Page 53 of Between Passion and Revenge, Part One (The Griot Chronicles #1)

STORM

W hen Riale and I drive to the meeting spot Axel sent us, I feel an overwhelming sense of this-is-why-Black-people-don’t-go-to-the-woods.

Not only does this motherfucker have us idling on the side of the highway in the middle of bumfuck between the Illinois and Wisconsin border, he has the audacity to be late.

There are a dozen other things I’d rather be doing, and all twelve of them involve Shae. And the longer I wait here in the darkness, the more urgent it is for me to go back to her and clarify that hell fucking yes, I’ll move with her.

I’ll follow her to the ends of the earth. Outside of my mom, Riale, and I guess Axel too, there’s nothing here for me in Chicago.

Shae is my future. I’m all in.

Now I just need to finish this business.

“Did he tell you what he found?” I ask Riale, who has been uncharacteristically quiet for the entire drive.

“No,” he grinds out. “But I have my suspicions.”

“Well, that’s not cryptic as fuck,” I mutter, turning to look out the window into the dark woods.

Riale just hums.

“Think you’ll ever tell me what’s going on with you?” I ask Riale, still not looking at him. I don’t expect him to answer, which is why I’m surprised when he does.

“Yes, and soon. I’m just trying to figure out how to keep you safe when you know.”

That has me looking directly at him.

“You think I can’t take care of myself?”

Riale is silent for a heartbeat, staring out into the black road ahead.

“It’s not that I don’t think you can take care of yourself, Storm, it’s that I’m not sure you can be smart while doing it.”

What the fuck is that supposed to mean?

Before I can ask any more questions, a late-model Toyota truck pulls in front of Riale’s Suburban.

Instinctively, I reach for the Glock in the side compartment, but Riale mutters, “It’s him.

Get out,” and he’s out of the car in less time than it takes me to rack the chamber.

“And leave your cell phone or any other device behind.”

All right. I guess we’re on to phase two of the stroll to the Wizard.

The first thing I notice when I slide into the short back bench of the pickup is that it smells like old leather and McDonald’s French fries.

“Whose grandpa did you jack to get this, Axel?”

He grunts and slides the vehicle into drive.

“Wanna tell me where we’re going?” I ask, and Axel gives Riale a short look.

“Storm, you don’t need to know where we’re going. In fact, it’s better if you don’t know. But I promise when we get there, we’ll tell you everything. Okay?” This comes from Riale, who turns from the passenger seat to speak.

I’m supposed to just trust this?

“Fine,” I bite out. “But if either one of you tries to kill me, know that I’m killing you first.”

Riale grins. Axel sighs and shakes his head.

“I don’t doubt that at all, kid,” Riale says.

We drive for what seems like hours until Axel makes a sharp left onto a dark road. I hold on to the oh shit handle as we bounce over the rocks, and I’m a little worried about us driving off a cliff or something.

Right when I’m about to start asking a lot more fucking questions, Axel makes another turn, and we’re in front of a small cabin in the middle of a clearing.

Axel kills the engine.

“Not a word until we’re inside,” he grinds out before jumping out of the truck.

Riale and I sit in silence as we watch him hop up the short stairs and turn on a porch light.

“You gotta do all this to talk to me?” I say.

Riale just shrugs and opens the door. “You heard the man.”

And with that, I’m alone in the truck, in the middle of the woods, wishing I were anywhere but here.

Like with Shae.

When Riale locks the front door behind me, I stand stunned in the entryway for almost a full minute, taking in the high-tech set-up Axel’s created in what looks like a shack outside.

The cabin is one big-ish room with a bathroom off to the side. On the opposite wall from the entrance, Axel has set up a wall of monitors and even more tech than I saw at his home all those months ago.

Also, there are more weapons. The open gun cabinet on the adjacent wall looks like Axel’s preparing for the real-life zombie apocalypse or some shit, and not just the ones he builds in his games.

Axel faces the screens, his fingers flying over the keyboard and Riale flops into a worn loveseat that looks like it may have come with the cabin.

“Okay, now I really need you to start telling me what the fuck is going on,” I say to Riale, and he shakes his head and nods toward Axel.

With a few taps of his keyboard, Axel sighs and leans back into his chair.

“Now we’re totally secure,” he says. He sounds tired, like he’s been up for days trying to solve some unsolvable problem.

