Page 10 of Knockout Queen

“He doesn’t make stupid mistakes,” Mag says.

Cole shrugs. “Those are just my guesses.”

“Could you find out?” I ask. As soon as the idea filters through my tired, scared brain, I grip onto it with everything I have. “If you go back to wherever the Dragons are, could you find out where Johnny is?”

Cole’s leg jumps up and down. He runs his fingers through his brown faux-hawk a few times, blowing out a breath that’s making me nervous even just looking at him.

“I’ll help you,” I tell him. “I mean it. I have money put away. It’s not the Crew’s, it’s not anybody’s but mine. I’ll buy you the first fucking plane ticket out of this place if you help us with this.”

“I see why he likes you,” Cole says, gaze locking on Magnum’s. He shakes his head. “I didn’t think you’d ever find a girl that lived up to your expectations, man.”

Magnum stiffens, but I bump his shoulder with mine. “He just had to look a little younger, that’s all.”

Cole smiles. It lights up his face, making him look more handsome than I’ve seen him yet. “Does Johnny know?”

I nod and lean back. “About all of them.”

He laughs now. “Jesus. He probably hates the fuck out of every single one of you.”

Oscar shrugs. “Pretty much.”

Cole frowns, sadness creeping back into his face like wild ivy. “I would help you guys anyway, but I don’t know about the ticket out of here. What I really want is to have my life back.”

Magnum’s jaw ticks. “The Crew?”

Cole shakes his head. “Nah, man. I just want my family back, you know? You, and everyone...”

“I can’t promise you that,” Mag says.

“We can if we take K out.”

Cole’s gaze widens. Oscar slumps back into the sofa. “Oh, Jesus. You had to go and say it out loud.”

“What?” I ask.

“Kyla, we don’t know anything about him,” Oscar says, clearly frustrated that I let the cat out of the bag.

“You don’t, but I do,” Mag says. He leans over, holding his hand out to Cole. “You with us?”

Cole’s jaw tenses. He gazes at his cousin’s hand before he places his own in it. Mag pulls him forward until they give each other a bro hug, clapping one another on the back.

They both settle back onto their seats, and I can’t help but smile. Finding Johnny just got a little easier.

Maybe. Hopefully.

“So, let me get this straight.” Lines form between Cole’s eyes when he looks at me. “You want to kill Big Daddy K? The most powerful leader the Crew has ever seen?”

I shrug like it’s not a big deal.

Honestly, this has only solidified my goal from the beginning. Cole missed out on years with his family. This is just another piece of evidence in the “I’m doing the right thing” category. And if I can save Cole along the way, even better.

5

Because I’m nice like that, I heat up two more single-serve pizzas in the microwave for the newly reunited Magnum and Cole. Things are still a little tense between them. Maybe it’s the years of being apart. I don’t understand the reasoning why a gang would tear families apart like this. It doesn’t seem like something Magnum would let happen. Though, once you’re in the Crew, you’re a victim of their policies. He couldn’t be Cole’s cousin even if he wanted to be.

The two guys accept their heated dinners with soft smiles. Magnum’s does funny things to my insides. I don’t know all of his past, but I know the Crew has been his only family for too long. Maybe this could be the start of a new beginning for him. Cole said he doesn’t want to leave the Heights, he wants the Heights back, but maybe he’d leave if everyone he loved could come with him.

Or maybe we just need to take the threat out of the Heights. Big Daddy K is the root. The weed spreading and infiltrating. If we take him out, maybe everything else would get better. Though, some people wouldn’t like that at all. The way residents talk, the Crew is the best thing that happened to the Heights. Some would argue K was the best thing that happened to the Heights because he grew the Crew to the size it is now. It’s a freaking powerhouse.

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