Page 42 of Broken
Chapter 24
“I’M SO GLAD TO SEE you.” Vix wrapped her arms tightly around me. After we were sure the Spiders were no longer after us, Theo and I had gone straight into the Cobras’ area, and one of their men had taken us to Tobias and Vix.
“I’m glad you’re okay too,” I said as I stepped back. “I was worried the Spiders would attackthe Cobras and you.”
“No, we haven’t seen them in the area, and this place should be safe enough.” She spread her arms, and I took a look around the room. It wasn’t overly big, and it had no windows, since we were underground, but there were plenty of security measures at the door, which was reinforced too. I didn’t think the Spiders would be getting inside this hideout even if they managedto find us.
“I didn’t know the Cobras had this place.” I spotted Tobias and Mick sitting at the computers at the end of the room, and they waved at me, then got back to what they were doing. They were probably monitoring the area and checking the traffic camera feeds.
Vix’s boyfriend Seth was here too, his face serious, his blue eyes never leaving Vix. I supposed she’d finally told himeverything that was going on and he hadn’t wanted to leave her side for anything in the world. He shot a quick glare at Theo, who stood as far away as possible from everyone. Vix was avoiding looking at Theo completely, as if he wasn’t even in the room.
These were my friends, not Theo’s, and for the most part, they’d been his enemies. Well, the Rosa Nera’s enemies. They didn’t really knowhim, and I was sure they didn’t trust him. The only reason they’d let him in here was because of me. I was hoping they’d warm up to him eventually, although I wasn’t going to hold my breath.
“I didn’t know Tobias was setting this up either. He wanted to keep it top secret for situations like this one.” Vix extended her arm toward the dark blue sofas that were to her left. “There are stilla few more tweaks needed and the sleeping quarters aren’t quite ready, but you should get some rest. The sofas are comfortable enough.”
“Do you have any info on Walter and the Spiders? Are they going to attack?” I couldn’t keep the worry out of my voice. “I really hate that I brought this whole thing upon you.”
“It’s not your fault,” Vix said, and Seth glanced at Theo. “And Mick hasn’tbeen able to locate Walter just yet, but if the Spiders come into the Cobras’ territory, we’ll know about it. The Cobras set up some new cameras, and if the Spiders want to fight them, they’ll have to do it in the Cobras’ territory.”
“There’s something else we’ve been planning to do, but we wanted to hear your opinion first,” Tobias said as he made his way toward me. “It’s a slight changefrom our initial plan.”
“Why do I have a feeling I’m not going to like it?” This was now the Cobras’ fight as much as mine, and I was sure Tobias would want to be the one to make all the decisions related to his gang, so I wasn’t sure why he needed my opinion at all.
“We wanted to send a message to the Spiders and Walter telling them that you’re with us, and that if they want you, theycan come and try to get you,” Tobias said, and my eyebrows shot up.
“Why would you do that?”
“We know they’ll be coming for us, and Walter is after you. And if we want to end this once and for all, we have to fight them. If we do it in our territory, we have the best chance of winning. They’ll have to come to us.”
I thought about it for a few moments. “Okay.” I was tired of running,and Tobias was right. Defeating the Spiders would be easier in the Cobras’ territory. “Are you sure they’ll want to come to us? If they hire someone or if Walter makes a deal with some other gang too...”
“You don’t have to worry about that. We know we can defeat them and we’re ready.” Tobias gave me a small smile, then made his way back to the computers.
“Seth and I will get you somethingto eat,” Vix said, and she and her boyfriend strolled for the door. I turned toward Theo, who was lounging against the wall, his dark eyes troubled.
“Hey.” I waved at him and pointed at the sofas. “Come.”
He pushed himself off the wall, and we settled on one of the sofas. I leaned my head on Theo’s shoulder and huddled close to his warm body.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Nothing.”His lips pulled into a smile, which didn’t reach his eyes.
“You can tell me.” I placed my hand on his chest and rubbed gently.
“Maybe I should leave. I don’t belong here, and I could be of more use out there. If everyone here is distracted and worrying about what I might do, then they might fail to protect you, and I don’t want to...”
I pressed my finger over his lips and shook myhead. “Don’t say that. Your place is here with me.” Lifting myself up, I captured his lips with mine. “I need you.”
“Okay.”
“I’m serious.” My eyes bored into his. “Don’t get any ideas to sneak out of here when I’m not looking because I’ll be really, really mad, and I’ll go out there to find you even if I have to go through the Spiders, Walter, and whoever gets in my way. Understood?”
He nodded.
“Good.” I gave him another kiss, then settled back next to him. A calendar that was on the wall to my right made me groan. “I’m going to miss my deadline. Wonderful,” I muttered.
“What deadline?” His brow furrowed.