by S. M. Butler
At this point, I just wanted to sleep. But that was another facet to interrogations. If I knew him at all, I’d not get much rest before he returned. As long as I was exhausted and drugged, I was susceptible to him. That’s what he wanted. A person who was well-rested and was able to fight the drugs in her system? That person was an individual who wouldn’t crack.
Me? I wasn’t going to be that person who cracked, but Jack knew I’d be determined. He knew all my weaknesses. I’d walked right into the lion’s den, and the only comfort I had was that he’d never get that decryption program, because I’d destroyed the hard drive. I knew the passkey to get into the laptop. But the files within were still locked up. The only way would be for me to rebuild the program. Maybe he knew that. Maybe he didn’t. I wasn’t sure. All I knew was that I was tired.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Dylan
I came to with my head painfully pulsing in time to my heartbeat. The floor was bare cement and cold. The air was stale, like it was below ground. Why was it the bad guys always had underground lairs? But it made sense. Have the restaurant above, and take care of the dirty work below that. A legit business to cover your tracks.
I groaned, and stirred just a little. My whole body felt like it had been in a car wreck. I opened my eyes and saw the wall. It was speckled with old dirt. Slowly, I pushed myself up to my hands and knees, until I managed to sit back on my haunches.
I rubbed my hands over my face, trying to wipe away the cloud of fatigue that hovered. Tattoo Guy hit hard. He also was well-practiced in the art of choking to unconsciousness. That wasn’t an easy skill to manage.
Though why I was still alive was a little bit of a mystery.
Actually, it really wasn’t. They had Cady here somewhere. They had to, which meant they were keeping me alive to get to her. I let loose a quick expletive and rearranged myself so I was sitting against the wall. I sat there for a couple minutes in silence, wondering when they were going to come for me when I heard the soft groan of a person close by.
All my senses went on high alert. I blinked and swept my sight over the room. It was mostly bare, except for the lump of flesh on the other side of the room. Cadence. She was face down, red marks on her wrists. Her head was turned away from me.
I crawled over toward her, whispering her name, but got nothing in return. My heart flew into panic mode, but I tamped down the emotions in stuck in my throat as I reached her. Slowly, I lifted her torso, gently turning her in my arms so she faced up. Her head lolled back against my arm, her eyes shut.
She didn’t look like she’d been hurt. At least, I didn’t think so until I saw her arm. There were several puncture holes in her left arm. They’d stuck her with drugs. But what kind? It looked like she’d gotten several doses of something. Her skin was heated and sweaty. I clenched my teeth. I wanted to pummel every single one of them.
“Cady?” I whispered. “Hey, wake up.”
She groaned again and her eyes opened, as unfocused as they were. She muttered something unintelligible.
“Hey, come on,” I whispered to her. I slapped her cheek a couple times. “Wake up.”
Her hands flew up to protect herself, grabbing hold of my wrist after a couple of tries. “Stop!” The sound came out more a whine than it was an actual word. Her eyes flew open, as opposed to the half-lidded looks she’d given me.
“There you are,” I replied, smiling.
Her eyes widened a little more. “Bambi?”
Goddamnit. I was never going to get away from that name. “Can you sit up?”
She nodded and let me push her to a sitting position. “What are you doing here?”
“Got ambushed in the alley.”
“Amateur,” she replied. “Fucking amateur.”
I rolled my eyes. “Really? It’s amateur that I got caught? What the hell did you do here?”
“I knew what I was doing.”
“Being a moron and walking into a trap? You don’t think that maybe they expected you?” I shook my head. “Think about this, Cadence. They had you, three years ago. Because of what’s in your head.” Which was a question even I didn’t have the answer to, and doubted I ever would. “Why should they chase after you if they can get you to come to them?”
She blinked, like she hadn’t even considered it. I really didn’t think she had. She’d gone off like a one-woman kamikaze mission. She’d never stopped to think about why she was doing it. Seriously, smart girls were kinda dumb. She shook her head with a wry laugh.
