“You remember Jewel?”
“How could I forget?You were joined at the hip with her.”
“Lily came over yesterday and said Jewel is missing.”
Gage takes a sip of his drink, then places it back down on the table.“Yeah, and?”
I drop the fork, and it clinks against the bowl.“Are you fucking serious?”
“What do you want, Amirah?Use your fucking words,” Gage snaps, and I bite into my bottom lip, anger swirling up inside of me.
“God, you’re such a fucking asshole.I don’t know how Freya puts up with you.”
Gage snorts, but I ignore him.
“Lily thinks there’s something more to it.How could I find her?Can you help me, or can someone from The Brotherhood?”
He sighs.“We’ve got enough shit going on, Amirah.A war is brewing, and if we don’t figure it out, people won’t just go missing.They’ll be dead.That’smy priority.I can’t help you with this.”Gage pushes back his chair and moves around the table.
I grab his arm, and he stops.“But where should I start?”I ask, pleading with him to give me something, anything.I’ve never done anything like this before, and I want to help.I want to bring Jewel home—for Lily.
“You need to look at the last communication she had with her mother.”Gage pulls out of my grip and sighs again.“But, Amirah, fair warning—she probably just ran off, and you’re wasting your time.”
“I’ve got nothing better to do,” I say, pushing away my pasta before standing and then heading toward the door.
“There have been rumors of a few women going missing.Could be something going on.Not here but in the Hood.”
I pull out my phone, bringing up the last photo Lily received of Jewel, and flashing it in front of Gage.“Does this look familiar to you?”
He brushes past me.“I don’t have time to play detective.Just drop it, Amirah.I don’t want you caught up in this or going anywhere near the Hood with the state of things between them and us.”Gage leaves and I curse.
There’s no way in hell I’m dropping this.Lily came to me because she trusts me.She needs me, and I’m done with being locked in my bedroom by my brother, who clearly just expects me to play house.Freya is grieving her brother and forging a new life with her men.All my other friends are waiting around to be wives.I want a purpose, and finding Jewel is it.
Chapter Eleven
Amirah
I bite down on the rope, tugging.It doesn’t budge much.Fuck.I release it, spitting out the fibers stuck to my tongue.Pulling down, I try to make my hand as small as it can be.If I can release one hand, then I can free myself from these constraints.Kai, Zion, and Bear are gone—this might be my only chance to escape, and I won’t waste it.
My arms and legs feel weak from being pinned to the target.Every muscle aches.I keep pulling.Blood drips down my fingers.The rope burns my skin, but I can’t stop.My hand moves along the rope, just slightly, and hope blooms inside me.A couple more inches, then I’m free—well, at least one hand will be.
Sweat runs down my forehead and into my eyes.I squeeze them shut, gritting my teeth.I want to be home, sleeping in my own bed, talking this whole wild ordeal over with Freya.Does Gage know I’m gone?By now, surely they have The Brotherhood out looking for me.
It won’t be long until they’re knocking down Bear’s door.Do theme parks have a door?I wouldn’t know since I was unconscious when I was dragged in.Then this will all be put behind me and I can go back to my life.Away from this hell.
My hand releases, falling to my side.I grin, opening my eyes, and get to work untying my other hand, then my legs.I drop to the ground, and my legs give way.I fall onto my knees, pain biting into my skin as I brace my hands on the concrete floor.Blood covers my right hand, both from the rope burn and my attempt at self-defense with the mirror, turning my stomach.
Move.
As I push myself back up, my head spins and the room blurs before the concrete comes back to me.I stand, my feet wobbling.Multiple targets and other carnival games fill the room.Clowns with open mouths move from left to right, and bottles hang from the ceiling.Where’s the door?I don’t remember coming into the room; my memory is fuzzy.I move toward the wall, reaching out, and I brush along the white paint.
I follow the wall until my fingers wrap around the doorknob.I twist and it opens.As I peer through the tiny gap, darkness meets me.Kai, Zion, and Bear aren’t in here.I step onto the dirt-covered floor.The roof is gone, and the dark, star-filled sky meets me.A half-moon gives me the slightest bit of light.
There are rows and rows of coffins.Skulls lie on top of some, and it feels like they are staring right through me.The dead don’t scare me.I’ve seen so much death in my life that it barely even registers.They can’t hurt me anymore.It’s the living that do.
The next room is hot, sticky, and filled with butterflies.The fluttering of their wings sounds like a lullaby.They calm me, and my shoulders relax for the first time tonight.A large yellow-and-orange butterfly lands on my forearm, then another and another.The downlights reflect off their wings.I move quickly through the room toward the next door, and by the time I get there, I’m covered in butterflies.Maybe they can lift me out of here.I scoff to myself.Yeah, not going to happen.
Some of the butterflies stay with me as I step into the room full of mirrors.My reflection is everywhere, following me around.My brown hair sticks to my skin, and my face is a ghoulish white and black from my mascara running down my cheeks.I look like a mess.
