Page 82 of F*ck Steal Kill

“I thought he was with you?” Q asked, his body instantly going taut.

“No. We had to separate. He was going back to wait for you guys.”

“We couldn’t escape that way,” I said, patting my pockets for my phone until I remembered it had cracked again when I dropped it. Quentin was already on his phone, calling him, pacing back and forth while it rang.

A loud groan rang out behind Grady, and I froze. “That’s the situation. The boy was injured helping Lacey escape.”

He didn’t meet my eyes as he said it; I knew he was leaving out the fact that Joy was still at the Savages compound.

“Lukas?” Ava whispered behind me, having heard the last of the conversation. He nodded, stepping back as she flew into the room. I peered in, spotting Lacey pressing towels to a teenage boy, red seeping through them at an alarming rate.

“We need to call someone,” I said, meeting Lacey’s blue eyes as I entered. They were filled with tears, and I shook my head. It wasn’t her fault.

A loud crash sounded back in the other room before Quentin stormed in, his face pale and stricken.

“They have Max. They have them both.”

How were we supposed to survive this? Max and Joy were the best of us, and that was one domino I wasn't willing to let fall.

CHAPTER 28

MAX

The ringing in my ears was the first clue that something wasn’t right, followed by a sharp pain in my skull. I moved my head, wincing when it felt more like a bowling ball and not the thing generally attached to my neck.

“Ow,” I moaned, attempting to lift my arms to no avail. They were heavy against my sides, almost like something held them down.

“Max,” a soft voice whispered, pulling me to the surface.

Blinking, lights swam in my vision as everything spun, the sound echoing around me like a rave was happening inside my body. I was not a fan.

“Turn it down,” I mumbled, squinting until my eyes adjusted to the light. Everything was out of focus for a minute until my vision righted itself.

“Hey, Max,” Joy said, giving me a lopsided smile.

I relaxed at seeing her, but something still didn’t feel right. Like, why did I hurt so much? Taking her in, the memories of what we’d been doing rushed forward.

Shit. I’d been captured. The one thing I’d told Quentin wouldn’t happen.

And it seemed Joy had been too.

“Holland? The others?” I rasped, hoping they were okay.

She shook her head. “I don’t know. I was grabbed and thrown down here. When they brought you in, you were unconscious, and they tied you to the chair, leaving me on the floor. I guess they don’t consider me the threat.” Joy smiled, all teeth, and I snorted with her.

Out of the two of us, she was by far the scarier one. While she wasn’t tied up, she was practically naked. Which I just realized as I became more aware of my surroundings, clearing my throat and turning my head so I wasn’t staring at her nipples. My cheeks heated, my whole body turning up ten degrees as all the blood rushed to my face.

“You’re too cute. But don’t be shy. We gotta work together to get out of here. So, take a look. They’re great tits and deserve to be admired; then we’ll have the awkwardness out of the way and can move on. And don’t worry; Holland would say the same.”

Chuckling, I shook my head, feeling slightly better. But I still couldn’t bring myself to stare directly at them, regardless of what she said. It felt like Medusa, and if I stared at them directly, I’d be turned to stone.

But Joy was right about one thing. We needed to work together to survive. I was glad I wasn’t alone, even if it meant she’d been captured, too.

“How long has it been?” I asked, trying to remember what time it was before I’d been taken. When the second alarm didn’t disable, I’d left our tunnel to head to Quentin and Holland’s in case they needed help. I’d sent Grady a message since he hadn’t returned yet with Viper.

“Maybe a couple of hours. Time’s weird down here.”

“Fuck, did it all go to shit?” I shook my head in disbelief. “The second alarm. I couldn’t deactivate it. There was a block or something,” I rambled as my thoughts jumbled together.

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