Twisted Fate (Fortitude Memories)

by Tracey Jukes

  Ash takes his truck with Nyla, and I travel with Effie, and we go back to my place. When we arrive, she’s reluctant to get out of the car and is looking all around her like someone is about to pounce.

  “You’re safe here.”

  She follows me to the elevator, but asks if there are any stairs.

  “We’re on the top floor, Effie. It’s a fair way up.” She looks agitated. “Hold my hand, and close your eyes. I promise you’ll be there before you can count to ten, all right?”

  She nods her head and gives me a weak smile, a smile I remember seeing ten years ago. I have so many questions to ask her, most of them being about Esme, but also about her, and that damn awful night that resulted in my best friend taking his life. A night that’s haunted me ever since it happened.

  Ash and Nyla are waiting on us when we exit the elevator, and Effie is on edge again. It’s not helping that Nyla is giving her the evil eye.

  “Nyla, we need her help. And before you start, I know Esme’s your best friend, but she’s my woman, and that trumps you right now.” I unlock the door to my apartment, and we all go inside. “Effie, sit, please.”

  “Reid, I’m so sorry everything is such a mess.” She’s gripping at the hem of her top, but she won’t look at me.

  “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. Following you and Jack that night was my choice. I know that, regardless of what my brother thinks.” She pauses for a second, and I think she’s done.

  “What does your brother have to do with any of this, Effie? I mean, I get he’d have been angry at the time, but how does he fit in this damn puzzle?”

  “I was a shell of myself afterward. I couldn’t leave the house, Reid. I flinched at every sound.” Her shoulders slump, and I know this must be really hard for her to re-live. “My brother was by my side every day. He had no idea what to do or how to react to my issues. What he did was blame Jack and you for showing me that place.”

  “Fuck. We had no idea that you knew about it, Effie. You have to believe that. Jack would never have allowed you anywhere near those idiots.”

  “Reid, I snuck in there. I followed you and stayed in the shadows. I thought he was cheating and needed to find out.” She holds her hand up to me to halt me from speaking. “I could hear the fighting and went inside. I knew as soon as I stepped inside it was a mistake, but it was too late.”

  “Damn it, Effie.”

  “My brother went to see Jack, and the next I heard he had died, but what concerns me more is that I think my brother was the reason he died.”

  What the fuck is she talking about? Jack committed suicide. We aren’t getting anywhere. I need to know what any of this has to do with Esme.

  “Effie, I don’t do patience where Esme is concerned, so just tell me, what has she got to do with your brother?”

  “Okay, okay. My brother said Jack was dealt with, and that you would be next. He became a prison officer and then a police officer, and he said first your brother, and now he has the prize, which I know as… Esme.”

  “No, it can’t be… he can’t be. Are you telling me that your brother is Leo Jenkins?”

  By now, my temper is raging. Effie nods her head, and I can’t control myself. Everything starts flying. Anything that can be moved, I fling across the room or smash with my fists. Nyla and Effie run for cover, and Ash fights with me to calm me down. Eventually, he manages to pin me against the wall until I stop and realize that this is because of Effie and what happened, and now Esme is paying the price.

  The girls come out once I’ve calmed down, and they see the state of my place and start tidying up.

  “Leave it,” I bark.

  “Easy. They aren’t the enemy,” Ash snaps at me.

  “Damn right we aren’t, and this is nothing compared to what I’ll do to you if we don’t get her back, you hear me, caveman?”

  I belly laugh at her feistiness. Good old Nyla knows how to break the tension. I think Ash’s nickname for her is proving spot-on. Firecracker.

  “That’s better. Now let’s clean this shit up and concentrate on who we have to kill to get our girl back, okay?”

  Declan’s mentor in prison has to have been Jenkins, and he is the connection that got him in with the Vipers—all in the name of revenge. What I can’t get my head around is how Esme fits into all this. I never knew her back then, so why?