“He tricked me again. I thought I was done with him. I thought he couldn’t affect me. Turns out what I thought was simply a delusion.” She rubbed her temples. Her thumbs were white from the pressure she was putting on them as she rubbed circles into her head. “Damn. I hurt all over.”
The door opened, admitting Jack Allen and his men. Cady’s eyes turned cold as they followed Jack through the room. I’d seen Cadence Long in All-Business Mode. This… this wasn’t it. This look was all fury and hate. The girl I knew, the Cadence Long that had come apart in my hands vanished in the blink of an eye. There was a stranger in her place, one full of anger and hate.
~*~*~
Cadence pushed to her feet, stumbling just a little as she put her hand to the wall to keep from falling. She straightened then, and faced her old partner.
“Ready for round two? I’ve been patient, Cadence.” He stepped closer toward us, but stopped just out of my reach. I stood slowly, because I did not have a good feeling about this. If I was going to die here today, I was not about to die on my knees. Not for Jack. Not for anyone.
“I’m not telling you anything, Jack.”
He nodded. “I know. It was kind of dumb, actually, for me not to realize this earlier. It wasn’t until Gene saw your boy outside the restaurant that I realized my mistake.” He chuckled. “You and I both know that torture and beatings and drugs will never be what breaks you. No… you need a different kind of persuasion.”
Jack pulled out a gun and pointed it directly at my head. The temperature dropped out the bottom of the room. I stayed still, but my stomach flipped with very real fear. Whoever said that adrenaline canceled out fear was a damn liar.
She didn’t move. She was so still I wondered if she was even conscious in that moment.
Jack continued talking like he hadn’t pointed a gun at my head. “Your problem, Cady, is that you have a heart. You’re too caring. Too human. This business is all about being ruthless. That’s why you were so easy to fool five years ago. That’s why you’re going to tell me what I want to know now.”
She didn’t say a word. She didn’t even look at me. I didn’t move because I was afraid that would be the catalyst. I didn’t want to die. I was prepared to, but I didn’t want to. Finally, a smug smile lifted the corners of her mouth. “That’s where you’re wrong, Jack. I don’t have a heart. You shot it.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Go ahead and shoot him. If I’m telling the truth, it won’t make a lick of difference. If you’re right, you’ll have shot your bargaining chip. What are you willing to gamble to be right, Jack?”
“I could hook you up to the that chair in the next room, and let the electricity fry your little brain cells until you can’t think straight anymore. Until you’re screaming for me to stop it.”
“You say things like that like you’re a big man, Jack. Once upon a time, you were a hero. The biggest man there was. Now you’re shit.” Cadence’s voice was a low growl, so full of venom I almost didn’t recognize it as hers. She stepped toward him, dropping her hands to her sides. She gave him no room to maneuver, her chin held high, her back straight. She was only a few inches from him when she stopped, her eyes never wavering from his. “I looked up to you. And you killed me.”
Jack turned the gun on her, resting the tip against her forehead. “Sweet Cady… I could kill you now.”
“It’s not your style. You brought me here for a reason.” Her face softened for a moment and her next words came out in a whisper.
“I think it was to save you.”
He stared at her, slack-jawed, or as close to it as he got. His eyes narrowed. She stared back, not even blinking. Behind them both, two of Jack’s goons stood guard, watching this craptastic display of wills between them.
I needed to gain some time. We were fast approaching a cliff here, and I didn’t want to have to jump before my team arrived. I wasn’t even sure how long it had been since I last talked to Murphy. How long had I been out? Murphy would have tried to call me when he showed up at the rendezvous point and I wasn’t there. Where was my phone?
Jack swiveled his gun toward me. “There’s no saving me.”
I didn’t even see her move before she knocked the gun from his hand. It went off, ricocheting off the ceiling and hitting one of the guards. Guess adrenaline did give you superhuman ability. She’d barely been able to stand a moment ago. With the guard falling, I attacked the nearest one, taking my cue from her.
