my life from the Miami attack? He’d manipulated my mind and emotions, but I couldn’t have him murdered. “I don’t want you to murder him.”
She frowned. “I saw him fight. Let’s make sure he doesn’t kill me.”
“He’s. . .he has saved my life many times.”
“I’ll do my best not to kill him.”
“Don’t thank me. I’m intrigued. Caden could get me money or better yet, help me in my own interests in our world. I won’t promise that my actions won’t result in the end of his life, but then he chose this occupation.”
I wasn’t sure what his job was but looking at her and thinking of Caden’s games, they dealt in a dangerous world. “Okay. Do what you must. I’m sure he can take care of himself.”
“I’m hoping he can.” She turned around and hit the light.
Darkness bathed the room.
Lotus’s voice traveled through the shadows. “Hit the floor.”
I dropped to the ground.
Lotus opened the door.
“Who are you?” a man said outside of the door. A gun shot sounded next. Tumbling noises came. I looked up. My heart hammered in my chest.
The door swung back and forth as Lotus and two guards fought. She slammed her foot into one’s gut while backhanding the other. In seconds, she crawled up the other’s torso, wrapped her legs around his neck. A pop came. She jumped off the broken-necked guard and he fell down. She launched for the other guard. He shot at her. She twisted out of the way, stretched her arms out, and rammed both daggers into the sides of his neck.
“Holy fuck.” I gripped the carpet.
She dropped to the ground and whistled.
Fuck. She’s going to get us out of here. Jesus. Be careful, Lotus!
I prayed for her. I prayed for Freddy and me. I prayed for all the bodies that crashed through the grounds and the guards yelling to alert everyone that an intruder was there.
Chapter 37
Caden
In my suite, I paced, my bare feet cushioned by the thick carpet. The lack of sleep on the boat combined with a new rush of adrenaline spiking my blood had me wild with frustration.
Who did Freddy ask to help him? Who’s coming? How much will this ruin my plan?
I should’ve gone to bed. There was so much more to do. I had four hours before the new game would begin. I could barely focus on the plays without thoughts of doubt spinning in my head, telling me that I’d taken the wrong step down the road somewhere.
This time I may lose it all.
Tension built in my shoulders. I forced myself to sit down and breathe. I had to still my mind or I would be shit for brains by the morning.
Stay in the moment. Breathe. In. out. One. Two. Three.
And then gunshots boomed in the hallway. One after another. Like demented firecrackers bursting right outside of my door.
What. The. Fuck!?
I opened my eyes. My heart seized in my chest.
My life had been a sequence of set moves that I orchestrated each day. Usually, I knew everything that was going on around me. Recently, Freddy had fucked that up with him acting unpredictable, but I’d thought I’d ended that for good.
Gunshots? What the fuck?
I jumped up from my desk, grabbed my gun, and headed to the door. A body fell outside of my door. Then another. Nothing hit harder than a dead man falling to the ground. It was a sound I could never mistake.
A long whistle rang in the air next.
This must be Freddy’s help. Who else could it be? And why the hell did they whistle like that?
When faced with danger, one didn’t go into it, they went from behind. If this help of Freddy was in front of my door, I would get them from an unexpected area.
Instead of racing out into the hallway, I rushed to my window, opening it quickly, and climbed outside. This was part of the reason why I kept us all on the first floor, more ways to get in and out of each room without anyone knowing.
More shots boomed from out in the hallway as I jumped out of the window and hit the ground.
Okay, Freddy. Your help is killing my men. You’ve raised the game to a level you don’t want to play me on.
Running toward the back entrance, I gripped the gun in both hands,
Whoever had come for me was in my hallway outside of one of my doors. Running, I checked each side of me, wondering how many people thought they could go to war for Freddy.
He’s insane if he thinks he can battle me.
No one else came out of the darkness except for my own men rushing for the resort.
“Let’s get these motherfuckers from all sides.” I pointed to the front of the resort and then gestured for several others to follow me.
Whoever it is, Freddy, I hope you brought a fucking army.
Another whistle rang in the air.
What did it mean? Who was the person signaling to? This is going to be an interesting night, indeed.
My guys and I reached the end of the hall. Two jumped in front. These were my fastest. The first man opened the door and slipped through the empty doorway silent as a ghost. The second one came in later.
And then the door slammed closed, blocking me. Someone had done it from the hallway. I knew it couldn’t have been my guys.
“Fuck.” I tried to open it, but it remained shut. I shot the knob with my gun as banging and booming came from the other side of the door. The knob fell away. I kicked the motherfucking door down, annoyed.