  “Okay, Effie. Explain how Esme fits into all this. No more long stories.”

  “All right, Reid, listen. Leo was already a police officer and there was an undercover operation at the prison, and he jumped at the chance to do it. He knew Declan was being held there, and it was the perfect way to get to you, as you’ve worked out, and he then set him up with the Vipers.”

  “Effie, Esme, now!”

  “Okay, okay. After he found out you and Esme hooked up and it was Declan that killed her parents, he knew it was his opportunity to seek the revenge he wanted for what happened to me. But, Reid, he plans on her being bound to him.”

  “What the fuck does that mean?”

  “I don’t know. It’s just what I overheard between him and Declan. They were always arguing over her and who would claim her.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me?”

  “Please, Reid. I’ve told you all I know, and if I don’t arrive back there soon, they will know something is wrong. Then we will all be in danger.”

  I need time to think and she’s right, holding her here is wrong. She’s already on edge, and I can see she wants to run. I can’t blame her.

  “Dude, you know we have to let her go.”

  “Yeah, I know. Listen, Effie, I won’t keep you here. I just needed answers. I hope you understand.”

  “Yeah, I know, and I’m sorry. I really am, Reid.”

  “Hey, you have nothing to be sorry for. You’re stuck in the middle of this as much as Esme is, and I’m going to fix it. Please tell Esme that Smiler is coming for her, okay?”

  “Yeah.” She smiles. “I will make sure she knows.” She hugs me.

  I wasn’t expecting it, but I’ll take it, and I think she needs it, too.

  I whisper in her ear, “He really did love you, Effie, and what happened broke him. But I promise we will fix everything.”

  “Please, no empty promises. You have one goal, and that is getting Esme out. I love my brother, Reid, and he has only ever protected me, but he isn’t good, and neither are those he has working for him.”

  Ash coughs and starts talking. “Are you telling us that your brother runs the Vipers?”

  “Yes.”

  “Fuck.”

  “Ash, we need to move fast. I’ve seen what these guys do for real, and for fun, and Esme is a fucking threat to my brother and their crew,” I say. “Effie, we need you to create a diversion, something that will draw your brother and the some of the Vipers away from the compound.”

  “Oh, I don’t know. What if he finds out what I did?”

  “Please. We need this to give us a chance to get in there to get her out. Do it for Esme. She doesn’t deserve this.”

  “Okay. I’ll do it. Just let me know when.”

  We discuss a few more delicate details of how it will all go down and who will be where, and when. Effie is on edge as her face pales with some of what we have planned, and she has every right to be. But for her and Esme to get out of this safely, she needs to let us do this my way.

  Nyla is all geared up in black clothing and a beanie; someone has been watching too much TV.

  “Where do you think you’re going, Firecracker? Nyla, there is no way you’re tagging along.” He puts his finger over her lips to keep her silent. “It’s way too dangerous, and we have no idea what’s in store for us, so stay here and wait. She’ll need you more when we get her back here.”

  She isn’t buying it, but she agrees with Ash, and we sit down and start planning exactly how to execute this with what we know from Effie.

  Chapter Eighteen

  My whole body feels ruined. I can’t
move from the floor, and they took away the chair I had. I want out of here so badly, but my body is giving up. The beatings Declan keeps giving me are so severe that I’d be better off dead. It’s not just his fists anymore. He has metal things on his hands when he attacks me, and it’s brutal. I’m black on my ribs and legs, and one eye feels more swollen than before. I wonder if I’ll ever be able to see out of it again.

  I hear thumping footsteps heading toward the room, and I try to cower in a corner, but I can’t bend because the pain won’t allow me to. I groan because it hurts so badly and then the door swings open. I breathe a sigh of relief when I see who stands before me. It’s Effie.

  “Jesus Christ, Esme. What the hell have they done to you?”

  I splutter my words out as best I can, but I’m fading fast. I just want to close my eyes.

