''I guess this is where the partying comes to an end'' Caleb muttered to the three of us girls, as he and Seb returned from the VIP zone. Their talk with Jared appeared to be rather uptight and serious, hence their mood shift after it.
Seb stayed silent with his jaw clenched. I had never seen him angry before, he was always the shy, chill guy. Caleb also appeared to be pissed off, and not in a goofy way.
What the hell did they talk about?
''Why?'' Tara whined, placing her perfectly manicured hand on her hip.
''I'm sorry, but we have to go and we're definitely not going to leave you girls here by yourselves'' Seb shook his head at the thought.
''Then take us with you!'' Tara rolled her eyes.
''No!'' Sasha, Seb, and Caleb all said in unison. Tara and I exchanged glances before I decided to speak.
''Why not?''
''Because you just can't'' Sasha pursed her lips, looking like she wanted to disappear from this conversation. ''It's not safe'' She added.
''What do you mean, it's not safe?'' Tara huffed, growing annoyed.''You guys are hiding something from us and I don't like it at all''
''I think so too'' I agreed.
Caleb groaned, dragging a hand down his face. ''Fine'' He sighed, eventually.''You can come with us. But you'll see just how dangerous it is''
''What?! Bro, Austin will literally chop our heads off if he sees them there'' Seb hissed at Caleb.
Austin?
What's he got to do with all of this?
Caleb threw his hands up in the air, demonstrating his frustration.''If they don't see what it's all about, they'll keep asking about it. Let's just show them once, just like we showed Sasha'' He explained, trying to convince Seb.
''Fine'' Seb sighed, giving us a worried glance.''But I'm telling Austin it was your idea''
***
''What the hell is this place?'' Tara whispered to me. We were sitting in the back of Caleb's jeep, staring out at our surroundings through the windows. His windows were thankfully tinted, so I felt slightly safer than I would've if they weren't tinted.
We drove down into an underground parking lot, our surroundings suddenly turning almost completely pitch black. The parking lot looked abandoned, no car other than ours was anywhere to be seen.''Okay, this is getting a little weird'' Tara spoke so that everyone would hear. I gulped, nodding.
''Well, you two wanted to come'' Seb groaned.
We drove deeper into the parking lot and soon we could see dim lights at the very back, along with like 15 parked cars.
''What the hell...'' Tara strained to see what was going on down there.
''Listen,'' Sasha finally spoke up, looking very worried.''You guys have to keep a low profile. If you don't, you might get challenged to fight someone. And that's not good, because I'm about 100% sure you two cant fight''
I scrunched my eyebrows.
Fight?
''What do you mean challenged to fight?'' Tara asked, just as confused as I was.
''This is an underground fight, girls'' Sasha deadpanned. ''This is a bad place, filled with bad people. I don't come here, and that should say something''
Tara and I gaped at her, completely speechless.
''The whole thing is illegal, as you can imagine. People die here, and no one pays the price. They just dump the bodies somewhere and that's the end of the story. The fighters here are mostly criminals, with no other way to get cash. They have nothing to lose. They're all disgusting, vile, ruthless-''
''Except for one'' Caleb cut her off, giving her a stern look.
''I could argue that'' She rolled her eyes at him.
''Austin isn't like that, you know that'' He shook his head.
''Oh, really? Just because you two idiots work for Jared-''
''You're saying too much, Sash'' Caleb cut her off again, slightly raising the tone of his voice.
Tara and I sat there in confusion and horror, not knowing what exactly to say about all of this.''So, Austin is one of those fighters?'' Tara asked, gulping.
''He's the best'' Seb nodded.
''Of Jared's'' Sasha added with a roll of her eyes.
Austin is an underground fighter?
Do people actually die in these fights?
Has he killed someone before?
Oh my God...
''Yeah, well, if it wasn't for Jared I'd be dead by now!'' Caleb lost his temper, shouting at Sasha. She clenched her jaw and I could see her hand curl into a fist.
''Look, I'm sorry. But that guy really helped us three out when we needed it most. You know our stories. You know what kind of shit we got ourselves into. Just because you can't stand the guy, doesn't mean we have to hate him too. We have respect for him. We owe him'' Caleb sighed.
''That's the problem! You owe him. I don't like that. I don't like that he has that power over you. I don't like that he could frame you three idiots if he needed to. I don't like any of it. He's a criminal who does the shadiest things in our town. You could get yourself into something you wouldn't be able to get out of'' Sasha tried to control her temper but it was visible just how pissed she actually was. Her voice practically shook with rage.
''We're fine'' Seb butted in.''If we weren't, we'd leave. It's that easy''
''That's the thing, though. You won't leave. Because he won't let you'' She argued.
''Okay, enough'' Caleb groaned. ''Let's just go show them the fight and leave. You stick with them, keep an eye on them at all times, and don't let them out of your sight. Seb and I have something to do first and then we'll come and find you three''
Sasha just nodded, glancing at us once.
