Page 169 of Malice and Surrender
“Stop! Just listen, for once, please just listen to me before you react.”
My teeth ground together, but I sucked in the rage and tried to push it down. “Fine, what is his demand?”
“That you don’t try to tear him and Raine apart,” Avro said.
“I hadn’t planned on it, but now he makes me want to fucking try. Fucking dick. Have I told you I don’t trust him? And I really don’t like him.”
Avro groaned on the other end of the line, which turned into a mumbled litany of swear words.
“Jace, you know I love you, but let’s be real for just a moment. The two of you don’t like each other cause you’re cut from the same fucking cloth. He knows you’d try, just like you knew he would. I’m telling you right now, Raine will split and tell us all to fuck off if we start playing that game.”
Even though he couldn’t see it, I tossed my hand in the air in frustration. “Dude, I’m not the one that started this.”
“I know, but you’re always the one to end it, and I’m asking you, no…I’m begging you and calling in every favor I have. Do not do whatever you have cooking up in your head,” Avro said, his voice pleading with me through the phone.
Fuck I hated not having the upper hand. I needed something on Kai. Even if I didn’t use it, I needed to have the shield to block his attack. No matter what Avro said or thought, Kai would push later on. I knew it cause Avro was right about one thing, the two of us thought alike, and I would use it when needed. Maybe even when I didn’t if I thought I could get away with it.
“Fine, I won’t do anything, but if he makes even one move to release or leak anything he knows, someone better be watching out for his soul because I will take him down with us.”
I could picture Avro’s face on the other end of the line as he rolled his eyes at me. “I worried you might say that.”
“I promise to be good as long as he does. There is that better?”
“Jace?” I turned at the sound of Raine’s voice. She looked adorable in my band T-shirt that stopped mid-thigh. Oh, I was sending her home with a fucking case of those. Petty? Most definitely, but it made me smirk as I pictured the look on Kai’s face when she wore one for him.
“Hey Peaches, you okay?”
“Yeah, I just woke up, and you were gone.” She padded across the floor, her footfalls quiet on the fancy tile.
“Just talking to Avro. Do you want to say hi?”
Raine shivered and tucked herself under my arm. Why was it that girls were always so much cooler to the touch? I handed her the phone and went back to staring out the window as my mind traveled back in time.
“I’m telling you Alex, this will work. We just need to get him on film, and he’ll never want the video released. He’d never dare touch you again,” I said, laying my hands on Alex’s shoulders. He still looked unsure as he chewed on his lip.
“But it means I have to get him in the car, and I’ll be alone with him until we get to the park. What if he decides to stop somewhere else, and you’re not there, and I’m stuck in the car with him?”
They were valid concerns, and I didn’t have an answer for any of them, but I knew he could pull this off. It was the only reasonable plan, and there was no way I was letting Alex stay even a single night without blackmail.
“You’ve got this. Nothing is going to go wrong. Just think about how well you did when auditioning for the school play. Pretend you’re doing that again,” I said.
“Fine, I’ll do it, but you better be there,” Alex said.
“Well duh. The whole thing hinges on me being there. I’ve got you.”
When it got dark outside—and my mom and Lyle were watching a movie—I told my mom I was heading to bed early since I had practice the next day. She kissed me on the cheek and wished me a good sleep. I felt bad lying to her, but it needed to be done. No one else could know about this.
I stuffed the small video camera in my backpack, put all the pillows under my blanket, and turned off the light. We were screwed if she came in to check on me, but it was worth the risk.
Climbing out the window, I closed it softly behind me, moved to the end of the low eaves, and jumped. It wasn’t far, ten feet at most. I wondered what Alex would say to lure his uncle out of the house. Would he tell him that he wanted to be alone with him or that he wanted to talk? I didn’t know, but the longer I thought about Avro alone with Martin, the more worried I got.
Hopping on my mountain bike, I peddled hard and soon traveled almost as fast as the cars on the main street. I weaved through the subdivisions and then onto the road that led to the state park. It was where I’d told Alex to lure Martin. There was a huge parking lot, no cameras, and lots of places to hide so I could film.
Wheeling my bike into the entrance, I kept an eye out for gators. Not that they wandered away from the water too much, but I really didn’t feel like getting bit or worse.
I’d come prepared and pulled a flashlight from the pack. Something glinted in the distance when the light hit it, and I pushed the bike in that direction. It was a spade shovel left behind by the maintenance crew, but it was a perfect weapon, just in case.
Hiding my bike behind the map of walking trails, I got the camera ready and crouched down to wait. The wind picked up, bringing with it the smell of rain. You could feel the moisture in the air and hear the rumbling of thunder in the distance.
