Blood and Bone | 1

5 | 5

Jake Evans was actually asking for my help? What world was this? I frowned as I gazed upon his serious face.

"What do you need my help with?" I asked suspiciously, tilting my head to the side.

He glanced down the hallway. "I'll tell you in the car. Let's go."

"Why can't you tell me now?" I challenged, crossing my arms. I wasn't stupid enough to trust Jake with my life. And, knowing him, we were about to get into another dangerous situation.

"Because the others don't know," he hissed, "And I want to keep it that way."

What could he possibly be doing that he couldn't tell the others about? And why did he only choose me to go on this cryptic quest with him?

He could sense my apprehension. "I'm beginning the first part of my plan to bring Hundsen down," he informed me. "And we need to go, now."

"Fine," I sighed and grabbed my two new knives that I'd taken from the storage room earlier. Sheathing them at my sides, I followed Jake downstairs and into the garage.

      "Hunt will know if we leave," I warned him. "He'll be able to find us wherever we're going."

      "Hunt and the others think we're going on some tedious errand," he explained as we reached the car that the ONNT left with us. "Get in."

      Though I was still skeptical, I got into the passenger's seat and slammed the door closed. He started up the engine and drove down the driveway.

"Where are we going?" I inquired after he had turned onto the main road.

      "I'm going to speak with Wilton Sloane, the lieutenant of the Needles."

      I vaguely remembered the Club talking about how the Needles were giving them trouble. They had been at odds for a while now. I supposed Jake was going to take advantage of that fact for his own benefit.

      "Okay," I drew out the word slowly. "What do you need my help for?"

      "I need someone to make sure things go smoothly."

      "You need someone to watch your back," I corrected.

      "More or less."

      "But why did you choose me specifically? Why not someone else on our crew?"

      "I don't need you specifically, I need someone with your particular skill set," Jake said bluntly. "You just happen to be the most skilled in combat."

      I smirked at him teasingly. "Say it however you want. You need me."

      "I need your power and prowess. That's not the same thing."

      "I'll remember that you said that when I'm faced with a decision to save your life or not."

      "Maybe I'll take my chances and bring someone else instead."

       I shrugged. "You'll regret it if things go wrong and they can't fend off an entire gang like I can."

      "Things won't go wrong tonight. I have an offer that they can't refuse."

      "And what's that?"

      "You'll just have to wait and see."

      Jake pulled off onto the side of the road. I noticed that it was very dark where he stopped the car; he wanted our presence to be as undetected as possible.