Adriana's POV
The car came to an abrupt stop, making me wake up almost instantly, and when I took in my surroundings, my eyes nearly popped out of my head. Turning to face my brother, I saw him watching me with a sorry look on his face, but I still didn't understand everything that was going on. 'Why would he bring me back here? I just got out!' Trying my hardest to reach for the door handle without being seen, I swallowed the lump that was forming in my throat and I shook my head. “What's going on Trace? Why did you bring me back?”
He blew out a sigh before running a hand through his hair and looking away from me. “I won't be able to explain this if you don't trust me.” He turned back to me and clenched his jaw. “You do trust me, right?”
Considering he just brought me back to the one place I swore I would never return to, my trust in him was questionable. Of course, he hadn't done anything that would make it so I couldn't trust his judgment, so I didn't really have a choice in whether or not I wanted to trust him. He was blood, and I knew that he would do anything he could to protect me. “Yes, I trust you.”
Nodding, he waited a few seconds before he began explaining. “OK, so, you know that Jayson pretty much. . . Well, he knows everything that I do, everywhere that I am, stuff like that. I was stupid when I joined his gang all those years ago, but he told me what his intentions with you were, I knew that I couldn't just let it happen—so I went against him, and now he knows not to trust me. Of course, if I were to bring him the one thing that he wanted more than anything in the world, he would have no choice but to listen to me.”
“So, you're using me to get Jayson's trust back?”
A chuckle escaped him lips before he shook his head and went on with his explanation. “I want him to trust me enough to let his guard down so your boyfriends group can attack the majority of his men. Once enough of Jayson's guys are out, Haydn is going to come in and take the final kill.”
Taking in all of the information that was presented in front of me, I nodded and looked down at my hands. Everyone was risking their lives for me and if anyone were to die. . . The only person I could really blame is myself. Had I just listened when everyone said getting with Jayson was a bad idea, I wouldn't be in this position, but of course, by hormones got the best of me and a bad boy just happened to me the most attractive thing in the world to me.
God, had I been wrong.
Now, it was a matter of life or death because Haydn wanted to get rid of Jayson once and for all? He had admittedly said that that's all he needed me for; that he wanted to use me as bait to get rid of Jayson. I can understand why it makes sense, but that doesn't mean that I agree with it. He let me fall for him, with no intention of catching me, and I had been dumb enough to follow through with that. I knew that it wasn't my smartest idea, but in the past two years, I guess I could say that I wasn't one of the brightest bulbs in the box.
“So,” I said after a few minutes of silence, “when you give me back to him, what am I supposed to do?”
“Act like you had no idea that any of this is a plan. Freak out, scream, curse me out—do whatever makes it real. When he lowers his guard, I'll call on the attack.”
I nodded, still not sure if I was comfortable with the whole thing. I mean, come on! I was going to lose people that were close to me because of this! I didn't want them to have to risk everything because I was incapable of making good decisions! Of course, everything was already set in stone, and the only thing I could do about it was wait to see the outcome. It wasn't the best feeling in the world; knowing that people were about to give up their lives for you, but what else could I do? I started this problem, so shouldn't I be the one who ends it?
After a few more minutes of silence, I reached over the seat and wrapped my arms around my brother. He was hesitant at first, but he soon hugged me back and hid his face in my hair. I knew he wasn't crying, but this whole plan of his clearly was bothering him. I didn't say anything though. I just let us have our moment before we both pulled away and gave each other a knowing look.
We both stepped out of the car and I took a good look at Jayson's warehouse; disgust evident on my face. So many bad things had happened here whether it be rape, murder, etc., and none of it was anything worth mentioning. But the mere sight of it gave me the chills, and I guess that helped add on to the whole charade. I mean, I didn't want to be here at all, so that part wasn't being faked. Still, I was going to keep my composure until I saw Jayson, and that's when all hell would break loose.
At first, things were a bit off. It was really quiet, and none of Jayson's men were anywhere to be seen, but once we walked inside, I noticed that everyone was scrambling to get their guns and other necessities for a gang war. 'Did they somehow find out about everything that was going to happen?' Trying not to make myself worry, I took a deep breath as Trace gripped the top half of my arm and nearly dragged me towards Jayson's office. I was going to complain, but then remembered that this had to look forced, and I slowly began to put up a fight.
He laughed to himself, but quickly composed himself and continued walking until we came face to face with Jayson himself. When he looked up from whatever was on his desk and up at us, his eyes grew wide and he looked at me with confusion on his face. “Well, look who came back. Did you finally realize that Haydn wasn't man enough for you?”
I rolled my eyes, trying to pull away from Trace, and groaning inwardly when he wouldn't let me go. “I assure you, Jackass, that I'm not here because Haydn isn't 'man enough' for me. At least he doesn't have a baby penis.”
That seemed to hit a nerve with both Trace and Jayson because they both gave me disapproving looks; Jayson seeming more angry than anything else. He didn't bring up my comment though, he just went further into questioning why we had bothered showing up here tonight. “What the hell do you want, Trace, because I'm this close to just popping a cap in your ass.”
Trace laughed, and shrugged. “I'm here to give you the one thing that you want in the world. You can have my sister under one condition.”
This time, it was me who looked at my brother in shock. 'Was this part of the plan?' Trying my hardest to just do what he said and not panic, I swallowed the lump forming in my throat and waited to see what this so called 'condition' was. Maybe he was going to do something dramatic like in the movies and say that he could only have me over his dead body—or maybe the Terminator was going to pop up out of nowhere and just snap Jayson's neck!
OK, maybe I was over-thinking this a little, but I was panicking! It wasn't like it was just some piece of paper or a medallion that they were bargaining; it was my life. I think I had a right to be a little bit concerned with what the outcome was.
But this seemed to catch Jayson's attention, so I just waited to see what was going to happen next. “What's the condition?”
Not answering for a second, testing Jayson's patience, Trace blew out a breath and looked me in the eyes before looking back up at Jayson with a grin on his face. “You can have her, as long as you don't hurt her. I'll be checking in every now and then, and if I see even the slightest hint of a bruise on her, I have the right to pull the trigger on you myself.”
They stared each other down for a few seconds, but I honestly had no idea what was going on in either of their heads. Jayson wasn't the type of person who bargained with anything he wanted; he just always seemed to get it. “Or how about this.” He pulled out a gun and aimed it right at Trace's head, making me flinch. “I can shoot you right here on the spot, and take Adriana as mine—permanently. Does that sound like a better arrangement?”
Again, they stared each other down, and I tugged to get away from Trace—and draw Jayson's attention from him to me—and just as he went to pull back, Jayson put his finger on the trigger. In one all too fast motion, I pushed Trace to the side and watched as the bullet just barely hit his arm. When Jayson went to shoot again, Trace reached into his pocket, pulled something out that had a little red button, and he pressed it; making the lights go out. There was the sound of scrambling feet and I heard Trace's voice scream the words, “Haydn, now!”
And that's when the sound of gunshots filled my ears, and the warehouse.
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