Silence greeted me. The lights were off. Moonlight from the doorway displayed the gory view. My first guard had died with a dagger in his throat. The handle dripped with blood and looked like a dragon or a huge lizard. Had I had more time, I might’ve studied it. But my other guard lay on the ground, his hand wrapped around his neck. His body jerked back and forth as blood spilled from his fingers.
“Up,” the poor guy gurgled. More blood bubbled out from his lips. “Up.”
Up? Fuck! The person is above us.
I didn’t even move my head up as I shot at the ceiling without looking. A foot hit my jaw. I crashed into the wall. The men behind me shot at the object. Fabric wrapped around my face, suffocating me.
Shit!
I dropped my gun, clawing at the tiny body that had landed on my shoulders. And those dumbasses that worked for me, shot at the object, coming close to hitting me. “Stop shooting!”
A whistle came.
The person jumped off me, propelling my body to the ground. It had been a long time since I’d ever fallen. It had been years since I’d even fucking tripped. And here I was in a hallway surrounded by my men and getting shoved into the wall like a fucking high-schooler being bullied.
Who the fuck is this? I’m going to kill this motherfucker.
There was no time to glance or check around. Whoever was doing this had serious training. The type of education that I’d had in my younger years.
I jumped off the floor and launched for the huge figure in front of me, tightening my hands around his neck, and cracking the bones. I got you! I slammed my fist into his head. Bones cracked. Warm blood spurted over my fingers and dotted my face.
“Boss!” Someone yelled.
Flashlight hit the man I’d just killed.
Shit. One of my own.
“We need more light so we don’t kill each other.”
Several men came in with phones and anything else lighting the area. On the ground lay several bodies. All my people.
Where are you?
More armed men raced into the hallway. Shouts came from the lobby. We all ran that way ready to kill these motherfuckers. At least twenty beat me to the lobby, and then the explosion hit next. Bodies flew in the air. Flames charged up the walls. Wood splintered. Glass cracked. Men screamed in horror.
A whistle sounded from the hallway.
Fuck. The person never left the hallway. The noise in the lobby was just a trap. It was a timed bomb.
Someone shouted outside. My men ran out the door with their guns in the air.
“No.” I waved my hands around. “It’s a trap—”
A bomb exploded. And then more blasts came.
I dropped my hand to my sides.
That damn whistle sounded again from the hallway. The person had never left, just lured us around to die.
That’s it. I�
�m going to personally kill this motherfucker.
I grabbed a gun on the ground next to a body torn to pieces. Blood splattered all over the place. I doubt I’d be invited back to this resort again or this side of the world. It would be hard to cover up so many dead. With all the bombs that had detonated, it looked like two massive gangs had declared war.
The front doors flung open. Several wounded men stumbled inside. Crossbow bolts whizzed through the air and sliced through most of them. The few men that had missed being shot simply fell to the floor themselves and died from something else, probably smoke exhaustion or shrapnel from the bomb.
Who the hell still uses crossbows? How many people are helping?
One man shook on the floor. “There are. . .electric triggers. . .everywhere. . .bombs. . .computerized. . .bows.”
I kneeled by him. “Someone has the place rigged?”
“Y-yes.” He fell back down and gasped for air, his chest rising and falling like he’d just ran for his life.
No one else is outside. It’s all rigged. You step a certain place. Boom.
Using electronics took a lot of time. It was mainly a waste of time, actually, unless one had no choice. People used triggers when they had a small team. Other than that, there was no need to waste the time planning.
It’s not a big team. Probably two or three people. Maybe even one. No. Can’t be one, not knocking down my whole team. If it’s one, I’m crowning him.
The motherfucker whistled again. I’d been expecting it. I concentrated on the sound. It would have been musically pleasing, had my men not been dying around me. There was something off about the whistle. Something tapped at my head the whole time.
What is it about that whistle? Never mind. It came from the hallway again. Clearly, this motherfucker is back on the ceiling. It was a good idea for him to shut off the lights.
I breathed in and out.
Fuck it.
Quiet rode out the air. We both waited for the other to make a move.
One of my men got to my side. I had no idea where he came from, but I was happy he arrived. Two others hurried in and got behind me.
“How many people down?” I whispered.
“Almost everybody but five or so.”
“Fuck.” I’d have a lot to account for once work began next week. I’d lost men that weren’t completely all mine. Some helped The Eight. Their deaths wouldn’t go unnoticed.