“Yeah, we can’t do anything about that,” he says, checking his phone before looking back up.“Oh, that loser Tate came around looking for you, so I drove him right out of my theme park to here.”Bear yawns.
All I want to do is lock myself in my trailer and spit out the words, the feelings lodged in my chest.I want to find the rhyme, the rhythm in this madness that we call life, but that’s not going to happen.With Amirah as our captive, and now Tate saying there’s a problem, it never ends.Will there ever be a time when we can just live and not be in survival mode?Fuck, I hope so.
“Tell him to meet me outside,” I say, and Bear walks back out the bathroom door.
This past week, I’ve spent more time at Bear’s than at my own place.I don’t want to admit to myself that the reason is anything other than practical.Bear needs the extra security.If Amirah escaped and went back to them with the information she has, I would never forgive myself.I’m the reason she knows about Cleo, and I won’t ruin Zion’s chances of bringing her home.He wanted to have everything ready for her.The home, money, security.
I dry myself off and put on some gray sweatpants and a black T-shirt with 18hood written on the front in white.
After grabbing my phone from beside my bed, I shove it into my pocket and head out of my room.Down the corridor, putting one foot in front of the other until I’m outside.The dark, cloudy sky greets me, thunder rumbles, and it perfectly resembles how I’m feeling.
Tate is leaning back against his car in the middle of the theme park.He pushes off and meets me.He moves from one foot to the other, staring over my shoulder at the ridiculous roller coaster behind me that looks like it’s about to fall apart.
“Have you got guns?Do you know where they are?”I ask, desperate to know if he has the missing piece we need to invade Daringville—weapons.
“We’re so close.I heard from Jack there’s a lot of armed guards around the town hall,” Tate says, and I frown.“That doesn’t make sense.Why guard a blown-up building?”
“My thoughts exactly.They must be there,” Tate says.
“Fuck!How the hell can we get the weapons from right in the center of town?”This isn’t good.
“I got nothing, but right now, we’ve got bigger problems,” Tate says.
“What is it?”I ask, and he meets my gaze.“Security breach at the tracks.Brotherhood are there, demanding a meeting with you.”
Fuck.Do they know we have Amirah?Are they wanting to trade with us?I can’t let that happen yet, not while Zion’s daughter is at stake.I won’t let anything happen to her.
“Gather up the gang and meet us there,” I say, and Tate nods, sliding back into his car.
I pull out my phone, hitting call on Zion’s name.
“Yeah?”he answers.
“Get down to Bear’s.We’ve got a meeting request.”
Zion grunts and hangs up.
The door behind me slams shut, and Bear comes out, sliding on a hoodie.“What’d he want?”he asks, and I grab a rolled-up blunt from my pocket and light it up.The smoke fills my lungs and calms the rapid beating of my heart just a bit.
“Brotherhood at the tracks.They wanna meet,” I say, taking another drag.
Bear’s mouth curves, and he cracks his knuckles.“Perfect timing.I’m feeling like shedding some blood today,” he says, and I shake my head.
“What about her?”I ask.
Bear lifts out his phone, typing away.“Got her on surveillance, and Derek is staying back in case she tries anything, but the door to her room’s locked, and so is the front entrance.There’s no way she’s getting out of there,” he says, and I nod.
He reaches out, and I pass him the blunt.
A couple minutes later, Zion pulls up on his motorcycle and hops off, placing his helmet on the seat.“Who we meeting?”he asks, taking the blunt out of Bear’s fingers and bringing it to his lips.
“Brotherhood wanna talk at the tracks,” I say.
Zion’s throat bobs.“Do they know about Amirah?”he asks, staring over my head at the park.
“I don’t think so, but we need to be ready for anything.Tate’s gathering some backup and meeting us there.Let’s go,” I say, moving toward my car.
I drop into the driver’s seat.Gage either knows or suspects something, and it could go one of two ways—no one leaves the tracks alive, or it’ll be the kickoff for this war.We aren’t ready yet.We need more weapons, more power to overthrow them.Whatever happens on these tracks is going to force us into action.
