Page 100 of Rising

“Deals change.” She tossed her hair over her shoulders, turning her back to sit atop the table in the center of the room.

“Deals made to friends? I didn’t even know you were in charge. What happened to Morgan?”

Her familiar blue eyes went cold. “Dead.”

“You’ve changed.” I shook my head, backing up towards the wall in disbelief.

“As have you, so I’ve heard.”

We’d gone to the college together, bonded over growing up with fathers in the military. I hadn’t moved nearly as much as her. After a while my mom had put her foot down on Seattle, wanting me to have some stability. He’d come home when he could, since I’d be off at college in a few years.

Sloan had moved back to stay with her parents after graduation. Content with getting a taste of the small town feeling she’d grown up with in the summer when her mother would bring her and her siblings back to their family home. I’d known she was here, seen her the last time I came. She’d merely been an advisor to Morgan, their leader who was now dead.

Reina’s head remained down, chin tucked as she pressed into the corner, not wanting to be seen. I couldn’t blame her. She wasn’t a soldier, yet she had seen so much. Things were only going to get worse from here, Moe knew that, she’d seen it. I could tell by the lost expression painting her face.

“There’s a messenger on the way. We just made it here before them,” I tried, deciding to test how much she knew.

“You think you can lie to me? I know you Amaia, you’ve changed, but not that much.” She sighed, frustrated. “Don’t forget who was there with you. Your vision of the world got you in trouble then and it’s going to cost you lives now.”

It was true, military parents raised rowdy kids. If there was trouble to be found, we’d find it. We’d run from campus police many times after organizing protests and trying to encourage local franchises to unionize, always finding a way to support whoever needed it. Her college boyfriend had even bailed us out once. Arrested in downtown Seattle for disturbing the peace. The peace to be disturbed, being protesting what was happening to the homeless encampments in the area.

“What are you talking about? How did you even find us?” I asked, hoping it was Finley mixed with a bit of luck and not what my gut had been feeding me since the day Jax died.

“Finley’s been trying to get my attention for the last six months,” she said, giving me a moment of reassurance. “Not to mention you royally pissed her off with that building you blew up. Offered me a favor just to kill you herself.” She pushed her body around, facing my friends who sat on the floor. “Good thing I don’t need or want her favors.”

“Don’t forget Seth.” The man who had entered with her grinned, instigating.

“Oh yeah, can’t forget about my cousin here. Well, both of them I should say, but honestly I didn’t expect Reina to be along for the journey. Seth’s played a very important role in this whole ordeal.”

My heart sank. Reina’s head popped up, eyes shooting to mine, nothing but sorrow looking back at me. She didn’t know. Moe scooted to her left, shaking her head at Reina in disgust, then rising to her feet backing into the corner. Seth refused to meet her stare.

I clenched my fists. Two steps and I could be connected with Seth’s jaw. I’d made a promise at Jax’s funeral, one I’d spent months hoping I wasn’t cursed so much that I’d have to end my brother’s life from stealing one of our own. Alexiares stepped between us, his head raised, eyes focused, trained, and willing me to stay calm.

“Stay out of this.” I ground out.

He didn’t step back. “Relax.” His voice was hard.

I wouldn’t have to lift a damn finger if I didn’t want to, but thing was, I did. In fact, there wasn’t anything in this moment I wanted more than to beat Seth to a bloody pulp.

It was the confirmation I needed, but dreaded. My heart had sunk the moment Caleb had focused on Seth before they’d fought in The Pit, a look of disgust filtering it. I’d forced myself to attribute it to the situation at hand, to Seth’s ruthlessness and the threat of falling victim to execution from the accusations flung his way. It hadn’t been Harley he’d been afraid of that night, it’d been Seth.

Sloan taunted, “Anything to say, cousin?” I glared at her, wondering what had caused a woman who was rambunctious and carefree in The Before to become the shell of a woman that she was now.

I only needed to stand in front of the mirror to find the answer to that.

“Eat shit,” he spat at her, like he hadn’t played a role in his own demise.

The man who’d entered with Sloan was enjoying this, feeding off the turmoil that unfolded before him. “Now that’s not going to get your daddy back, is it?”

“What did you do, Seth?” Reina powered across the room, grabbing at his shirt as he shook her off. She moved her face, forcing him to see her, snot dripping from his nose, his face now completely red as he shoved her back. “What on Earth did you do?” Sobs filtered from her.

She slapped him across the face, the sound reverberating around the room. No one moved, not even Seth.

“Reina, we used to be so close, thought you’d be more excited to see me.” An expression of genuine interest passed over Sloan’s face before she pushed it away, forming her soft face back into a scowl. “You see, Elliot here has been talking to Seth for months. Mind to mind obviously, feeding us drops of information here or there. Letting us know the best places and times to strike, our names left out of it, keeping you vulnerable. Open to receiving outside help. Didn’t take too much convincing on my end, just had to let him know Unc was alive and kicking. Butonlyas long as he gave us what we needed.”

Seth grabbed at the side of his face that inevitably stung, grumbling as he spoke. “Where is he?”

“Not here.” She smiled menacingly, pushing off the table she strode towards me. “You kind of dropped the ball there a bit. Shutting down for months after Jax died, thought I wouldn’t even have had to finish the job. I mean,seriouslyMaia you made it pretty damn easy. You put Seth in charge, for fuck’s sake. But Covert Province is pushy, and you setting out to save the world didn’t help your case.”

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