She lunged at Jack, wrapping her arm around his neck like Tattoo Guy had done to me. She locked her arm in place as Jack tried to bat her off. Another second and she had her legs hooked around his waist and locked at the ankle.
Tattoo Guy grabbed my shirt and threw me back against the wall, his dark eyes sparkling with unshed violence. I pushed the remaining guard, to make sure he stayed down. So much happened in such a short time. I had my full concentration on Tattoo Guy, because he kept coming after me, slamming me against the wall, or trying to punch the shit out of me. I dogged and evaded as much as I could, but I knew I needed to get free, so I could help Cady.
I rushed Tattoo Guy as I heard Cady scream, her voice full of pain. My body slammed into his. It was like hitting a brick wall, but I surged forward anyway, taking him down to the floor. I slammed my fist into his face several times, until he stopped trying to get up. I was out of breath as I pulled his gun from where it sat inside his jacket and stood.
Jack was gone. So was she. And I wasn’t sure it was because she chased him or he took her. Panic slithered through my bloodstream as I ran out of the room. The back room was empty, but the door leading into the restaurant was open.
Cady was gone.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Dylan
Outside was nuts. Valonian police were everywhere. Police lines were set up around Atrix’s building. Shouts rose up in multiple languages as I emerged, and I froze. Then I realized I’d come out with a gun. I raised my hands, flipping on the safety of the weapon and taking my finger away from the trigger. It hung from my thumb as they approached with caution.
“It’s okay! He’s one of ours!” The sound of Murphy’s voice shouldn’t have given me as much relief as it did. I turned my head toward him. The bastard wasn’t even in full gear. He had a black Kevlar vest on over a blue long sleeve shirt with a collar, and loose black slacks. Nothing like he was ready to storm a building. He wasn’t even wearing a gun.
“Thanks,” I told him. “Where’s Cadence?”
“Just over there. We caught Jack coming out the back of the building and two seconds later, there she was.”
“I’d really like to know what the hell is going on…” I trailed off when I saw Cady bent over, her entire torso heaving with the exertion. Jack Allen was handcuffed about twenty feet away, being led toward a black van by Valonian police. Yeah, something weird happened here. “I’ll catch up with you in a sec.”
I walked over to where Cadence was standing. “Cadence?” She swirled around, her fist flying at me. I grabbed her wrist and barely stopped her before she could hit me. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“You weren’t supposed to be here!” She screamed at me. “And them? What the fuck are they doing here?” She gestured wildly to the team who wasn’t too far, and definitely in earshot. Murphy’s eyebrow rose. Richter and Bonham studiously didn’t look directly at either of us.
“We’re just going to go check in with the police task force.” Bonham said, and grabbed Richter to go with him. Even Murphy escaped with Bonham—the traitor—without saying a word.
Cadence whirled back around, the fury emanating off her like she was radioactive. “You bastard.”
“Why am I a bastard?” I asked. “They’re there for backup, because that’s how a team works!”
“You didn’t trust me. You said you would.”
“Trust?” I laughed. “That’s a fucking riot, coming from you!” She wanted to throw trust in my face, when she had drugged me and tied me up when it was convenient for her? “When did you ever give me a chance to trust you?”
She didn’t reply immediately. She couldn’t answer that honestly, because she never had. In that moment, I realized that. She’d been so consumed with finding Jack Allen, with living with what Jack had done to her, that she had never even bothered to think of anyone else, or how she interacted with anyone else.
“You’re valuable asset to Lucky Thirteen… and you put yourself in a situation where you could have been killed or compromised. Where you could have cost other people their lives if you’d broken.”
“I didn’t break.”
I shook my head. “I can’t do this, Cadence. I can’t watch you lose it like this. You need to be done with this Jack thing. It’s killing you.”
“I can’t be done with it, yet, Dylan.” Her voice had a rough edge to it.
