Dad approaches me, his hand on my shoulder. He gives it a tight squeeze, and I lift my head to look at him. In one single day, that man has aged twenty years, and it breaks me to see him like this — both of them.
“You still have to find Blair,” he tries to reason. “And Aria is asleep. I’ll call you if she wakes up before you come tomorrow.”
“Fine.”
The night is hazy. I’m barely walking properly, and I called a taxi from the hospital to the base. It’s eerily quiet inside. The lights are shut off in most of the rooms, the upper bedroom having all the doors closed. Everyone’s either on missions, asleep, or out, leaving me all alone.
The sound of heels clicking snaps me back to reality, and I see Kaya leaning against the wall. Her blonde hair shimmers under the moonlight that’s sneaking in through the windows, her face aspassive as always.
“Is she alright?”
“How did you know?”
“I was with Hudson when Noelle called him.” She pushes herself off the wall, approaching me. She takes a seat at a respectable distance away from me, then pulls out a flask from her bag. She hands it over, and I don’t even question what it is before gulping it down. A gagging noise comes from the back of my throat, a grimace appearing on my face.
“What the fuck is this?”
“Plum rakia.”
“Whatever the fuck it is, it’s good.” I sigh, taking another swing. “Have you seen Cove?’’
“No, not today,” she hums. “Don’t tell him about why Aria’s in the hospital, though.”
My eyes snap to hers. “Why the fuck not?”
“I haven’t known your sister for that long, but I can read people well. When she wakes up, if she finds out you’ve told people who aren’t immediate family, she’ll feel shameful and embarrassed.’’
That gets me to pause. Kaya’s observation skills are freaky, but she isn’t wrong. Aria wouldn’t want anyone to know, even less someone she’s barely spoken to — Cove. He’s just my best friend in her eyes, and that alone is enough for this not to be shared with him. She doesn’t know him well enough or trust him enough.
“You’re right.”
“Aren’t I always?”
I snort, clutching the flask. Her eyes flick down to the grey object in my hands, then back to my face. “You’re filled with anger.’’
“Yes,” I grit my teeth. “I’ll kill whoever it was that brought her to this point.”
“I may not know who it was, but,” she averts her gaze,looking at the wall across from her. “Only a man could do this to a woman, or a mean woman. But somehow, Aria doesn’t seem the type to let just anyone disrespect her.”
“It doesn’t matter to me if it’s a man or a woman. Whoever it was, the price will be their life.”
“In the meantime, how about you release some of that anger?”
I cock my head to the side. “Care to share your thoughts with the class?”
“We both know that Simmons won’t show up. He’ll have his lackeys in his stead. So, let’s not wait around.”
I lift a brow, silently urging her to continue. A wicked gleam is in her eyes that almost scares me, but when she opens her mouth to speak, I’m on board. The plan is flawed, reckless, and quite honestly, terrifying to execute in such a quantity, but at this point, I have nothing else to lose.
So, I go to the floor with bedrooms and wake up a couple of people. They don’t ask questions, not when they see the look on my face. Within an hour, everyone’s filled in on what we’re going to do, and each person takes a separate car, with Kaya and me riding in one.
We arrive at the location that’s on the high point of the city, far away from the chaos. It overlooks the entire city, the nightlights flickering. It looks beautiful from over here, and the cold air adds to my determination, just like fuel to the fire.
It’s two in the morning when everything is ready, and one by one the men start sending me messages. Everyone’s done their share of work and is ready for me to give further instructions. Kaya glances over my shoulder at my phone as it buzzes, then nods briefly.
Then, I give them the green light.
All of Alexander’s restaurants, all of Woods’ companies, all of Flint’s banks with the money inside, and all of the non-residential establishments that Adams owns burst into flames at the same time. Fire slowly spreads, creating chaos within, eating everything in its path. It’s like a force of destruction that screams my name silently. A force to be reckoned with, one that they never saw coming.
