Sicko(89)

“What happened?”

Lion huffs, his finger tapping on his thigh. “We were drinking at a party one night. On the outskirts. There were trees and loose gravel all over the road. The music was loud, there was laughter. Jenny was on Kyle’s lap because there weren’t enough seats. I lost control, rolled the car and hit a tree. Jenny died in Kyle’s arms. He never recovered from that. I thought he would resent me, but he never did. Never. All this time, he was cooking up some sick shit to get back at me. He put Ollie in my life and then killed her, I have no fucking doubt about that.” Lion reaches into his pocket and takes out his leather wallet, flipping open the worn case and handing me a photo. “So when we go in there, we kill him. You understand? Fuck answers. I’m done talking.”

I study the photo closely. The woman looks so much like Jade I almost want to hit Lion for not picking up the resemblance. Her dark hair, square-shaped jaw and swollen lips. I think she looks familiar, but all I can bring it down to is that she looks like Jade now. The photo is old, with obvious discoloration tainting their smiles.

“Yeah, roger that.” I hand him back the photo. “You think he put Olivia on your path for a reason?”

He chuckles. “Just so he could tear her away from me.”

“Doesn’t answer why the fuck he was so hellbent on dragging me to hell with him.”

“Could be something as simple as his jealousy over Jade, or it could be something more sinister.” His hand goes to the handle, pushing the door open. “Whatever it is, you have about four seconds to figure it out before I go in swinging.”

Finding his ship was easy enough, since there was only one submarine docked up in this harbor. The door is open with stairs leading down, with our snipers set up on all four corners of the submarine.

My phone vibrates.

If you’re at the base, we’re on our way there now. Got a tip. If you haven’t already, do it now and leave.

“That was Isaac,” I say to Lion, flashing the text to him. “We need to move fast.”

“You say that like we aren’t carrying an army behind us right now.”

The submarine is all steel gray metal, with computers lining the narrow path to the back of the machine. Wicked and a few other boys are behind Lion and me, but I see nothing but fucking red.

Nothing.

Shoving through the back door, Kyle is seated at the front of the ship, swinging around in his chair to face us.

“Well, just when I thought I was getting away…”

My eyes fell to his pants, where blood is seeping through the material.

“Who helped you get here?” I snap, raising my gun up and shooting him in his right arm before he can move.

Kyle roars in pain, Lion coming to the back of his seat with his knife pressing against his throat. “Why did you take Olivia from me?”

“He didn’t,” a voice says from behind us, and we all shift to see an older woman with dark hair and green eyes enter. She’s wearing a white suit, with her hair up in a tight bun on the top of her head.

Lion falls backward, his arms coming to the side. “Ollie?”

Olivia moves forward, her eyes on Lion. “I’m sorry, Lionel. I—I didn’t have a choice.”

“You’re the woman who told me to go to the bar that day…” I whisper absently. Holy fuck.

Olivia turns to face me. Having her in front of me is like a slap in the face. She resembles Jade way too much for me to be comfortable with ending her life if she’s team fucking Kyle. “I also apologize about the explosion. We had to get him out of there before you all killed him.”

“Where the fuck did you come from?” Kyle seethes, spitting onto the ground.

“She was with me,” another voice says, and a girl I don’t recognize walks through the boys. She’s short, petite, with a round face and doe-like eyes. Her hair is dark on the top and blonde on the ends, and her blue eyes are as moody as the ocean. I don’t know who she is nor do I recognize her.

The girl turns to face Wicked.

I look between her and Wicked, confused.

“Hey, big brother…”

I freeze.

Wicked’s hand comes up to her face, blinking back the tears that are pricking the edges of his eyes. “Poppy?”

“It’s me.” She smiles up at him, and I see the adoration she has for Wicked as she leans her face into his hand. “I’ll explain later.”

She turns back to face Kyle, her shoulders squaring, and her lip curled. “You may not know this, Mr. K, but all these years—” Poppy moves around him as Olivia remains near Lion. Probably to ensure he doesn’t kill Kyle. This whole situation is fucked.

“Listen!” I snap, I’ve fucking had it with the delay. “I need fuckin’ blood, so all of you are going to have to wait until I’m done, and then you can wear his organs as a necklace. We good?”

Poppy stares at me blankly. “You must be Royce.” The way she confirms it is enough to have me stop talking. As if she knows more about me than I want her to know. “She spoke about you a lot.”

“Who!” I yell, my fists clenching at my sides.

“Me,” Jade whispers from the doorway, and I spin around in a rush, my teeth bared in anger.

“I fucking told you! What did I say, Jade? I said to keep your ass at the motherfucking clubhouse so I can handle this shit!”