Page 115 of Property of Yak

“As far as we can tell, no,” Predator pipes in.

“Again, what are we going to do?” Yukon says, repeating himself.

“We are going to take him and his cronies out. You don’t mess with a King and not pay the price,” Yooper declares.

I nod. “It’s time for war.”

“With a cop?” Sauga, our chaplain, asks, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I’m not here as a cop but a concerned father. Tonight is like Vegas. What happens, happens and we never talk about again,” Benjamin says.

“Fuck it, I’ve done weirder shit. Let’s do this,” Keener says, rubbing his hands together.

This is it. Everything I’ve been working for has been leading up to this moment. Let’s just hope it goes off without a hitch.

CHAPTER

TWENTY-EIGHT

Julie

The first thing I hear when I start to come to is voices. Multiple of them.

Not just talking, but ranting.

I’m lying on my side, arms tied behind my back. I keep my eyes closed and try to breathe as if I’m sleeping. The last thing I need is for whoever’s with me to realize I’m awake.

Buy yourself time. I can hear my dad’s voice in my head.

Think. What’s the last thing you remember?

I think back to earlier tonight and how Yak got a call, then everything that followed. How Ray mysteriously came over and I let him in like a fool. How he confessed to having feelings for me. I tried to run, but he caught me.

He didn’t just catch me, he drugged me.

Anger courses through my body.

The audacity of that man. Who the hell does he think he is?

“That wasn’t the deal,” Ray hisses, behind me, reminding me that I’m not alone.

“It is now, boy. I know you’ve had your eye on her, but after the shit she’s pulled, she’s mine. She needs a firm hand to teach her her place,” Aragon says harshly.

Aragon and Ray.

Holy shit. Are they working together? I used to think the saying “going from bad to worse” was stupid, but now I get it. Things really can get worse.

The men fall silent.

“Do you hear that?” Ray asks quietly.

Hope fills my chest. Are Dad and Yak here? Did they realize what was happening? Or was Ray an idiot and took me right to where Dad and Yak were going unknowingly?

Maybe the night is looking up.

I hear footsteps approaching and try to relax into the hard ground beneath me, still trying to play dead.

A heavy hand lands on my shoulder, pushing me onto my back.