Stone
M y phone rang, and I sat back on my heels, not sure what to do. It was from Serenity, but I knew it wasn’t her. I clenched my teeth and did my best to keep it together until help came, but with Serenity in danger, it was a hard-fought battle.
After her call to warn me, I’d crossed through her backyard and into the yard behind hers. It was a huge mistake, since I’d run into trouble with a dog. The brute didn’t like me in his yard, and I’d had to run like hell to get away. He’d even managed to jump over the fence to chase me. By the time I got away, I’d run several blocks and had finally climbed into a tree-house. Of course, the dog was still there, so I couldn’t climb down.
At least the cameras in her house were up and running, so I knew what was going on. I’d barely managed to get the one in the kitchen set up before she’d called to warn me. I’d been too busy saving my ass to call her back, but that didn’t explain why she’d gone home.
I only knew she was there because of the cameras. Dammit. Where was my luck when I needed it? One missed phone call was all it took to screw up everything.
Then Brandon showed up with a gun. At first, I thought he meant to help Serenity, but when he lunged at her, I knew she was his target, and red-hot rage still pounded in my veins. It was all I could do not to rush in there and beat him to a bloody pulp.
Too bad I didn’t have audio along with the camera feed. I could tell they were working out a way to lure me in, and I worried that it would involve explosives. I could handle most anything, as long as they didn’t make Serenity wear an explosive vest. I wouldn’t put it past Johnny, which meant that I needed to get her out of there before they even thought about it.
A car pulled up in front of the house, and I let out a breath. I’d warned Ricky about the dog, and he had a nice juicy steak to lure the dog away. With the steak in his mouth, the dog happily trotted off, and I climbed down from my perch.
I slid inside the car, thanking Ricky for getting there so fast. Slater sat in the passenger seat and told me they’d brought guns, bullet-proof vests, and flash grenades, everything I’d asked for. Now we could get down to business.
“Where’s the house?” Ricky asked.
“Not far. A couple blocks. I have a visual of the kitchen where they’re holding Serenity and her ex.”
“Her ex?”
“Yeah. I guess he showed up to kill her.”
“What? That’s messed up. ”
“Yeah, and I don’t even know why he wants her dead, so I’d like to keep him alive if possible.” I shook my head. It would be nice to kill him myself, but I didn’t think Serenity would approve unless it was self-defense. But I could totally make that happen.
Ricky motioned to the bag at my feet. “Put the vest on while we figure this out. There’s an extra gun in there. I guess you lost yours.”
I slipped off my shirt and pulled the vest around me, tightening the straps before tugging my shirt back on.
“Maybe Slater and I could draw them out while you go in and free Serenity.”
I picked up the gun and loaded it. “No. Johnny’s too smart for that. The only thing I can come up with, is surrendering like they want, and then you guys breaking us out.”
“I don’t like it.” Slater held out his hand for my phone. “Let me see what we’re dealing with.”
I passed the phone over, showing him the video feed. He studied all the angles, including the camera on the front porch. “The garage door is open. That’s a plus. Is there a door from the back?”
“There’s a patio door just outside the kitchen, right there.” I pointed to the area. “You can barely see it. Unfortunately, they’d see us coming. I think going through the front door or a bedroom window might be our best options.”
“Wait. Something’s happening.” Slater held the phone so I could see it. Aubree stepped to Serenity and held a phone to her face. My phone began to ring, but I let it go to voice mail. Serenity began to speak, but Aubree jerked the phone away and slapped Serenity across the face.
My jaw clenched, and I grabbed the door handle .
“No. Not yet.” Slater grabbed my arm. “She’s fine. Aubree’s yelling, but she’s not hitting her again.”
“I need to call Serenity, or Aubree will lose it. It’s time we go in. Get geared up.”
“We’re ready. But think a minute.” Ricky’s measured tones calmed me down. “She’s not going to let Serenity go if you show up. You know that, right?”
“I don’t know shit, but if I call, I’ll find out what Aubree wants. If we know that, it will help us figure out what to do.”
