Page 24 of My End (Iron Fiends #10)

Tilly

I wasn’t sure what had gotten into me, but I had this gnawing feeling in my gut that something was wrong.

Not the kind of wrong where someone forgot to order milk or the laundry was still sitting wet in the washer.

This was the kind of wrong that made your skin itch.

The kind that made your stomach twist in knots and your pulse tap out warning signals.

I hadn’t seen Jake all day.

At first, I thought maybe he was just laying low. After all, last night had been... a lot. But when I poked my head into the kitchen, the living room, and the gym and didn’t spot him anywhere, the itch grew into full-blown unease.

My bare feet padded across the cool floor of the hallway as I made my way toward Boone’s office. If anyone knew where Jake was, it would be Boone. I wasn’t going to knock or even open the door. I just wanted to see if he was in there.

When I rounded the corner, I heard voices.

Low. Serious. Boone and Gibbs.

I froze.

“... don’t know who the fuck the rat is yet,” Gibbs muttered.

“But we know they’re Iron Fiends. The name Stretch came up.”

My breath caught.

“Stretch,” Boone repeated, as if tasting the word.

“Stretch is going to fucking die,” Gibbs growled. “I am so sick of these fucking bikers. They need to just shut up and let us throw them in fucking prison so we can move on to the next step in our plan.”

“So, we find Stretch,” Boone replied simply.

“Easier said than done. Could be anybody. We’ve brought in six new guys in the last three months. Any one of them could be playing us,” Gibbs muttered.

“You think it’s Jake?” Boone asked.

My whole body tensed.

“Can’t be,” Boone answered himself before Gibbs could. “Max Goode recommended him. And Max wouldn’t fuck me over like that. He knows what’s at stake.”

I backed away, one foot behind the other, with my heart hammering in my chest.

They were going to kill Jake because he was a rat. Well, they were going to when they figured out that Jake was Stretch.

I thought back on him saying that he had close friends who would do anything for him with just one phone call.

A motorcycle club.

And now the nicknames made even more sense.

It was only going to be a matter of time before they figured out that Jake was Stretch.

My Jake.

The one who held me like I was the only thing tethering him to this place. The one who kissed me like he’d fall apart if he stopped.

He hadn’t told me much, but I remembered the way he’d mentioned that phone number. That call. Just one, and they’d come running.

I had to find it.

I spun on my heel and rushed toward his room. I didn’t know where he was or when he’d be back. But I couldn’t wait. I had to warn him.

The door to his room creaked open when I pushed it. Empty.

Good.

I slipped inside and shut the door behind me. Locked it.

I stood in the middle of the room and turned in a slow circle. Where would he keep it? His desk. That was the most obvious place.

I started there.

The small wooden desk in the corner was tidy, just like the rest of the room. I opened the first side drawer. Pens. A notepad. Nothing helpful.

Second drawer. Socks.

Third drawer. A mess of paperclips and rubber bands.

Nothing.

My fingers curled around the center drawer. I gave it a tug, and it slid open.

There, nestled between an envelope and a plain black notebook, sat an old flip phone.

I grabbed it.

It was lighter than I expected. Cold. Unassuming. But when I opened it and pressed the power button, the screen lit up with a low buzz.

One contact.

Just one.

I didn’t even hesitate. I pressed the call button and brought the phone to my ear.

The line crackled.

“Hello?” a voice came through the static. Deep. Gruff.

I froze.

“Hello?” the voice repeated, louder this time. “Stretch?!”

My lips moved before my brain caught up. “Are you there?”

“Who is this?”

“Is this Dice?” I asked. That was the one name I remembered him telling me.

A pause. Then: “Yeah. Who the hell is this?”

My throat felt tight. “My name is Tilly... and Stretch needs you. They know.”

Silence.

Footsteps shuffled above me, and I froze.

Shit.

I hit end and dropped the phone in my lap, with my heart pounding so hard I thought it might leap from my chest.

I had done it. I had made the call. And now everything was set in motion.

I didn’t understand it all. I didn’t know why Jake/Stretch was here. I didn’t know what the Iron Fiends were planning. But I knew what I had just heard Boone and Gibbs say, and I didn’t think they had been joking.

They would bury anyone who got in their way.

I looked down at the phone still in my hand.

Jake had said one call, and his brothers would have come running.

I had made the call.

Maybe it wouldn’t be enough. Maybe it was too late.

But it was all I could do.

And for the first time since I’d set foot in this house, I felt like I had chosen a side.

Not Boone’s.

Jake’s. Or I guess it was Stretch now.

I locked the door, curled up on the edge of his bed, and stared at the phone until the screen went dark.

I was going to sit right there and wait.

Because no matter what came next, I wasn’t letting him face it alone.