“You’re not alone, Cadence. Maybe one time you were, but you’re part our team now. You’re Lucky Thirteen just as much as me or Murphy or Richter or anyone. It’s a brotherhood. A family. You have to know that.”
“Dylan—”
“I need you to tell me that you’re done with it. With Jack Allen. With living in the past. Let someone else question him. Stop letting him run your life.”
Had she lost her voice? I waited a few seconds, hoping that she would say something.
Anything.
But when she still didn’t say a word, just looked at me with those haunted emerald eyes, I couldn’t take anymore. I knew what that meant. She’d made her decision, and so did I. I sighed. “Right. Guess that makes my choice easy.” There was nothing easy about what I was about to do. My heart rebelled, putting so much pressure on my lungs that it was hard to breathe. “I’m not going to watch you deteriorate. I love you too much to watch that happen. Not now. Not ever.”
I wanted to shake her and tell her she was wrong, that Jack was unimportant in the grand scheme of things. That I loved her, and I wanted her. Instead, I turned my back and walked away. And the thing I noticed after a few steps was that she wasn’t coming after me. She wasn’t trying to stop me from leaving.
It was really over.
A few seconds later, Murphy ran up to me. “Hey.”
“Yeah?”
“Thought you might need this,” he said, holding out my phone.
“Where did you find it?”
“In the back alley. The Valonian police closed off the whole block when we called them. They were collecting evidence and found it.”
“You called the police?”
“It’s their country. They have jurisdiction and were more than happy to help us recover our team members while taking down a criminal element. When Cadence ran out after Jack Allen, we were right there waiting.”
“Oh,” I whispered. I cleared my throat. “What about Giroux?”
“Wasn’t here when we got here.” Murphy’s voice took on a slight growl. I didn’t blame the guy. Giroux had almost blown him up last year. “But we do have Jack Allen. I’m hoping he’ll give us enough to find Giroux.”
I nodded. “I’m glad it worked out. I’m… gonna take off for a bit.”
“Where are you going?”
Who knew?
“I just… I need a break.”
Murphy eyed me carefully, like he didn’t like the idea of me running off. “You really shouldn’t be alone right now.”
“I really shouldn’t be around her right now,” I replied. I didn’t have to say who “her” was. Inside my chest, the tension built, lik
e when you squeezed water out of a wet towel, or blew up a balloon to the point where it might pop. “I’ll be around if you need me.” I waved the phone at him.
“Stay close. Like within sight, okay? I’ll keep her away from you.” Murphy clapped his hand on my back and walked back toward the van, they had. I couldn’t see Jack anymore, but I saw Cadence as she climbed into the specialized van, where no doubt Jack would be too. She didn’t even look my way as the door shut.
~*~*~
Cadence
Walking away from Dylan, as much as I was doing it, was getting so hard to do. But this time I didn’t have to do it. He did it for me. That was just a little more soul-crushing than it had been when I was the one walking away. I supposed I deserved it. I’d done enough to him.
Jack Allen had been my worst nightmare for five years. I had to put this to bed, because I’d never have peace if I left this unresolved. It just sucked that it was at the expense of my friendship with Dylan.
So there I sat, in the van, waiting for the others to join us. It was just me and Jack. The Valonian police wanted information on Giroux, so they were willing to let us take Jack, provided we shared our intel on Giroux activities in Valonia with them.
“Your boyfriend break up with you?”
I snapped my eyes up to Jack, who just smirked at me. He was fucking with me. “Did yours?”
“You know from personal experience I’ve always been about the women.”
“I doubt I know anything about you, in all honesty.”
“Oh, honey, honesty is a foreign concept to people like us.”
“There is no ‘us’, Jack. You and I… we’re completely different folks.” He didn’t say anything immediately. He smirked and leaned his head back, closing his eyes. His handcuffs clinked together as he shifted slightly.
“Did you let the kid down easy, at least?”
“Go fuck yourself, Jack. We’re not talking about him.”