“So we can talk now?” I ask, a slight edge of sarcasm in my tone.

“This might seem like we’re doing the most, but trust me, with the shit you and your family have me in right now, it’s necessary,” Axel says, each word sounding more and more angry.

“Me? What are you talking about?” I look between Riale and Axel, waiting for them to open their fucking mouths and explain what the hell is going on.

“Let me start, Storm. But have a seat because this is a lot to take in,” Riale says. I don’t sit down, choosing to widen my stance and fold my arms over my chest.

“Suit yourself,” Riale grumbles. “So you already know about what your father has been sending me to do overseas.”

“Yeah,” I confirm, clearing my throat but keeping my position locked in.

“Well, what I didn’t know, or I guess I didn’t understand, was why . I’ve known your father for more than half my life, and it just seemed so out of character for him to go from the man I knew to a fucking slaver.”

I swallow, my throat going tight. It doesn’t make sense to me, either.

“But I figured it out on my last trip, and of course, it all goes back to Lakeland.”

I shouldn’t be surprised, and maybe that’s not the emotion I’m sensing at the moment. Maybe it’s more like…validation. Resignation.

“Say more,” I reply, and Axel takes over.

“I went back further to see when your father got connected with these people. It traces back several years, and I was able to pinpoint his first visit to Isla Cara. But I looked deeper, and it seems your uncle Lakeland has been involved with them even longer.”

The hum of the CPUs is loud, almost deafening, when Axel stops speaking.

“So you’re saying…?”

Riale jumps in. “We’re saying that Lakeland was the one to drag your father into this. I’m unsure if your dad willingly came in or if he was blackmailed, but the end result is the same. Lakeland got your dad and Stratos tied up in some sinister shit.”

I hum when he finishes speaking, thinking through the revelations. It makes sense. Lakeland’s always been a snake…but I also don’t see my father as being so weak as to roll over to Lakeland’s whims.

“What could they have blackmailed him with?” I ask.

“Who knows?” Axel says. “I could dig deeper into it to figure out why, but there isn’t any time, and we have bigger things to worry about. Hence, all the intrigue in getting to this cabin.”

I sit down, finally getting hit with everything they’re telling me.

“It’s not just some crime families they’re connected with. Hell, you’ve known the De Lucas forever, and you know what they’re all about,” Axel says. “This is bigger. Think…think The Illuminati.”

I snort. “The Illuminati? Okay, Jay-Z.”

“Listen,” Riale says, his tone and expression deadly serious. “This isn’t a fucking joke. The ties these people have, the ways they’re running everything in this country and beyond…they’re not just part of the Black Market. They are the Black Market.”

What. The. Fuck.

“Okay, so what do we do?” I ask. “If my dad is all in on this, then he’s a lost cause. Might as well distance ourselves and let him and Stratos burn.”

Even as I say the words, dread sinks into my gut.

“Insulate yourself, your mom,” Riale says. “Anyone you care about.” There’s so much weight behind the last statement, and I know who he’s thinking without having to say it.

Shae.

“And if I wanted to stop them? If I wanted to take Lakeland down and sever the ties with these people?”

Axel and Riale are silent as they share a look.

“Am I supposed to just let this happen?” I ask, my voice rising as reality sinks in hard like a knife.

“You don’t have to,” Axel says, fire beneath his words. Riale shoots him a look, but Axel seems to ignore it. “You don’t have to just let this happen. You can take charge, and you can win. You’ll just need help. We’ll need help.”

And as Axel makes his case, I feel the truth of his friendship, how he’s down to make this happen by any means necessary.

“Riale?” I ask, turning to my oldest friend. His eyes are hard on me, as if he’s thinking through a math equation.

“If you want to go down that path, Storm, it’ll take sacrifices,” he finally says. “Ones I’m not sure you’re willing to make.”

I think of Shae again. I think of the fragility of what we’re building, and how much I want to see it safe. How much I want to see it flourish.

And I realize if I leave this alone, Shae will be less safe, more at risk, more damaged just because of her association with me.

So it’s my duty to make this right.

For her, if not for anyone else.

“I know what’s at stake,” I reply, holding Riale’s gaze. After a tense stare-off, he nods, as if accepting the truth of what I’m saying.

“So, Brains,” I say to Axel, “where do we start?”