CAGED (Mackenzie Grey #2)

by Karina Espinosa

  “I owe you big time, Michaels,” I said.

  “No. You owe me the truth.”

  ***

  We ran the mile and a half to Nevins Street, meeting up with the rest of the girls on the way. I ordered a few to stay above ground and watch the man hole on both ends to secure our return or our need to escape. With our wolf’s night vision, we were able to walk the terrain easily. Rats scurried around our feet, and graffiti plastered the tunnel walls. With my pointer finger at my lips, I shushed everyone into silence. A couple feet away was the abandoned train cart that Michaels had been talking about. I shut my eyes and honed in on the sounds up ahead. I could hear a heartbeat…two…three…four? I took a step back—he had called for reinforcements. I waved my hand so they would move back. If I could hear Logan and his goons from here, then they’d pick up on us too. When I felt we were a far distance away, I huddled us in a group.

  “Okay they’re more of them. I caught about four heartbeats, anyone else?”

  “I counted seven,” said one of the Lunas.

  “He isn’t alone, but there can’t be more than ten, which still means our odds are pretty good,” I said.

  “Are we supposed to fight them?” one of the Lunas asked. “I’ve never fought someone before.” I could see their faces transform from excitement to concern in a split second. Of course they didn’t know how.

  The light bulb in my head flickered on. “You two,” I pointed to a pair of random Lunas. “Head to our escape pothole and get ready to help us out of here. The rest of you start looking for wood, preferably pipes lying around. And let’s be real quiet, okay?”

  Everyone went off while Blu, Rachel, and I stayed behind to keep an eye on the train.

  “Do you think he’s in there?” Rachel asked.

  “I’m not sure. I’m hoping he is.”

  “What are you planning?” Blu wondered.

  “The girls are afraid to fight, and I don’t blame them. But we also don’t have time to give a quick lesson on using your wolf to defend yourself,” I pulled out the lighter Lucian had given me and popped the cap to light a flame, “so we’ll start a fire.”

  ***

  Twenty minutes had passed when everyone returned. I sent a few of them up top, especially the ones who were afraid, including Blu. I wasn’t heartless, I knew this was asking a lot, but their mere presence spoke volumes—they wanted change and we were going to get it.

  “This is a stealth mission,” I whispered to the group of six that was left. “We need to find all entrances to the train and seal it off. They typically have handles, so stick as many pipes as you can to lock the door. If there isn’t a handle, you’ll need to wolf out. I have faith in you all. We’re just as strong as them.”

  “What about the windows?” Rachel asked.

  “They’re practically bullet proof, it will take them a long time before they’ll be able to break through. By then, they might not have the strength to do so. Are you ready?”

  They all nodded and it was now or never. Like the ninja team we weren’t, we navigated our way to the train without being seen, which was easier said than done. Our footfalls made noise as we stepped on unavoidable rocks but we stayed in the shadows. Anytime they heard us, one of the wolves would peek out the window but see nothing. We were lucky they weren’t on high alert. The closer we got, the more I recognized Logan’s scent. As the girls dispatched to their assigned locations, I climbed the stairs up to the roof of the train while they secured the exits. I felt a heaviness in my abdomen that I couldn’t name. Logically, I knew what I was doing was wrong, that it would illicit unknown consequences for many involved, including myself. That for the first time, I was committing cold-blooded murder. I’ve always had the excuse of self-defense, but not anymore. If I was being rational, then this was all a selfish act. I was reacting to what Logan had exposed me to and the things he has done in the past. I was functioning on pure revenge and not completely for the rights of Lunas.

  As I got the okay from everyone, I turned the wheel of the overhead latch and unlocked the door. Roughly six pairs of wolf eyes zoned in on me as I pour the gasoline down below. Their shock only gave me a few seconds to work with. My hands shook from nerves, anticipation, and overall fear as I locked in on Logan. I reached for the lighter in my pocket and dropped it below just as growls and canines came out. They all ran to their nearest exits and when that didn’t work, they clawed and punched the windows. The fire grew faster than expected and a flame came whooshing out of the roof opening. It threw me back a few, making my head bounce against the metal train. I shook my head to straighten my vision and shut the ceiling door.

