"Brooklyn," I croak. I try to make it a question, but it comes out slurred, like I've downed a forty. "Is she safe?"
Cleo and Ryker exchange a loaded glance, and there's a silent conversation going on between them. Ryker also looks pale and shaken, which concerns me a whole hell of a lot more than Cleo's distress. Cleo's easy to upset. Ryker is pretty damn unflappable. Something is wrong. I sit up, though my arm burns beneath the bandage.
"Where's Brooklyn, Ryker?" I demand.
"Safe," he says finally. "As safe as she can be, anyway."
"Where is she? I need to see her."
Another loaded glance. Hesitation. The sick feeling in my gut grows and I struggle not to spew my last meal all over the floor.
"Cruz is on his way," Ryker says finally. "He's going to want the story of how you got shot. Was it Gardel?"
I refuse to let him sidetrack me. "Where the fuck is she, Ryker?"
Ryker's face betrays the guilt he's trying not to admit. I'm on my feet in seconds and slamming my shoulder into Ryker's gut immediately after. My momentum takes us both to the ground with me on top. I pin his arms with my knees, though in my weakened state I'm not sure how long I'm going to be able to hold him. My fist slams into his jaw, splitting my knuckles wide open. It's just another uncomfortable sensation I can add to the list. I distract myself from my aches in pains by laying into him hard.
Blood sprays from Ryker's mouth and onto the tile floor of the clubhouse. Cleo is screaming at me to stop, and I ignore her. I'm not satisfied until I hear bone crunch and feel Ryker's nose snap sideways. It's a little harder to ignore Cleo once she threads her fingers through my hair and pulls hard.
"Get off of him, Kase!"
"He fucking betrayed me!" I roar. "You took her back to him, didn't you? Do you have any idea what you've done?"
I punch him one final time before sitting up, spitting down into his face. I know Ryker's loyalties lay with Cruz. I know that he's going to come down on my brother's side in any squabble. But I never thought either of them would do this.
"Fuck you Ryker! And fuck Cruz too. You can both rot in hell for this. You just signed her death warrant."
A hand whips out of nowhere and connects with my cheek, sending my head snapping to the side. I'm surprised to see Cleo standing in front of me when I blink the stars from my eyes. Huh. Cleo can really wallop a guy if she wants to. Must have gotten lessons from Ryker in the past seven months. Angry tears shine in her dark eyes.
"Cruz has nothing to do with this."
"Bullshit. He hates her and he hates me, so he sent her across the line to the Kings, even though heknewwhat would happen."
Ryker climbs to his feet, pinching the bridge of his nose to keep blood from gushing down his chin. "She's right. Cruz doesn't know jack shit. We had an agreement with Calamity Gardel. He's the one who took her back across the line."
I stare at him, unable to believe what I'm hearing. Someone has to have a hand up his ass, working his mouth like a mannequin, because this just has to be a joke. There's no way those words just flew out of Ryker's mouth. His loyalty has always been to the Spades. There's no way in hell that he's pulling a Benedict Arnold on Cruz.
"What the fuck are you talking about?"
Ryker uses his sleeve to mop up his face. His lip is split and his nose still leaks blood. "We had an agreement with Gardel. When Cleo and I crossed the line we were caught. Calamity was going to kill me and do worse to Cleo. We had to promise him something. So we took out Trent and we owed him a favor. He called to collect yesterday."
I mouth at him wordlessly, too furious to compose a response to that. He'd sold us both downriver to save his own skin? If someone had told me Ryker was capable of such cowardice earlier in the week, I wouldn't have believed them. Ryker seems encouraged by my lack of response and continues to explain himself, as though I give a fuck about his reasoning.
"He told us to get you out of the way and to return Brooklyn to him. I'm pretty sure that he meant us to kill you. I'm not willing to go that far, Kase. I don't care how much of a bastard you are."
"Nice to know you have standards." My voice drips like acid and Ryker's face goes stony in response.
"It's not fucking ideal. I get it. But now you're both safe. No harm done."
I want to kill him for saying something so stupid. But he didn't know because I had no time to tell him. And now that oversight is going to get people killed.
"You dumb motherfucker," I say with a slow, disgusted shake of the head. "You didn't even ask her who she was running from did you?"
That shakes the confidence from his face. He blinks slowly, shifts his eyes over to Cleo to see if she understands, then turns his gaze back to me with a scowl.
"What are you talking about?"
I snort in disgust. "You and Cruz never stop to think do you? You just assume I'm trying to score pussy. Well guess what, fuckface? Brooklyn came to me forhelp. One of the Kings beat the living hell out of her and she wanted the Spades’ protection. They're looking to overthrow Gardel, not that I give a shit about that. But they were using her to do it. And now you've gift wrapped her for them!"
