Page 56 of Raze
“How long until GE is ‘handled’?”
“We’re working on it. I don’t have an exact date if that’s what you’re looking for,” I bite out as my temper frazzles.
He hums through the connection, and if I could reach through the phone and strangle him, I would. “How is Raegan?”
My teeth snap together and tighten to an uncomfortable grind. I don’t like his interest in Raegan. Even if it’s not sexual, now that I know about his infatuation with the girl, Portia, I don’t want him involved in anything to do with her. Period.
“She’s fine,” I finally manage coolly.
“Are you playing nice, or do I need to get her another place to stay?”
I grip the phone so hard it cracks from the pressure, and I have to consciously relax my hand. “As I said, she’s fine. Are you going to help the families or not? I’d hate to waste your time while you’re running around the world trying to find your girl who wants nothing to do with you.”
There’s a soft chuckle on the other end. “I’ll see what I can do. By the way, your lease is overdue. Make sure it’s paid in full by the end of today, or I’ll have to add a late fee.” He ends the call. It feels like my entire chest is on fire, and my insides are melting to molten lava with my hatred for Elias Thorton.
I know the lease isn’t overdue. It’s on fucking auto-draft. He’s trying for a ‘made-you-look,’ but he’s an idiot if he thinks I’d fall for that.
“—bodies discovered this morning.”
My eyes cut over to the television that’s been unmuted. “Turn that off. We need to figure out what we’re doing with Jackson’snewest hobby.”
“Aiden.” Dane’s voice is tight and clipped. I glance at his face and then back at the TV. It’s a news station showing a taped-off building in the city and lined with police cars and detective units.
I move into the living room to get a better view as they talk about a massacre in an office building that occurred this morning. While such violence is terrible, I don’t understand why Dane has pulled my attention to it until I see a still image of the inside of one of the floors after the bodies have been cleared. The GE logo is on scattered paper on the floor.
It’s just a bit of a letterhead, but it’s enough.
“It’s Jack,” I murmur aloud for Dane. There’s the possibility of another killer on the loose who hates GE or who just so happened to not like that office, maybe, but the chances are far higher that it’s Jackson. He’s been going after GE all this time, and it’s apparently escalated beyond stealth.
It doesn’t look like he tried to hide this at all. He wanted it to be seen.
A message, perhaps. But we aren’t ready for any sort of backlash or response.
What are you thinking?
Dane mutes the television and turns to me. “He’s lost his fucking mind if that was him.”
I nod, the gears in my brain turning as I identify all potential outcomes of this clearly visible move and outright call to war. “I need to find out who was in that building. See if there was an actual target or what the purpose of that office was for.”
“And if there wasn’t one?”
I take a slow breath. If there wasn’t any real meaning to this building, then it would mean Jackson is just killing GE indiscriminately now.
The clock strikes two, and I quietly leave my room. I don’t worry too much about keeping my steps overly silent since Jack and I are the only light sleepers in the group. The other three could sleep through an earthquake.
I stop outside Raegan’s room and listen intently for any signs that she’s still awake. She came back from her bar shift at midnight, wearing another ridiculous wig that I want to yank off every time I see it. I know why she’s trying to disguise herself, but I’d rather she not go out at all between Gordon, Vera, Thorne, and the rest of GE out there now. It's too dangerous.
When all I can hear is the sound of her breathing deeply, I grasp the doorknob and turn it slowly. I’ve been coming to her room almost regularly since she moved in here. I feel like a fucking creep for doing it, but watching her sleep seems to be the only thing right now that settles all the thoughts in my mind enough for me to eventually sleep.
I hate that I’m relying on her for this, even if she’s completely unaware I’m doing it. It’s just another sign that I’m completely fucked over this girl. When I learned what happened with Vera, Iwas so shocked that I couldn’t even process what that meant with how I felt about her anymore. It was an accident. It possibly saved Dane’s life. Could I be angry with her for that? Had I made a terrible mistake?
For a brief moment, there was hope that we would work this out.
And then she helped Dane escape and put him in danger without telling me.
Or I found her sneaking around the Tower, and I was reminded that she’s still keeping secrets. We may know about Vera, but there’s a lot more she isn’t telling us.
I wish she would give me something.Anything, at this point, so we can get past this.