  I hopped down from the train, not bothering to take the ladder, and went to help the girls. Cries of pain and agony ripped through the cart and out into the tunnel. I tried to tune it out as the smell of burned flesh escaped. The Lunas resolve was declining as I watched the ones in my immediate line of sight start to let go of the doors.

  “What are you doing?” I gasped.

  “I-I can’t,” one of them stuttered as she let go and ran toward the exit.

  “Shit,” I muttered as the door she’d been securing burst open. Huge flames escaped as a body emerged. His clothes were tattered to almost nothing, and his skin was covered in red, blistering welts that looked like boiling water as it sizzled. And with all of that, I still recognized who it was—Logan.

  “YOU!” he pointed to me. The Lunas had finally left their positions, with no one else coming out of the train. They all ran to my side, and I pushed them behind me as if I could protect them. Who was I kidding, I could barely protect myself.

  “Run!” I yelled to them but not a single one moved a foot. “Run!” I called back, this time I turned to face them and pleaded with my eyes. If anyone deserved to die as a consequence, it was me.

  “No,” Rachel stood firm. “We’re in this together.”

  I didn’t have time to argue, Logan came for me, his moves sluggish from his injuries. He tackled me to the ground and landed a few blows to my face before his hands wrapped around my neck.

  “You stupid bitch! I should have had your ass when I had the chance. Couldn’t stay away, huh?”

  I froze in his grasp. Flashbacks of not too long ago crossed my mind and I couldn’t move. Rachel came behind him, she had half shifted as she slashed her clawed hand at the nape of his neck and back. His hold on me loosened and I was able to buck out of his grip. He swatted Rachel like a bug and she went flying back. Another Luna went for him but he pushed her away before she could strike. I jumped to my feet and half-shifted. My wolf giving me the strength I needed, I got one good punch before he took hold of my wrists and pressed me against the tunnel walls. The fire of the train blazed and it was expanding. If we didn’t move soon, we’d all die.

  “I am the Alpha! You will respect—”

  My canines protruded from my gums as I bit down on his throat and ripped. Flesh and blood filled my mouth as he released me. His eyes had gone still and empty as he fell to a crumpled heap at my feet.

  “You will respect me,” I growled and smashed my boot over his lifeless face. Number ten.

  Chapter Twenty

  I thought I would feel different—better, like a weight would be lifted from my shoulders; that I wouldn’t scrub at my skin to the point of blistering redness anymore, that I wouldn’t flinch or cringe anytime someone breathed near me. This behavior made me angry—furious. It wasn’t me. When my insides knotted as I walked into the warehouse with the rest of the Lunas, the sensation pushed me to the verge of throwing up. I felt no better than when I was being held captive by Logan.

  “You all know what to do,” I whispered as we entered the building. The seed was planted as the Lunas fanned out and I walked in and made a bee line for Amy. She was at a table on her laptop while Emma was drawing.

  “Ace!” Emma exclaimed and waved a sheet of paper, showing me what she was doing.

  “What’s up, Kid?” I took her drawing with shaky finge
rs and quirked a brow as I looked it over. “Uh…what is this?”

  “That’s you, and me, and Roman…you see his fangs and the blood? Oh, and there’s Amy!”

  I chuckled nervously. “Oh. That’s nice.”

  “You don’t like it…” her face fell and I tried to recover.

  “What? Of course I do! You’re like the next Picasso.”

  Emma rolled her eyes. “I’m not stupid and you’re a horrible liar.”

  I sighed as I sat down next to Amy and watched as Emma scraped the drawing and started over again. Gripping the pencil tight as she pressed the tip on the paper harshly, trying to make a straight line. The tip of her tongue peeked out while she concentrated.

  “She’s got you there,” Amy laughed as she was typing. “Lying is not your forte.”

  “Whatever. I’m an excellent liar—I could be a politician,” I smirked.

  They both laughed and I deflated a little. Watching my reflection on Amy’s laptop screen, I tamed my disheveled hair, and straightened my shirt. I looked a mess.

