“I don’t want to come back, Colt. Just like you made your decisions in life, I’ve made mine.”
“That’s not fair…”
“Yeah, life isn’t fair, Colt. It wasn’t fair for Jameson either.”
“I’m not going to get into that, Stephanie.”
“Then don’t ask questions and just help me. You owe me that.”
He sighed before responding. “Gimme an hour and I’ll have a response."
“Thank you.”
“And Stephanie…”
“Yeah.”
“About Jameson…”
“Yeah.”
“It’s not what you think.”
“I’m not the one you need to tell that to.”
I quickly hung up the phone and left the warehouse, careful not to have anyone follow me. Although I could still feel him everywhere.
That hour was hell.
I had gone back to Obsidian's apartment because at the moment, it was the only space where I felt safe. I couldn’t go back to my apartment, let alone Alan’s place. At least with Obsidian, she’d have eyes on anyone within blocks of the apartment. She would warn me if she saw anything suspicious. Especially if it led up anywhere near her safe space.
Her apartment always smelled like incense and burnt coffee. It was an industrial-sized condominium with concrete floors and brick walls. The faint hum of electricity was sort of peaceful with everything going on around us. The curved screens were either on surveillance cameras or in chat rooms. Different colored neon wires snaked across the floor, and sealed documents were shoved into crates labeled with obscenities.
I paced the large apartment, my heels scraping against the concrete floor as that godforsaken tension continuously coiled in my spine. The silence was loaded. It was too quiet, too still, and it made the hairs at the back of my neck stand on end. Every pass by the window, I glanced out into the darkness. Obsidian had put out the streetlight on purpose. She said her cameras had night vision, and the light only blocked them.
"You doing alright over there?" Obsidian's voice rang out.
"As good as I'm gonna get... I guess," I whispered that last part of the phrase. Almost scared to jinx it all. I literally figured I was never going to sleep deeply again.
I ran through scenarios. What if Rancid said no? What if Caleb found out first? What if Colt turned on me? What if one of the Turks came here and shot us all up?
I continued to pace the apartment, waiting on my brother to come through. As soon as the hour hit, we were both sitting side by side staring down at the screen.
“Are you sure he’s going to call?”
“Give him a minute.”
When the phone finally buzzed, I snatched it off the table. My brother’s face appeared and Obsidian gave a small laugh. “Damn.”
“What?” I asked her as I put the phone to my ear.
“He’s cute is all,” she whispered.
I rolled my eyes and answered. "What’s the word?"
Colt exhaled sharply. "Rancid’s interested. But he wants to meet you first. Wants to make sure this deal is clean."
"It’s not."
