We shared glances, but said nothing.
Luther nodded like we'd agreed. "I wanted that at your age too. But what makes a real man is taking responsibility for your actions. And if you can show me that you can do that tonight, then I'll let your girl go. I'll send her somewhere she'll be safe. But you all have to cooperate, you hear me? Every last one of you. That's what being in the Harlequins is about. And I see that potential in all four of you. So let's see what you're made of." He slammed the door, plunging us into darkness and the cab door opened a second later as he got into the driver's seat.
My breaths came heavier and I closed my eyes, focusing on slowing my heartbeat, thinking of Rogue and the shit storm we were currently caught up in.
Luther started the engine and we were soon moving along the road at a brisk speed.
"Where is she?" Maverick growled.
"Safe," I promised, not wanting to say too much just in case his dad could hear us, then I angled my head towards Fox. "You have a plan, right?"
"We just have to do whatever the fuck he wants," he said in a quiet voice. "When it's done, he'll send you guys home and you can go to Rogue."
"That's it? That's your master plan?" Chase hissed.
"What do you want me to say, man?" Fox snapped. "Dad's not gonna let me and Maverick out of his sight tonight. So if he keeps his word, we'll have to let him send her away and then-"
"No," Maverick snarled. "If he sends her away we'll never see her again."
"We know the way to Fairfax," Fox reasoned. "Dad won't always be watching us this closely. It might be a while, but we can tell Rogue to wait and-"
"I said no," Maverick snapped aggressively, making my heart jolt. "I don't trust his word for shit. He could send her anywhere or drag her off somewhere and kill her. How would we know?'
"I'll make sure we have proof. And Dad might be a royal asshole, but he keeps his promises," Fox swore.
"To you maybe," Maverick snipped.
"He'll keep his word to you too," Fox impressed.
"Bullshit," Maverick growled.
"Just stop fighting," Chase implored. "It's not going to help. And we need to be on the same team right now. Where the hell is your dad taking us?"
"He said something about responsibility," I muttered, knotting my fingers together. "I don't like the sound of it."
"Well whatever it is he wants us to do, we'll do it for Rogue," Maverick said firmly.
"Agreed," Fox replied. "Everyone say it."
"I'll do anything to protect her," Chase said, his voice full of emotion.
"So will I," I swore, but something in my soul told me I wasn't going to like whatever awaited us at the end of this journey.
The van soon bumped along an unmade road and I steeled my nerves as I fought away the cloying fear in my chest. Everything was going to change. I'd felt this time coming and I'd done fuck all. Why hadn't we run when we'd had the chance? Fox had never wanted this life even if he was born for it. Nothing had been stopping us.
But maybe, deep down, we liked it here. If it wasn't for the Harlequins, the town would have been paradise for us. We owned the streets, the beaches, the waves. The spirit of this place ran in our blood. We'd carved our names everywhere, placed our mark on this land, claimed it in some way that I hadn't really realised until now. We'd wanted to stay. I wanted to stay. Running fucking sucked. But now there was no choice in it. So long as we were together though, I had to hope there was a new life awaiting us beyond this place. Somewhere we could make our own. We just had to do what Luther wanted and eventually we'd figure out a way to get out of dodge and take Rogue somewhere safe.
The van pulled to a halt and we all drew in deep breaths as the driver's door sounded then male voices spoke beyond the vehicle, too low for me to hear.
The sliding door suddenly pulled open and Luther stood there with the rain dripping down on his blonde hair and shoulders.
"Grab a shovel and get out," he commanded and I looked to the pile of them at the end of the van with a lurch of discomfort.
We did as he said and I jumped out after Chase, the weight of the shovel in my hands making me tense up. We were in a dark wood, the canopy so thick that it was keeping out most of the storm, but the sound of it was everywhere.
As we followed Luther around the van, we came face to face with four large guys with guns. But that wasn't what stole my attention most. It was the dude on his knees in front of them, a gag in his mouth and his hands tied behind his back. He had blonde hair and was kinda lanky. He seemed vaguely familiar to me, but my brain couldn't make the connection in that moment. The look on Fox's face said he knew who he was though, and the blood was draining from his cheeks fast.
Luther strode up to the boy who was around our age, leaning down and yanking the gag out of his mouth and taking a knife from his hip to cut the binds holding his wrists together.
"Why's he here?" Chase hissed to us as the dude quaked, but no one answered.
"Please," the guy begged Luther. "I didn't do anything wrong."
"That's untrue," Luther said, crouching down beside him, taking hold of his chin and angling his head to face us. Then Luther looked directly at Fox with a hopeful expression. "Tell Clive what he did, son."
Clive? Fuck. Clive from Rogue's group home Clive?
We all looked to Fox whose lips opened and closed, but no words came out.
"What did he do?" I found myself asking.
"I didn't do anything!" Clive cried and Luther gripped his hair when he tried to jerk away from him, forcing him to keep his eyes on us.
"Tell him, Fox!" Luther barked, the sound making my heart rattle in my chest.
"He...he told you that Rogue killed Axel," Fox said, his chest rising and falling heavily.
"He ratted her out," Maverick growled in agreement.
"And what do Harlequins do to rats, Maverick?" Luther asked, his eyes a roiling sea of darkness.
"Don't," I hissed at Maverick, but he gave me this look that made my insides shrivel. It said it's too late. That no matter what he said or any of us did, our fates were already decided. And it was the most terrifying reality I had ever faced.
"They die," Maverick answered loudly and thunder boomed as if to enunciate those words.
Luther nodded, rising to his feet while Clive screamed, scrambling away across the muddy ground, but Luther casually took his gun from its holster and swung it toward him. "Run and I'll shoot," he warned before turning back to us and Clive fell still with a whimper of fear.
Luther’s upper lip peeled back. “This kid saw your girl being dragged into Axel’s house, watched as he pushed her down beneath him, watched him hurt her, rip her panties-”
“Stop,” I growled, not wanting to hear it. Hate filled me as Clive sobbed louder, but that didn’t mean I could do what Luther was suggesting.
“I wasn’t thinking,” Clive begged.
“Don’t shy away from the truth, Johnny James,” Luther growled. “Look it in the eye and face it like a man.”
Shit. What do I do? What the hell are we gonna do?