  I cleared my throat. “Where’s the boy toy?” I asked searching for Jackson’s hipster ass.

  Amy typed away mindlessly on her computer. “He should be back any minute now. He went for a run before the full moon tomorrow.”

  “Why?”

  “He’s going to be staying with me while you’re all at the Estate.”

  “Well…” I hummed. “I’m not going either.” I held my breath and waited for her wrath. I wasn’t sure how she’d react to this but I had to stop taking advantage of the Pack. I couldn’t be half in and half out. That meant shifting on my own.

  Amy shrugged.

  “That’s it? You’re not pissed?”

  She sighed and turned to me. “I agree with you on this. If you choose to be a lone-wolf, then by golly, be one. Its time you start figuring out how to live without the Brooklyn Pack—without Bash and Jonah.”

  I nibbled on my bottom lip. The truth sucked, but I needed to hear it. I had to practice what I preached. Especially with what I just did, I had to put some distance between me and the Pack before everyone found out. Secrets don’t stay secrets for long.

  “You’re right, Aims,” I muttered. “And I’m sorry about before. I know you’ve sacrificed a lot for me and I haven’t been appreciative enough.”

  “You’re a sucky friend,” Emma blurted.

  “Mind your business, short stuff,” I glared at her. Amy high-fived Emma. “Really?”

  “You don’t suck Kenz…that much,” Amy giggled as she took in my appearance. “Dude,” she pointed to my jeans. “Is that blood?”

  I zoned in on the splotches of dried blood and chuckled. “I went out for a hot dog and made a mess.” I licked the pad of my thumb and swallowed an inward cringe as I tried to scrub the stain of Logan away. It wasn’t the right time or place to fill Amy in on what happened. She would freak out and cause a scene I wasn’t ready to explain.

  “About earlier, you said you stopped Ollie from flying to LA. How did he find me?”

  Amy eyed me in disbelief. “Kenz, if there was anyone that would be able to find you, it was Oliver Grey. With all his government connections, I’m surprised it took him a few months.”

  “How is he?” I muttered. I wanted to call my brother, see him, but I didn’t think right now was a good time.

  “Ollie misses you, Kenz,” Amy reached for my hand. “I told him you needed space from some stuff and didn’t want to be bothered. He was hurt that you didn’t reach out to him, but he tried to understand and left you alone. He’s been keeping tabs on you but has kept his distance.”

  “I miss him too, Amy,” I said as I wiped away a stray tear. “Do you think he knows? About my adoption?”

  “I don’t know, babe, but either way, Ollie won’t love you any less.”

  I nodded. If there was anything I was certain of, it was that my brother wouldn’t abandon me.

  “Where have you been, anyway?” Amy asked. I was about to answer when a commotion from the second floor interrupted me. All we could see was blonde hair whipping back and forth as some wolves tried to keep blondie from leaving one of the rooms. “Chick fight?” my best friend muttered.

  “I hope,” I said absent-mindedly as we watched, engrossed in the scene.

  “Aren’t you anti-feminism,” she chuckled.

  “I believe in equality, any other label than that is irrelevant to me. And whether it’s a chick fight or a dick fight, I don’t care. I just wanna see a fight,” I smirked. Anything was a better distraction than replaying the last two hours in my head.

  “I’m going to kill her!” someone screeched and I winced from the high pitch.

  “Why does that voice sound familiar?” I groaned as I figured out who was losing their shit upstairs.

  “She either realized she’s never going to mate with Bash,” Amy said still staring as she played with her lip ring. “Or you sneaked into her room and put Nair in her face wash,” she paused to look at me, “which is totally plausible.”

  “I would never!” I admonished. “I would have put it in her shampoo. Duh!”

  Amy shook her head, resigned. “You have criminal tendencies, my friend. Why you wanted to be a cop, I’ll never understand.”

  “Oh, stop it!” I waved her off with a grin. “You’re too kind.”

  “MACKENZIE GREY!” Vivian shrieked as she bolted down the steps.

  “Plot twist,” Amy mumbled. “Although I shouldn’t be surprised.”

