SWNOVELS The Sacrifice: Chapter 60
A week I’ve been stuck in this room. Away from the world with nothing but silence. Any time I turn on the TV, I see my picture plastered all over it. Along with the other nine that passed away that night.
People have gone to what’s left of Blackout and started shrines with flowers, pictures, and candles. I just want to scream that I’m alive and that someone tried to kill me.
If I’m being honest with myself, I think it was my father. I wouldn’t put it past him. He’s a man of action, and Ryat was right. My husband publicly humiliated him. His name. Degraded my family.
Why kill Tyson when he can just kill me? I’m the easier target. The trash that needs to be taken out. I’m the child who betrayed the Minson name by falling in love with the enemy. But I can’t figure out why my father hates him so much? I don’t believe that Tyson killed my sister. But what I don’t understand is why would my father send Luke to do the job? Why not have the balls to kill me himself? Maybe it’s my mother. He doesn’t want my mom to think he killed her daughter.
I look up when the door opens, and my husband enters. He’s wearing a plain white T-shirt and jeans with a pair of Nike’s. It’s weird seeing him so casual. Tyson always dresses in slacks and button-ups when working at Blackout. Ryat brought us some clothes last night, along with new cell phones.
I was surprised that it actually had Blakely’s number in it. That he’s going to let me talk to his wife. I guess since I’m officially dead, I’m no longer a threat.
Tyson comes to stand next to me and lowers a tray to the bed. “Hungry?” he asks, leaning down and gently kissing my forehead.
“No,” I say honestly, staring at the pudding cup. My eyes fall to my hand, and I numbly run my thumb over where my ring once was. It’s gone. Luke took it. I know it’s just a ring, but I want it back. Why take it? Just because I don’t have a ring doesn’t mean I’m not married. He did it out of spite, and I hate him even more for it.
Tyson frowns but doesn’t push it.
My collar is also gone but Tyson explained that he removed it for my surgery. He also made it sound like I’ll never wear it again. I’ve been stripped of two things that I never wanted but now don’t want to live without.
“Tyson?” A guy pokes his head into the room. His bright green eyes go from mine to my husband’s. The man is covered in ink, from his jawline to his knuckles. He wears a long sleeve T-shirt with the sleeves rolled up, but you can tell there’s more under the material. I’ve never met him, but I know his name is Saint. “We’ve got an issue that needs your attention.”
“What is it?” I ask, wondering what he means. Ryat comes and goes; Tyson hasn’t left, and these three guys come in and out of my room to talk to him privately. I know my husband is keeping secrets from me but why?
“I’ll be right back,” Tyson tells me, avoiding my question. He then kisses my forehead before turning and exiting the room.
I jump up and put my shoes on that sit by the bed. I’m going crazy in here, and I’m tired of being in the dark. I can only spend so much time taking a shower and watching TV. I deserve to know what is going on and how long this is going to be my new life.
Opening the door, I catch sight of the back of them walking side by side down the hallway. I wait for them to turn a corner before I gently shut my door and follow them. Once in the hallway, I take a quick look around, and it doesn’t look anything like a hospital outside of my room.
It’s cold but brightly lit. Lights hang from the ceiling as I run down the hallway. Coming up to the corner, I turn and slowly look around to see them getting into an elevator. I see it’s lit up to go down. I wait for it to close and then run down to the staircase next to it.
I make my way down to the lower level, noticing we were on level two. I gently push the door open and let out a long breath. I can see it puff out from my mouth. The temperature is even colder down here, making me shiver.
They push open a door and enter a room. I tiptoe and come up to it. There’s a window at the top and I try to lean up on my tiptoes to see through it, but it’s frosted. “Dammit,” I hiss.
When I go to turn the knob, a hand lands on my shoulder, making me scream out as I turn around.
“You look lost,” a man says to me. He’s one of them. Kashton is one of the three Spade brothers. He’s also covered in tattoos. “What were you doing?” he asks.
I jerk my arm out of his hold. “I’m looking for my husband.” I had overheard Ryat ask Tyson if he thought I was safe here, and he said yes. After I watched him on TV fighting off the cops in the parking lot of Blackout when the club was on fire, I know my husband wouldn’t put me in any danger. Not now.
Kashton smirks and reaches up. I gasp, thinking he’s going to pin me against the door, but instead, he uses his hand to open it. I fall backward into the room.
“Let me go,” the man growls, and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up at the sound of his voice. I’ve heard it before. Recently.
“You’re not going anywhere,” Tyson tells him, shaking his head.
“You can’t keep me here forever.” The guy circles around, watching Saint and my husband as if one of them is about to pounce on him.
“Not until you tell me everything you know,” Tyson informs him.
“I don’t know shit!” he screams, the sound bouncing off the concrete walls.
“That’s not true.” I step forward, speaking.
At the sound of my voice, Tyson’s eyes meet mine. They’re cold. Unforgiving. They narrow on me as if I’m the one in the wrong here. “What do you mean, Lake?” my husband demands.
