Vital Found (The Evelyn Maynard Trilogy Book 2) Page 9

  “What’s The Hole? Do I even want to know?”

  “Probably not,” Dot mumbled.

  “It’s a kind of underground club for Variants,” Zara explained. “If Black Cherry is the exclusive place to be seen, The Hole is the shady, disgusting literal hole to be avoided.”

  I’d never been near it, but I knew Black Cherry by reputation; it was a VIP club in Manhattan, frequented by high-profile Variants, and often popped up in magazines like Modern Variant. This other place, The Hole, I’d never even heard of.

  “OK . . . I don’t get it. What’s with the secrecy? It’s just a shitty bar. Right?”

  “Not exactly. The main form of entertainment is cage fighting—unregulated and completely illegal—and you have to be a Variant to get in. They have scanners at the door.”

  “Wait, does that mean that Alec . . .” I groaned. I didn’t need to finish the question. Of course this was the kind of thing he would be involved with.

  “Sounds like it,” said Zara. “Yeah. I mean, I’ve only been once or twice, and I’ve never seen him there, but that doesn’t mean . . .”

  “Yeah. Alec will be fighting tonight for sure.” Dot shook off her worried stare. “I’ve never been, but I know he used to go a lot. He and Tyler used to fight regularly.”

  “What?” Zara and I asked at the same time, incredulous. I could imagine Alec doing something stupid and destructive, but Tyler?

  “Yeah. They went through some pretty hard times after their parents died. All the guys did. Alec and Tyler were angry young men with no outlet for their rage. This place was perfect for them. But then they started hanging out with a rough crowd, and Ethan and Josh got dragged into it. That’s when they both joined Melior Group and sorted themselves out. Alec would still go back occasionally, but only to fight. He couldn’t seem to walk away completely.”

  “Why?” I was slightly horrified, but I wanted to know more.

  “Look I don’t really know the full story, OK? Charlie would go with them sometimes, so I only know what he’s told me and what I’ve gleaned from Ethan and Josh talking about it. And maybe a little from what Squiggles happened to see . . .”

  “Dot . . .” She wasn’t telling me something.

  “Spit it out, tiny.” Zara had my back.

  “Fine.” With a sigh and an eye-roll, she gave in. “The rules of the fight are simple. One on one. No gloves and no abilities. The first one to use an ability, tap out, pass out, or die loses.”

  “That’s why they won’t let Dana in,” I mumbled, chewing on the corner of a nail.

  “Yeah,” Zara confirmed, “with Dana around, blocking everyone’s abilities, it would be just a boring cage fight. You might as well go watch humans doing it. The whole point is to have enough control to keep your ability back while having enough skill to beat your opponent.”

  I chuckled darkly and shook my head. That was right up Alec’s alley. I’d never met anyone with worse control issues than Alec. “Wait. So then why would Dana even be there?”

  My two friends both shrugged.

  I moved back to the window and crossed my arms, frowning down at the guards below without really seeing them. My mind was going wild with images of the only times I’d seen Alec and Dana interact—in the limo the night of the gala, her hands all over him; at his bedroom door when he was in nothing but a towel; at Ethan’s party.

  I ground my teeth, my breaths coming faster and shallower at the thought of her touching him after the way I’d touched him in Tyler’s study that night.

  What the fuck is wrong with me? He’d made it perfectly clear he didn’t want me like that, or in any other way. Maybe his unattainability made me want him more? That probably had something to do with my never knowing my dad—what’s more unattainable than nonexistent?—but I couldn’t go down that train of thought. Not yet. That rabbit hole would take way too long to crawl out of, and I’d probably need the help of a mental health professional.

  No, I needed to deal with the present situation, and I couldn’t do that by seething silently in my room. There was no way I was going to sit around watching movies and braiding our hair while Alec did something so stupid. Shit, he was an asshole.

  Clenching my hands into fists, I turned around. “We need to go there.”

  Dot and Zara wore matching looks of worry.

  “How did I know you were going to say that?” Dot gave a small eye-roll, but her mouth quirked into a smile.

  “Because she has a savior complex,” Zara answered for me, crossing her own arms and looking as though she was about to try to talk me out of it.

  “What? I do not have . . . whatever. Look, you guys don’t have to come. Just tell me where this place is. I need to do something. He’s not just hurting himself. It’s not fair on the other guys, and it’s . . . it’s not fair on me.”

  I finished firmly with a little nod. The more I thought about it, the more I was convinced Alec was pulling a really dick move. Whatever messed-up shit he had going on inside his own head that made him want to get pummeled, or pummel someone else, was unfortunate. But he couldn’t just go around doing stupid shit that hurt his family. Ethan and Josh were worried about him, and Tyler would certainly be stretching himself to take charge of the situation and make it easier on everyone.

  “Relax.” Zara’s eye-roll was much more sarcastic than Dot’s had been. “We’ll take you to the dodgiest place in the tri-state area. What’re friends for?”

  “Really?” I was a little surprised it was that easy.