  “You!” V pointed at me as she moved in my direction. “You think you have it all figured out don’t you,” she said in disgust. My eyebrows wanted to shoot up to the sky in shock, but I schooled my features.

  “I’d like to think I do, but who knows,” I shrugged.

  “I know!” V screamed. “I fuckin’ know!”

  “Whoa,” I put my hands up in defense and stood from the table. “Language, we have children in the vicinity,” I nodded toward Emma who looked confused and had long forgotten her drawing.

  Jackson bounded from the basement, his eyes going straight to Amy as if he had a GPS tracking her. “What’s going on?” he demanded, standing in front of his girlfriend.

  “This…this mutt, she broke the law!” V screeched. Her mascara streamed down her cheeks, and I noticed her blotched, red-rimmed eyes.

  “A mutt?” I smirked. “Let’s try to get a little more creative, V.”

  “What did Mackenzie do?” Jackson sighed and I was taken aback. Why was it that I was always to blame?

  “Me? She’s the one who just went psycho. I’m innocent in this.”

  V scoffed. “The Lunas are rebelling…because of her!” I felt like I was in kindergarten getting tattled on. I wanted to point a finger right back and yell ‘nuh uh!’ But I’m an adult—at least I try to be.

  Jackson growled. “Those are serious accusations, Vivian. Do you have anything to back up your claim?”

  “Yes!” she yelled. “Ask them! Ask them to do anything for you and see what they do!”

  Jacksons brown eyes met mine and he appeared conflicted. I didn’t understand this reaction. It was as if he didn’t want to test this theory—did he know?

  “Viv—”

  “DO IT!” she screamed at him.

  His eyes flashed gold and she took a step back and bowed her head in submission.

  “Your place,” he growled. “If anyone is rebelling it looks as if it’s you.”

  She buried her face in her hands and bawled—I didn’t understand her reaction. Why would rebellious Lunas make her bust out in an ugly cry? If she was pissed, I expected it. She wanted to be the Alpha Luna and if there were none to control, then her title would be pointless. But she was sad—devastated—as if someone had died…

  I gasped, drawing attention. “You,” I whispered. “You were his informant weren’t you?”

  Her gaze rounded and that was all the proof I needed. Logan had someone feeding him information about me. I figured it was Drusi
lla because let’s face it, the shit he had on me was sort of public knowledge. But not someone from the Pack. I never even thought it would be possible.

  A range of emotions crossed V’s face from shock, denial, anger, and then resignation—the bitchy kind.

  “So what if I did? You deserve everything you got and more!” she wailed.

  My wolf awoke and a roar ripped from deep in my gut. I arched my back and lunged forth in a half shift: claws extended, canines out, my face scrunched up with wolf-like features. My eyes flashed silver. I couldn’t form a single thought or insult to say. I was livid. I had been lucky when it came to the Chicago Pack—if the others hadn’t come to rescue me when they did, who knows what tune I would be singing at the moment. For her to wish that on me or worse, and take pleasure from it? It made me sick. I wouldn’t have wished that experience on my worst enemy.

  “Easy,” Jackson said as he came between us. “Mackenzie,” he warned.

  Nothing he said would matter. What she did, or could have done, that was unforgivable.

  “You and your mentality are part of the reason why Lunas live the way they do,” I spit out, “why they are treated as nothing more than second-class citizens. Because you don’t know what it means to stick together and defend one another, to stand up for each other instead of the dirty backstabbing, and hatefulness. Your kind of poison is why you won’t leave here alive,” I huffed. My chest heaved in rapid motions; all control lost.

  “Mackenzie!” Sebastian’s voice boomed. The growing crowd parted for him and he strode over with calculated precision. His glare sapphire orbs as they glowed between us. “You will not lay a finger on her,” Bash warned me.

  “What I did, I did for the good of the Pack!” Vivian pleaded with Bash. “I know what she came here for, why she returned to New York. Don’t let her fool you, Sebastian. She came to destroy us all!” Her whole frame shook with restrained anger. She was at the brink of exploding and I wanted to poke the bear to see what nasty truths would arise. I was too curious.