“That’s him.” I point at the guy who is slowly stepping back into the corner of the room. Wide eyes on mine.
“Yes, the nurse who pretended to give you a birth control shot,” Tyson snaps at me.
I shake my head. “No. I mean, yes, but…” Swallowing, I look back at the guy. “He was the one who helped Luke.” It was loud in the club when Luke dragged me out of it. I was confused, my ears ringing. I didn’t recognize the guy’s voice in the van then, but now I do. Maybe because less time has passed since I was with him last. But I know for a fact it was him.
Tyson turns to face him, taking a step closer. “You were with Luke?” The guy that I remember by the name of Jackson doesn’t answer. “You’ve been here for a week, and you didn’t think to tell me that you helped kidnap her?” he screams.
He goes to run out of the room, but Saint grabs the back of his T-shirt as Tyson steps in front of him, punching him in the face and knocking him to the ground.
“How did you know where her tracker was?” he commands, hovering over him. One shoe on either side of Jackson’s head. “Huh? How the fuck did you know, you son of a bitch?” He steps away only to drag him up by his hair and slam his face into the wall. I watch the blood splatter before he falls to his knees.
“I waited … downstairs in the lobby.” He takes a deep breath. “After I administered the shot…” Blood pours from his face, and his shaking hands come up to wipe it away the best he can. “I followed you guys to Walls—’
“So you killed him,” Tyson growls. “Went in after we left, got the information you needed, and killed him.”
“No.” He shakes his bloody face. “I just reported what I saw.”
“To who?” my husband demands. “Luke?”
He nods, sniffing.
“Was it really Frank who called and told you to administer a fake birth control shot?” Jackson remains silent, and my husband kicks him, forcing Jackson to roll across the floor. “Fucking answer me,” he roars.
“Noooo.” Jackson begins to cry, holding his bloody face.
“Who the fuck was it?” he asks through gritted teeth.
“Luke.”
“If Luke knew where her tracker was, then why did he wait so long to go after her?” Saint wonders, and Jackson just shakes his head, not knowing the answer to that.
TYSON
He wanted to make sure I knocked her up. But I keep that to myself.
Fucking finally, I know who is behind all of this. I figured that’s who it was but now I’ve got somewhat of a confession. It’s enough.
I grab my wife’s hand and exit the room with Saint right behind us. He locks the sorry piece of shit inside.
“You think they’re working together?” Saint asks, referring to our other prisoner that we have in the room next to his.
I shrug. “Possibly.”
“Who?” my wife asks, but I can’t tell her. Not yet.
Saint looks over my shoulder, and I see Ryat coming down the hallway to us with a phone and car keys in his hand. “Found it,” he states. I’ve had him searching high and low the past few days. “But it’s dead.”
Of course, it is. Nothing is ever fucking easy.
“I’ll charge it in my office,” Saint speaks.
“I’m going to take Lake back to her room, then I’ll meet you two in there.” I grab her hand and pull her down the hallway to the elevator.
She remains silent as I help her into the bed and pull the covers up to her chin. Rolling over, she gives me her back and sighs heavily. I know she’s mad at me. She just helped me with identifying Jackson as helping Luke, but I’m still keeping secrets from her. It’s best this way.
I exit her room, giving her a second to take everything in. She’s got too many questions that I can’t answer. But I can show her. That requires proof. I already know that Lake isn’t going to believe what I say. And why should she?
Walking into the Spade brothers’ office, I see Saint sitting behind his desk, the phone lying on it plugged in. Ryat is over on the couch, typing away on his.
Going over to Saint’s desk, I plop down in the chair and the picture on his desk catches my attention. It’s of him, Haidyn, and Kashton with his chosen back when he was a senior. They were all four really close. He loved her more than he loved anything else on this planet. But the Lords had other plans for her. I tried my best to help her, but in the end, I just hurt them all even more.
I guess you can say that she’s the one who got away. It turned their lives upside down and into the men they are now. “Still no luck?” I ask.
He looks up at me and follows my eyes to the picture. “None.” Sitting back in his seat, he crosses his tatted arms over his chest and looks at Ryat, probably wondering how much he knows about their story. I don’t think he knows anything, though. If he does, he hasn’t told me.
“One of these days,” I assure him.
He chuckles softly. “Even if we found her today, we wouldn’t be able to collect her.” His eyes go to the door and then back to mine. “The guys aren’t ready. She’d be dead in a matter of hours.”
I have no doubt the Spade brothers would tear Saint’s chosen in half if ever given the chance. “And you?” I question. “Would you be okay with that?”
Saint looks away once more, a tic in his jaw. “The punishment would fit the crime,” he states. “We’re all about punishment here at Carnage.”
I snort, knowing exactly what he means. Picking up the cell, he hands it to me, and I press the button to turn it on, seeing it light up. I begin to go through the messages and smile at him.
“Find what you wanted?” he asks.
“Yeah. Exactly what I wanted.” My eyes meet his. “I’m going to need another favor.” Then I look at Ryat. “From both of you.”