  “Esme, stay with me, please. You need to stay strong, okay? You have to because Reid will kill me if you don’t.”

  “Reid?”

  She reaches for my hand and looks me in the eye. “Smiler is coming for you.”

  Tears fall from my eyes because I know he is fighting for me and he always will, no matter the cost. Effie hands me a tissue and begins telling me her story and how Reid fits into all this.

  “So, you were the girl who was attacked ten years ago at the underground?”

  “Yes. That was me.”

  “Oh my God, Effie. I had no idea. So, Leo Jenkins, he’s your brother? The cop?”

  “Again, yes, and he’s also the Vipers’ founder. He brought Declan into the fold with a purpose of getting to Reid for revenge in my honor.”

  “Okay, so I’m piecing it together slowly, but I don’t get how I fit into the equation.”

  “You were never supposed to be part of the plan, Esme.”

  I try to sit up, but it hurts too much.

  “Esme, are you all right? Let me help you.”

  I try with her help to sit up, but the pain is really unbearable. It’s crushing into my tummy so badly, so I lay back down on the concrete floor.

  “You’re shivering. Here, have my hoodie.”

  Just as Effie puts the hoodie over my head, the door wallops into the wall again and the hoodie is pulled from me. Leo towers over us.

  “Effie, leave now.”

  “No.”

  “Get out now, sis.”

  “Leo, I said no. God damnit, for once you’re going to listen to me. I want to hear what you have to say to her.”

  “All right, have it your way.”

  Effie has some balls about her when it comes to her brother. He looks at me and smiles and then sits on the floor in front of me.

  “Sweet, sweet Esme.”

  “Why am I here, Leo?”

  He gets right in my face and his look is one of anger, but there is something else there, and my guess is pain. The pain he feels for his sister and what she went through, and that he couldn’t protect her from.

  “You are here because of your boyfriend and the consequences his actions caused. Because of him and Jack, my sister was attacked.”

  “How is that their fault? Did they tell the guy to assault her?”

  I think I’ve pissed him off as he grabs my chin and squeezes a little.

  “Let me get one thing straight. They will always be responsible. She followed Jack to the underground because she wanted to know what he was up to. He and that piece of shit Reid will always be responsible for what happened to my sister, and the life that was taken away from her. I presume he told you how Jack took his own life out of guilt?” He then makes a noise like on a game show when you get an answer wrong. “I paid Jack a little visit after I found out the truth, and the sight I found him in was depressing to say the least, so convincing others that he took his own life was easy.”

  “I knew you had something to do with his death. Why? Why would you do that? How could you? It wasn’t his fault!” Effie says.

  “It was his fault, and will always be his fault. Them doing illegal shit led to your attack, whether they meant it or not.”

  “Oh, and you’re the epitome of illegal shit, aren’t you?”

  “Effie, everything I’ve ever done was to protect you and because I love you.”

  She stands before him and asks him to get up. Just as he does, she rears back her arm and lands him with a thump right across his nose. Blood sprays everywhere.

  “I loved him, you bastard! You had no right.”

  “What the fuck, Effie?”

  “He was everything to me and you took that away.”

  “No, he took it away when he didn’t protect you, and consequences were to be had. Now it’s time for Reid’s comeuppance.”

  “Hey.” I draw their attention back to me. “You still haven’t told me where I fit into all of this.”

  “Easy, princess. I’m getting to that part.”

  “Don’t ever call me that.”

  “I’ll call you what I please. He has no say here.”

  I feel sick when he calls me that. It was something special shared between Reid and me, and coming from this sick bastard changes how I feel about it.

  “You see, I met Declan when I was a prison officer, and it was a bonus when I found out the connection. I always planned on getting justice, and it was like a plan fell into my lap.”

  “So, Declan was also a pawn in your game? Does he know?”

  “Oh, he was never a pawn. He was always in on whatever I planned for his brother.”

