License to Love

Chapter 14 Ultimatums

"Did they make it?" Jett asked anxiously while staring at his phone as though expecting it to spontaneously combust. He and Reece were sitting hunched up over their laptop in the living room of the crew's apartment.

"They must have, else they would've called us," Reece replied, though inwardly he was worried.

"Or maybe they got caught and couldn't contact us... We gotta keep this to ourselves. If the chief finds out, they'll be in GINORMOUS trouble." Jett said, biting his fingernails.

"They won't be the only ones." Soriano's voice made both boys jump and turn around. Jett swallowed.

"Crap, busted!" He whispered to Reece. Soriano gave them a narrow stare and folded his arms.

"Alright, come clean. And if you don't—"

"I'll take your controllers away for a week." Leslie finished for him as she came into the room. She had heard everything too. Soriano nodded. Jett sighed.

"Well, okay. Here goes. It's like this. Payton called—"

"Said something about a chase—" Reece continued for him.

"They needed help escaping the cops—"

"And Alec Zhang's gang." Reece finished. Soriano's eyes nearly bulged out and his face looked livid.

"Zhang?! How is he involved in this?!"

"Whoa, chief, watch the blood pressure." Reece tried hurriedly to calm him down. "And that's about all we know. We lost touch with them a few minutes ago and haven't heard back from them yet."

"Call 'em, text 'em, do whatever it is you can!" Soriano insisted vehemently. "I want you to track 'em, I wanna know what's going on and how they got involved with Zhang, dammit! Of all the people..." Soriano pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Why do we always get tangled up with trouble?" He asked wearily to no one in particular. Leslie came to his side, silently placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I texted Payton, chief," Reece said, holding up his phone. "And they're safe. They'll be here any minute." As though in response, the purr of Paige and Michelle's cars sounded outside. Jett and Reece ran to the window just in time to see the shadowy outlines of the Corvette and McLaren draw into the garage.

"They're here," Reece announced. A minute later, the two couples appeared at the door.

"I gather you four have been through a lot tonight, but take a seat and start talking," Soriano said as he took in their worn-out appearances. They all sat down and Brook filled them all in on what happened, from the ambush at the garage to the flight through an overpass.

"Nice to see you're keeping your skills sharp," Leslie said airily. "And with Michelle in the car."

"We couldn't help it, Les," Brook said in a subdued voice. "It was the only way we could get away. If the cops had gotten us, we'd have been done for. And Zhang was one stop short of killing us."

"How the hell did Zhang drag you into this?" Soriano asked, frowning. "He even knew where to find you."

"The NNC, chief," Brook explained. "They found out that I signed up for it. This was all a way to intimidate me so that I drop out of it. Apparently, that's his turf."

"I think I know how they found out about us," Michelle said, clenching her fists and suddenly looking furious. "The Nightshades must have let it slip that they had hired Brook for the NNC. It's a sure bet Zhang found out about him from them."

"You can't be sure, they may have their own sources," Reece observed thoughtfully.

"Think they're secretly tied up with Zhang?" Jett asked worriedly.