I can’t bring myself to move. My legs feel glued to the ground, every instinct screaming to stay by Marcy’s side. Jace is already a few steps away, phone to his ear, cold and focused.
My own phone vibrates in my pocket, jolting me. I fumble to answer, Levi’s voice bursting through, raw with anger. “Carrie, where the hell are you? Jace left us. He just took off!”
I glance at Jace, heart pounding, but I can’t find the words to ask what he’s done.
“What happened?” I whisper, my breath shaky.
Levi’s voice is rough, each word clipped. “Nico’s been arrested. Cops swarmed the lot right after Jace bailed. We barely got out. Where are you?”
The news hits me like a punch to the chest. I look down at Marcy, then back at Jace, whose face is blank as stone. The world feels like it’s collapsing in on all sides, the woods closing around me.
We makeit back to the clubhouse, dragging Jinn between us, his wrists still bound and head slumped. As soon as we push through the door, Levi storms across the room, ready to tear into Jace. His eyes are wild, chest heaving. “You left us. You left Nico,” he snaps.
Jace is about to answer, but I move between them, pressing a hand to Levi’s chest. “Wait—Jace caught Jinn. That’s why he left. He set a trap. He didn’t just run.”
Levi glares at Jace, jaw tight. “Well, that’s for nothing now. Rodriguez has Nico. God knows what he’s doing to my brother.”
Jace shakes his head, voice flat but certain. “He can’t hurt him.”
Levi lets out a bitter laugh. “That’s just wishful thinking.” He turns away, frustration radiating off him.
I reach for Levi’s hand, holding it tight, forcing him to meet my eyes. “Please. Give me a chance to fix this. I won’t let anything happen to Nico.”
Levi doesn’t answer, but he doesn’t pull away. The pain in his eyes cuts through me, deeper than anything Jinn could ever do.
Jace turns to Whale, who’s been standing watch by the window. “What happened out there? How did Rodriguez pull this off?”
Whale sighs, crossing his arms. “Rodriguez must’ve had backup. Cops came in from both sides. As soon as you took off, he went right for Nico.”
I refuse to let the silence swallow us whole. “Did Nico manage to get anything on tape?” I ask, desperate for even a sliver of hope.
Whale shakes his head. “We’ve got no way of knowing. Rodriguez isn’t about to let us talk to him, not now. I doubt he even got a chance. It’s over, for good.”
I shake my head, refusing to let his words land. Something fierce stirs in me, burning through the exhaustion and fear. I reach for my phone, my hands steady, even though my heart pounds in my chest.
“No,” I say, my voice growing stronger with every word. “It’s not over yet.”
Everyone looks at me, surprise and worry flickering in their eyes, but I don’t look away. I know what I have to do. No matter how scared I am, I can’t let Nico down. Not after everything.
I squeeze Levi’s hand once, drawing on all the courage I have left. “I’m going to save him. Whatever it takes.”
And I mean it. This fight isn’t finished. Not while any of us are left standing. With that, I make a final phone call.
31
JC
Nobody sleeps that afternoon. The sun creeps through the dirty windows, making the whole clubhouse feel claustrophobic and stale. I sit at the table, watching the clock, listening for news that never comes.
Carrie is a bundle of nerves, wearing a path in the floor as she paces from the door and back again. Every few minutes she checks her phone, staring at the screen like she can force it to ring. Levi is hunched in a chair, silent, jaw tight, looking ready to snap at the smallest thing.
I stay close to Jinn. He’s awake now, slouched in the chair where we tied him up, wrists raw from the rope. The swagger’s gone. He keeps his head down, mouth shut, flinching every time one of us gets too close. The fire he had before is gone, replaced by something hollow. I stare at him, the urge to finish what I started burning in my chest. All I wanted was to end him, right there in the woods, make him pay for everything. Carrie stopped me. She didn’t yell, didn’t even plead. She just called my name and I listened, because I always listen to her.
Carrie’s phone finally rings, and I watch her face as she listens. She goes pale, her hand trembling a little. When shehangs up, she doesn’t look at me or Levi right away. She just stares at the floor.
“We need to go down to the station,” she says, voice small but steady.
Levi stands up fast, shaking his head. “That’s suicide, Carrie. They’re waiting for us.”
