Page 57 of Fate Awakened

“Mindy,” Tony shouts into the intercom. “Take these two to the holding room and get Shane to my office now,” he finishes.

The door behind us opens, and the guards are back. Reluctantly I pick up my feet and follow behind one as I’m escorted to a flight of stairs at the end of the hall. He turns, descending to the floor below with Hudson and I trailing him. The second guard stands at Hudson’s back.

They turn us into a room at the end of the hall. It looks just like a police interrogation room; if I were to guess, even the mirror was two-way. The door locks behind us, and I wander over to the chair on the farthest side of the room.

Hudson crosses the space, heading straight for me. The look on his face gives nothing away, and I shrink back into the chair as he approaches, reaching out for me.

“What are you…” I don’t get a chance to finish my question as he grabs my zip-tied wrists, pulls with both hands and snaps my hands free. He doesn't say a word before walking back toward the other chair and collapsing on the opposite side of the lone table in the room. He drops his head into his hands in a position that can only be described as defeated.

Is he worried they won’t release his parents?

I wonder before clearing my throat to speak.

“Thank you,” I whisper as I rub each wrist to soothe away the indents that have formed there.

He doesn’t respond. He doesn’t make any move to indicate he’s heard me. I sit awkwardly, attempting to pass the time in silence, but a part of me feels I should be comforting him.

Yep, Stockholm Syndrome at its finest. I’m worried about the guy who kidnapped me.

Out of the silence, Hudson speaks.

“He fixed everything with a phone call.” It’s so low I don’t know if it’s meant for me to hear, but I respond anyway.

“Isn’t that good news?” I ask quietly.

The weak laugh that pushes out of him as he shakes his head illuminates his torment.

“Not when I destroyed everything in my life to try and get them back, only to fail. I should’ve gone to him. I should’ve tried to get them to help me, but instead, I broke every bit of trust I had, and now I’ve lost them all,” he explains.

“People make mistakes. Dante seems like a reasonable guy. Maybe if you talk to him, he’ll understand,” I say, trying to give him some of the hope I’ve been able to latch onto since hearing the negotiations.

“It won’t matter. My Fate was sealed the moment I turned my back on them,” he declares, sadness leaking into his tone.

“They take your phone?” I ask hopefully, wondering if we could reach out to someone.

“Yep,” he replies.

“Well, that would have been helpful. I guess we don’t get one phone call in these kinds of situations, huh?” I ask, trying for light humor.

“Nope.”

“How long do you think they’ll keep us in here?” I ask, more thinking out loud than caring about his guess.

“Are you going to ask questions the whole time we’re in here?” he questions, looking up at me with a hint of irritation on his face.

“Just trying to keep from panicking.” I shrug and focus my attention on picking at my fingernails.

“You should be worrying about getting through this trade alive. I don’t think you understand the bad blood between our packs, er, gangs?” he finishes covering.

“Packs? You make it sound like you’re a bunch of wolves fighting for top dog to run the territory,” I quip, and his face freezes. “I get that you have these family connections, and you guys hate them, like the Bloods and the Crips, but you all are making this out like the next civil war will be starting. It sounded like Dante had it under control on the phone,” I finish trying to make sense of their rivalry.

“If you think for a second that Tony isn’t going to try something while he has the Vegas Alpha in his territory, you're out of your mind. This battle has been going on since Marlo took over thirty years ago when Dante’s dad was in charge. You need to be ready to fight or run because when the shit hits the fan, like it always does, no one will care about one innocent girl dying.” The seriousness in his expression and tone has my stomach clenching as the anxiety amps up within me. His message is clear.

I have no allies in this. I’m on my own.

Chapter 20

Cain

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