Tara took my hand in hers as we got out of the jeep.''Please tell me I'm not the only one terrified'' She whispered in my ear.
''Trust me, I think I'm way more scared than you are'' I hissed back, my knees trembling a little.
We followed our friends to the epicenter of all the action. People were cheering, laughing, shouting, and so on. Music was blaring through the roof and I had to hold back from covering my ears. There was also a very pungent smell of sweat, tobacco, and alcohol. ''My God...it stinks here!'' Tara wrinkled her nose in distaste.
''We'll be back in a few minutes'' Caleb said quietly, before placing a small kiss on Sasha's forehead. She frowned down at her feet, not meeting his gaze. He sighed deeply before turning away and walking off. Seb gave Tara a quick hug and ran off to catch up with Caleb, who looked like he was about to punch a wall.
''Are you okay?'' I asked Sasha.
''Yeah, why wouldn't I be?'' She looked up, finally. Her eyes were brimmed with tears, shocking both Tara and me. ''It's not like he can die any time he goes to do whatever 'business' Jared makes them do. It's not like I might never see him again every time he leaves. Haha. Yep, it's fine'' She joked cynically, her face twisted with hurt.
''Oh, Sash'' I frowned reaching out to hug her.
My arms wrapped around her body and I could feel her heartbeat was at an incredibly fast rate. ''Everything will be okay'' I whispered into her hair.
She pulled away, discreetly wiping away her tears.''Yeah, I know. It's just hard. I don't have anyone else, just Caleb'' She croaked out.
''He'll be okay'' Tara frowned, deep in thought. ''They'll all be okay'' She added with a nod, glancing at me.
Austin.
He's involved in all of this too.
''Austin's fighting today'' Sasha sobered up quickly, before looking around.''We can try to find him if you guys want to. The fights usually start at midnight, so he has an hour until it starts''
''Don't mess with Austin's performance, darling''
Jared's words rang in my ears.
''No,'' I shook my head.''I think we shouldn't. Let him umm...prepare for the fight or whatever in peace''
Sasha gave me a look.
''As if! Let's go ruin his stupid little training sesh or whatever. He deserves to lose after what he did last night'' Tara scoffed, already scanning the crowds of people.
''No'' Both Sasha and I said in unison.
''Austin has a respected reputation here. He's the youngest fighter, but he's also the best Jared has. He wins every fight, which means Jared is practically bathing in illegal cash. If he loses, it will be his first time. He would lose a lot of respect. He'd have to face Jared and his wrath. So, in conclusion, we shouldn't mess with his fight tonight'' Sasha explained.
''Okay, fine'' Tara huffed.''By the way, why do you hate Jared so much? I mean, yeah he's a criminal or whatever. But is he really that bad as a person?''
Sasha's face turned to stone at Tara's question.''I have my reasons'' She pursed her lips.
''Which are...?'' Tara rolled her eyes.
''He's good at fooling people. On the outside, he seems like an okay person. But on the inside, when you actually get to know him, he is ruthless'' Sasha stared off into the distance, her face expressionless.''Nobody knows the reason for my hate. And I'll never tell anyone. Otherwise, I'll be dead. And so will anyone who finds out''
''So, Caleb doesn't know why you hate Jared?'' I asked, trying to process everything.
''If he found out, he would do something stupid. Jared would kill him, not even batting an eye'' Sasha shook her head, her knuckles turning white from the pressure of her curled fist.
I gulped.
''Oh, what an honor!'' A deep voice boomed from behind us.
We all turned to see Jared standing there with two bodyguards on either side. He had a cigar in between his lips, just like he did at the nightclub. Behind him, stood Caleb and Seb.
''Jared'' Sasha acknowledged him, teeth gritted.
''My dear, Sasha Reed'' He smiled before taking a big puff of his cigar. ''How's your father doing?'' He asked, a sly look in his eyes.
Sasha clenched her jaw, thinking about her answer. ''You'd know better, don't you think?'' She answered, sounding on the verge of an outburst.
''Boss,'' Caleb butted in, glancing at Sasha before continuing.''The fight is starting soon. Austin needs to speak to you beforehand''
''Hmm,'' Jared hummed, laying eyes on me.''Do you remember what I told you, darling? I hope you're a good girl who won't disobey'' He winked at me.
I nodded, trying not to look scared out of my mind.
''Okay, let's go'' Jared smirked at me as they all left to speak to Austin, I suppose.
''What was he talking about?'' Sasha asked me.
''He told me not to mess with Austin's performance'' I spoke quietly, afraid he would hear me.
Sasha scrunched her eyebrows at his retreating figure, in deep thought about what I said. ''He's up to something'' She finally spoke again.
Well, great.