  I try to sit up, but the pain is excruciating, so I slump back to my side on the floor.

  “You see, Declan has sibling issues too, except his run deep. He—

  “—he killed our parents.”

  And there he is, the second part of this sick duo, Declan Taylor.

  “Declan, you have to know that was an accident,” I say,

  “Accident? A fucking accident? I wasn’t supposed to be in that car, but Reid, as usual, fucked off and never came home, so they were taking me to a sitter’s house. Bet he left that snippet out.”

  I get why Declan’s annoyed with Reid, but he can’t hold him responsible for their deaths. He was eight years old and Reid was young too. He didn’t know that was going to happen.

  “And me? I guess I’m a pawn in the game. Another way to get to your brother and for you, Leo, to get at who you think is responsible for Effie’s attack. Well, isn’t this just dandy, boys.”

  “I’d curb the smart remarks, Esme, unless you wish to meet your fate earlier than I’d planned.”

  Poor Effie is huddled in a corner just staring at her brother like she no longer knows or recognizes him, and I feel for her. She’s been through hell these past few years, and now to be stuck amongst Declan and the rest of the Vipers isn’t a way of life.

  “You are the best-added part in all this, sweetness. Using you as bait to get him here is better than we could’ve dreamed. It was like God was on our side, for a change.”

  “My family… why?”

  “Wrong fucking timing. That’s all. No biggie.”

  “No biggie? They were my family, you piece of shit.”

  My head wants to beat the ever loving shit out of him, but my body can’t move. I feel myself slipping slowly and I don’t know how long I can keep my eyes open.

  “Maybe if you hadn’t hidden, you’d be with them right now. So quit fucking whining, bitch.”

  I feel myself drifting now, and I can’t hold on any longer. I really tried to stay awake, but the beatings were too much, and the lack of food and water, too.

  “He’s coming for me.”

  “We know. Effie made sure of that.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Reid

  Ash and I are near the Viper’s compound, waiting on Effie’s signal before we can make our way in and find my girl. We see a few leave, but it’s not enough for us to gain entry successfully. I see two flashes of light from across the other side of the compound. It’s our guys’ sign, and I know our backs are covered for when we enter.
If I’ve learned anything about my brother and the Vipers over these past few years, it’s never to trust even those you once loved, and that includes Effie. I have no doubt they know we will be coming, so I’ve set my own plan in motion.

  “Brother, I have your back whatever happens in there, okay?”

  “Ash, always.”

  “Do you trust this Effie chick?”

  “Honestly, I don’t know. I want to, but she’s been tied up with them for too long and then there’s the loyalty to her brother too.”

  “Her brother doesn’t know loyalty. It’s time to show him what messing with a real family is all about.”

  Ash is right. I’ve babysat Declan for too long. Cleaning up after him when he’s caused mayhem and bailing him out when he’s gotten into trouble. Not anymore. He’s responsible for his own actions and they start with Esme and her family. One thing I’m sure of is, at the end of all this, I will have lost him for good.

  There’s a lot of noise and the gates open to the compound. Jenkins and Declan leave, followed by a few of the Vipers. It’s time for us to take action. I send a quick flash of light back across and they make their move just before the gate closes. I see Linc slip inside and we wait. It seems like forever, but only five minutes pass and the gates slightly re-open and we all move in. There are about ten of us, all guys from the underground, and I bark orders of where to go and the rendezvous point and then scatter about.

  “Linc, you’re with us. Just keep your mouth shut and do as I ask. Think you can do that?”

  “Fuck you, Taylor. I take orders from no one. I’m doing this as a favor for Bruce, so don’t get too cocky.”

  “Listen to me, you piece of shit, you will do as I tell you if you want to get out of here in one piece and not in a casket, you understand?”

  “Easy, boys. Play nice. Let’s go find Esme and get the hell out of here.”

  Ash is right. I need to find my princess fast. I have a gut feeling something is seriously wrong.