“Sure, but first, listen to the message from Serenity.”
“Fine.” I hated that my emotions were making me irrational. I was usually the calm, cool, collected one. Sighing, I called my voice mail, setting it on the console and putting it on speaker so all of us could hear.
Serenity didn’t waste any time. “Nate! It’s a trap. Whatever you do, don’t come!”
Aubree’s slap came through loud and clear. Before ending the call, she spoke into the phone. “If you don’t come, I’ll do to her what you did to Seth.”
The line went dead, and a chill ran down my spine. “What the hell?”
“Who’s Seth?” Ricky asked.
“I have no idea.” I wracked my brain, but couldn’t come up with a thing. Running my hands through my hair, I went back to the beginning. I’d gone over all this with Serenity, and nothing had come up. So who was Seth? “It must have something to do with the tattoos and a gang.”
I quickly explained the tats Serenity had seen in her vision. “Oh, yeah,” Ricky nodded. “We talked about that after the shooting. Johnny had them, right? We thought they were gang-related. This might sound strange, but could Aubree be part of the same gang? Did you notice any tattoos on her? ”
My eyes narrowed. “She had one on her shoulder, but it wasn’t a gang tattoo.” I shrugged. “Or maybe it was, and I just didn’t put it together.”
“What was it?”
I closed my eyes to remember. “It was like a banner of some kind with flowers twined around it. There were words on it… something like… love never dies . I thought it was weird because the edge of the banner had a point… like a sharp pencil.”
“Or a weapon? Like a dagger?” Ricky said.
My breath caught. “No. A spike. That’s it. Spike. Seth’s moniker was Spike. I remember him now. It was two years ago, but yeah… he and his brother tried to kill me.”
Ricky raised a brow. “Let me guess… you killed him first?”
I swallowed. “Yeah. His brother went by Needles. He’s in jail, so I didn’t think he was behind this… but if Aubree and Spike…” I closed my eyes. “They must have been together, and this whole time she’s been using me. Most of Needles’ gang is in jail, but there must be enough of them to do his bidding… and Aubree’s behind it.”
“But how does Johnny fit into it?”
“I don’t know… but since he wants me dead, too, they must have joined forces.”
“Guys!” Slater held up the phone. “It looks like they’re leaving the house.”
The video feed showed Johnny grabbing Brandon’s arm and pulling him toward the door. “Shit!” I pushed Serenity’s number and hoped that would slow them down. They all stopped while Aubree answered the phone.
“It’s about time you called your girlfriend.” Aubree’s sarcastic voice grated on my ears. “I was beginning to think you were ghosting her.”
“What do you want, Aubree? ”
“I want you dead. You killed the love of my life, and now I’m going to kill Serenity. But at least I’ll give you a choice. You can trade your life for your girlfriend’s, and she might live, or you can both die. Johnny doesn’t think you’ll do it. He’s convinced you’ll leave her to die, just like you left him. So what’s it going to be?”
“I don’t want anyone to die. Let’s work something out.”
“No. You either come, or I kill her. You have five seconds.”
“Fine. I’ll come, but you have to let her go—alive.”
“Oh… she’ll be alive.”
I heard rustling before Johnny came on the line, his voice low and menacing. “But first you have to come out and play. For old time’s sake.”
“Give me that!” Aubree took the phone, and I held my breath, hearing a muffled argument between her and Johnny. Finally, she came back on the line.
“I’ll text you the address. Be there in one hour, or she’s dead.” The phone disconnected, and a text came through with an address I wasn’t familiar with.
“Are they leaving?”
“Yes. We’re too late to stop them now, but she sent me the address.” I shook my head. “I think we can beat them to it.”
“Nice. Let’s roll.”
My stomach knotted. This was too easy. “Wait a sec. Johnny’s sent me into too many traps to believe this isn’t one of them. He doesn’t know how close we are, so we might be better off if we follow them.”
“Okay. Your call.” Ricky shook his head. “I just hope you’re right.”
“So do I.”