It was actually somewhat brisk for Vegas that night. I parked down the road, walking the three blocks to Henderson Park. I checked the time on my burner phone. Eleven-fifty-two at night. It was dark, and I couldn’t see anything, but I didn’t want to pull out my flashlight in case King had eyes here. I made my way over the rocks and onto the sidewalk path of the park, happy I had only tripped once.
I don’t look suspicious in the least,I thought. Dressed in all black, I had on leggings and a tank top, with a zipper hoodie. My hand stayed on the small can of pepper spray in my hoodie pocket as I walked. I couldn’t bring myself to carry my new purchase yet, especially not with all this anxiety I was having.
I kept walking along the sidewalk, trying to keep my eyes both looking ahead and looking down. Even in the open air of the park, the moonlight was not giving me much for light. Soon, I was approaching the boardwalk, the old wood creaking under my feet softly. I checked the time: eleven-fifty-eight.
Maybe Prince was lying—Crush might actually be dead and I’ve caught myself in a trap. But Prince had no reason to lie to me, at least not that I thought. It would be an elaborate act, for one thing. But he looked genuine when he told me what was going on, and that his father had eyes on him too. To risk all that for a measly trap was just insane.
At midnight, Crush still hadn’t shown. What little threads that were holding my heart together were snapping, one by one.He isn’t coming, I resigned with defeat. I bit back the tears that threatened to spill over. If Crush was alive, it was clear he didn’t care about me. And I couldn’t blame him for that.
I sighed and resolved to wait another five minutes. The water rippled, dark and ominous. The pit of anxiety that had been in my stomach over the past week hadn’t gone away, but it did shrink a little when Prince told me Crush was alive. The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and I couldn’t resist checking the time.
Eight minutes after midnight.
There were soft footsteps behind me, the boards creaking beneath heavy feet. My hand found the pepper-spray canister in my jacket, turning the nozzle open. The adrenaline rose in me, and I was prepared to do what needed to be done. The steps got closer, and I could tell that they were within range of the pepper spray. I turned quickly, whipping the pepper spray can out of my pocket and my finger at the ready on the little press valve.
“Fucking hell, Brianna,” Crush’s smooth voice sighed, and he stepped into a pool of moonlight. I put a hand to my racing heart and holstered the pepper spray back in my hoodie pocket. But I wasn’t scared in the slightest.Crush was alive!I rejoiced. “And by the way, pepper spray isn’t going to do much on perps.”
“It wasn’t my entire plan,” I defended. It totally was my entire plan, but he didn’t need to know that. “I have more up my sleeve.”
I got a good look at him. The bruise on his right eye was fading, and there was a cast on his left arm, which held a rather crude and muddied-up drawing of a phallus.Men, I thought to myself with a smile. He stood next to me but didn’t make eye contact. Crush just stared out at the water. His face was all harsh angles and shadows in the low light of the night, but I still found him undeniably attractive.
“There aren’t words,” I started. “You must think I’m a horrible person, and you have every right to be mad. No amount of apologies can undo what I did to you. But I just want you to hear me out.”
Crush didn’t make any comment. Or any sort of noise at all, really. Which is understandable, and I sure as hell couldn’t blame him. But I could tell that he was listening. Crush wasn’t the type of person to stick around where he didn’t want to be if this whole situation proved anything. So I took a deep breath and pushed on through.
“It was all King’s idea. If you’ll believe me about one thing, believe that. I would never intentionally hurt you. And after you were taken, King tried to sleep with me,” I said, and I saw Crush’s jaw twitch. His right hand was grasping the railing so tightly I could see the white knuckles even in the darkness. “I can try to seduce him, give you guys some time to do something if that’s helpful to your plan. But I can’t…I can’t go all the way. I couldn’t betray you like that. I still have feelings for you, Crush.”
I could tell Crush was surprised to hear that. He still remained quiet, but his facial expression gave it away when he turned to look me in the eye. I didn’t back down from his cold stare. He needed to see if I was serious about everything, and I was. For once in my life, I was ready to take a stand against the situation I was forced to be in. Crush made me realize that there’s always a way out, if you’re willing to fight for it.
“I can stall, or distract him,” I said hurriedly, trying to fill the silence between us. “Allow you and your guys to take the hit on him, or the warehouse, or build men, whatever your plan is.”
“What happens when he picks up on it?” Crush asked, his voice reassuring me that I wasn’t talking to a wall. “How will you keep him at bay?”
I bit my lip.I have my own plan for that emergency, but Crush doesn’t need to know about that, I thought.If it fails, I would be killed without a second thought, gold dress notwithstanding.If I told Crush my highly idiotic plan, he’d lock me in my apartment and strangle King with his bare hands. So I settled on a cop-out answer.
“I don’t know,” I shrugged. “I’ll find a way out.”
“You’re foolish if you think you can escape,” Crush replied.
“Then what the hell are we even fighting for?” I demanded. “If it’s so foolish to think I can get out, I could say the same to you. But—”
“We’re attacking one way or another,” Crush interrupted. “As far as my plan concerns you, it didn’t, but I’m not going to turn away the help. It’s up to you to prove how serious you are.”
“When are you attacking?”
“Tomorrow night,” Crush answered. “So say your prayers, sweetheart.”
I nodded. There was a silence that fell between us. I turned to look out at the lake, seeing two white geese swimming and enjoying themselves in the calm water. They didn’t make a single noise, and I watched as they swam past the boardwalk by Crush and me. Without a care in the world. And then they spread their wings and flew away, leaving only ripples in the water.
“Whatever happens,” I whispered, and Crush turned to look at me. I met his eyes with all the feelings I had for him, trying to jam them into one simple look. “I didn’t turn you in. King forced me to. I care about you, Crush, a lot. I…”
Love you. It was on the tip of my tongue, but it didn’t feel right at this moment. It was too tense, too harsh. And I was worried that such an admission would cloud Crush’s judgment. For fear of doing the worst, the words died on my lips.
“I want you,” I finished lamely. “And after tomorrow, if we’re both alive, I’d like to see you.”
“You can see me anytime, sweetheart,” Crush said, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear. “And you’re the first person I’m running to when we win tomorrow night.”
He pressed a small kiss on my forehead and then turned on his boot and walked away. I waited until he faded from view to make my way to my own car. I was alone with my thoughts, and I thought through every detail of what I needed to do tomorrow night. But there was something else nagging at me.
