Page 78

Riot
“I just… I still don’t understand why you would keep this from me, kid?” Travis glares at me, his eyes wide, hair standing on end from tugging at the strands. He’s been pacing the apartment for hours. Every time he sits, it only lasts a few moments before he’s back on his feet.
Spencer is curled up next to me with her head in my lap, finally sleeping. When they got here to Hannah’s apartment last night, I broke down and told them both what’s been going on with Zeke. All of it. His childhood, Ellie, the Syndicate, the hacking, the physical break-in at their safe house…
It all just spilled out of me in a mountain of word vomit. From the moment the words ‘Cole was taken’ fell from my lips, Spencer began crying and didn’t stop until she passed out from the exhaustion. He’s like a brother to her, and that makes the guilt gnaw at my insides that much more.
Every moment that passes, a little more of me falls into the blackness. I haven’t slept, and Arsenal and Travis make damn sure I don’t leave this apartment. So all I can do is sit and wait for word from Hannah or Blaize. Wait for an answer. Wait for a small sliver of light at the end of the tunnel.
I can’t keep waiting.
“I - I… You betray the Brotherhood, you die. He betrayed the Brotherhood. He held onto something he should have destroyed and set out on a quest that could bring us all down. Travis, I -”
“You thought I’d kill him?” he stops in his tracks and turns to face me, raising an eyebrow as his eyes bore into me.
“I love him.”
“You asshole,” he shakes his head as he circles around the coffee table and sits down on the surface, inches from where I’m sitting with Spencer. “You thought I’d fucking kill Zeke?”
“I-it’s the rules.”
“Yeah when Ryker was in charge those were the rules. I’m not him. I’m not… I’m a lot of fucking things ok, but all of you, every last one of you shit heads are my family. I would have understood. Would I have been pissed? Fuck yes. Am I pissed? I sure the fuck am. Enough to kill my family? No.”
“I’m sorry,” I murmur, blinking back the tear that threatens to escape.
“We’re going to find them,” Travis reaches out, dropping one hand down to my shoulder and gripping gently. “We’re going to bring them home.”
I nod my head in agreement, but that doesn’t stop the doubt from creeping in. It spreads throughout my mind like a slow acting poison digging its claws into me.
“Yo,” Arsenal walks into the room as he shoves his phone into his back pocket. “Everyone is gonna have to pack a bag.”
I turn in his direction, eyeing him cautiously.
“That was Blaize. Han got us the help we need, but it’s… well, we have to go to them.”
I flick my eyes to Travis and he looks from me to Arsenal.
“You trust this?”
“Hannah does,” Arsenal shrugs. “That’s good enough for me.”
“Fine,” Travis pushes up to his feet. He reaches down gently and sweeps strands of hair from Spencer’s face. “Come on baby you gotta wake up.”
“Riot will ride with me, you two follow. It’s a safe space, Spencer will be safer there than here.”
“Ok,” Travis nods. “Don’t make me regret it.”
Spencer stirs and sits up, still tired and exhausted as Travis scoops her up and carries her out of the apartment, explaining to her the next steps along the way.
Arsenal spins around and disappears back into the bedroom only to emerge a few minutes later with a bag.
“That was quick.”
“Rule number 1? Always have a go bag. Let’s rock, kid.”
“Riot honey, we need to talk,” Colt’s mom motions to the chair across from her at the kitchen table, before taking another puff of her cigarette and biting nervously on her thumbnail.
“Mom -”