“And you were doing so well,” Leo says with a chuckle. He walks toward the house and signals for me to follow. I want to ask him if that chuckle means he’s not planning on killing me or if he’s figured out how to do it, but I think I’ve already used up all my courage because I’m fresh out of snarky comments and energy.
We step out from the trees and into the clearing surrounding the cabin. I move to stand beside Leo when suddenly he grabs me around my neck and pulls me up against his torso. Shocked by the sudden jostling, I forget the gun in my hand and close my eyes, fearful that this is the end. By the time I remember I have a weapon, it’s too late.
“Hide the gun and just go with it,” he says quietly.
I open my eyes and take a deep breath, clicking the safety on and shoving the gun into the back of my jeans. I squirm from the discomfort of the hard metal against my spine. I don’t know how the guys walk around like this all the time. I’m going to have to get a holster if this kind of shit is going to keep happening.
He walks me to the front door with his gun to my head. Daniel catches sight of us as we round the side of the porch. He doesn’t move to lift his gun or bother with taking cover. Like the traitorous asshole he is, he smiles.
A loopy sickness overtakes me, reminding me of the situation I’m in. The guys can’t still be on the other side of the trees. I assured them I wasn’t hurt the first time but didn’t the second or the third time a gun was fired. I don’t doubt that they are slowly making their way through the woods to me. I just have to ensure that Leo and I get to Michael before the club gets to us. I might be able to convince the club not to shoot him on sight, but if I have to convince them to allow him to see Michael and agree to a sit down, then I’m going to end up breaking my word. Leo’s right, I don’t have the authority to be making alliances on behalf of Forsaken. Thankfully, I’m all he has, and he knows it.
“Finally. Guards are dead inside, and the kid is detained. Put up a fight and had to knock him around a bit, but he’s breathing. Fucker was walking around like he owns the goddamn place,” Daniel says. The very sight of him makes me angry, but the sound of his voice forces a violent shudder over my entire body. I don’t just hate him—I actually loathe his very existence. “Looks like you brought me a present.” Daniel licks his lips and gives me a wink.
“How do I know I can trust you?” Leo asks. He forces us up the steps within feet of Daniel.
“Let me show you,” Daniel says. He lifts his gun and points it at my head.
People say their life flashes before their eyes, but that doesn’t happen to me. I experience a deep sense of regret and sorrow for the things I’ve never gotten to do. I don’t know why, after so many men have died this afternoon, but it’s only now it truly sinks in that I might not live to see nineteen. The realization eats away at me, taking small little chunks of my protective shield with it and leaving me desperate for an end.
I don’t know what I was thinking, bargaining with a Made man. I don’t know what I was thinking of running into the woods, into danger, without a weapon. I don’t even know what I was thinking when I started investigating Mindy’s rape. Every decision I’ve made weighs on me. I was a senior in high school and looking forward to graduation. I ditched class, spent too much time with my friends, and flirted with football players. Aside from the club, everything in my life was typical. I wasn’t more beautiful than any other girl in school, I wasn’t smarter than anybody else either, and I didn’t stand out in any way I can fathom.
Not until I put my mind to righting a very big wrong. My friends’ problems, like being so far from the mall, became trivial, and I started to find it difficult to listen to their childish whining. The football players were suddenly all talk with very little to back it up. And somehow the most important thing in my life became the thing I just spent a lifetime without—a mother.
I just wanted to show Holly that she could be safe here, with us, and that she could be happy. I never wanted her to be so damaged and so afraid of life. I thought if I could solve the mystery of who hurt her best friend, it would make everything better for her. But I didn’t solve it, because the club already knew, and they were already taking steps to rectify the situation. I should have known better.
“Why?” I ask.
Daniel’s smile turns predatory, and he rubs his thumb across his bottom lip. “Because Fort Bragg has fucked up peace treaties across the country with their unprovoked strike against the Italians in Brooklyn.” He obviously knows nothing if he thinks that’s what this war is about, which only confirms my suspicion that Rig didn’t just lie to us—he lied to Daniel, too.