  “Yeah.” Dot shrugged. “He’s your Variant. We know it would be impossible to sit here and do nothing when you know he might be getting hurt.”

  “But how do we get past the goon squad down there?” Zara pointed out the main problem.

  “Yeah . . .” Dot dug through the pile of bags she’d brought, already figuring out an outfit. “Let’s start by figuring out what we’re dealing with first.”

  Squiggles ran over to the window and looked at me expectantly. I opened it for her, and she disappeared to do what she did best—reconnaissance.

  “No.” Zara’s laughter dragged my attention back to my friends. “You can’t wear a buttercup-yellow poodle skirt to The Hole.”

  Dot was holding the item up in front of her, frowning as if to ask why not.

  We spent the next ten minutes getting dressed in dark, simple clothing at Zara’s insistence. She was adamant we would be spotted within seconds if we went in outrageous outfits, if they let us in at all.

  Riding down in the elevator, we were almost in matching outfits—all of us in black jeans and tops with dark jackets. Dot’s jacket was some high-fashion mesh thing that probably cost a fortune, Zara’s was her favorite leather jacket, and I’d just thrown on a dark gray hoodie. I really couldn’t care less; I just needed to get to my guys before something bad happened.

  Squiggles was waiting in front of the elevator when the doors opened. She and Dot stared at each other for a moment; then the little ferret ran off.

  “Thanks, Squiggles!” Dot turned to us. “OK, so the good news is that it’s just Alec’s team out there. The bad news is that Squiggles overheard them talking about their orders, and they’re specifically to guard the three of us—not the building.”

  “Shit.” Zara groaned.

  “What if I distract them somehow?” Dot suggested. “Maybe a flock of birds . . .”

  Zara looked at her as if she were crazy. “I think an elite unit of trained fighters can deal with some birds, Dot.”

  “Yeah? Think they could deal with a bear?” Dot threw back defiantly.

  “Yeah. They have guns.”

  Instead of listening to another bickering match, I marched past them to the front entrance, looking out the door’s narrow window.

  They followed me but didn’t say any more.

  “You said their orders were to ‘guard’ us, right?” I kept my eyes on Kyo as he slowly paced the stretch in front of the stairs, his arm resting casually on the butt of his
automatic weapon.

  “Yeah.” Dot’s voice was almost a whisper. “What are you thinking?”

  “Not sure yet,” I mumbled as I pushed the door open and stepped outside, my friends right on my heels. I was taking a bit of a gamble, but it was the most direct way of achieving what I needed. Get to the city; get to Alec. I just hoped there wasn’t more to the orders than what Squiggles had overheard.

  At the sound of the door opening, Kyo turned in my direction.

  “Hey, girls. What’s up?” He smiled casually, but his body language was no longer as relaxed.

  “Hey, Kyo.” I tried to keep the burning desperation out of my smile. “Whatcha doin’?”

  “Working.” His eyes narrowed. “What are you three doing?”

  “Heading out.” I held his gaze, my chin lifting a little in challenge.

  “Are you?”

  “Yep.” I nodded firmly. As Marcus and Jamie emerged from the shadows, my friends stepped up next to me. They had no idea what I was planning, but they had my back. “What’s it to you?”

  Kyo’s eyes narrowed, but his smile remained in place. He didn’t say anything, so with a determined set to my shoulders, I walked down the stairs heading for the parking lot and Zara’s car.

  “I can’t let you do that,” he finally said on a sigh.

  “Oh?” I kept walking, all five of them following behind. “Why’s that?”

  “Kitten, come on. I have orders.”

  “Do you?” I turned, making them all stop, our weird little group congregating in the light of an ornate street lamp. Marcus and Jamie hung back a little, keeping an eye on the darkness beyond. “And what are they exactly?”

  “Can’t say. Classified.”

  “I hate that fucking word. Look, I know it would be easier for you all if we just stayed in like good girls, but we all know your orders are to protect, not detain. Even Alec isn’t stupid enough to order you to use physical force to keep me somewhere.”

  Kyo sighed and looked up, as if praying for patience.

  “Either come with or fail your mission. It’s up to you.” Zara shrugged, unlocking the car and moving toward the driver’s side.

  “Come on. Could be fun.” Dot smiled at him mischievously, and I could almost see his resolve breaking. Almost.

  “No. I’m sorry, but this is the safest place for you. My orders are to keep you safe, but how I do that is up to me, and I will use force if I must.” He wrapped his hand tighter around the butt of his gun. I didn’t think it was meant to be threatening, just a subconscious reaction.

  Zara whistled under her breath and propped her arms up on the roof of her car. Dot’s eyes narrowed, and Kyo refused to look at her. He had an assault weapon and years of elite combat training, but I was pretty sure he was scared of my dangerously cute friend.

  I decided to take a gamble. “Do you know where he is? Do you know where they all are? Why you’re here guarding us?” I stepped into him, trying not to let the giant gun freak me out, and allowed the anger and frustration to finally enter my voice. “He’s at The Hole right now, pummeling some poor asshole because he doesn’t know how to deal with his own emotional shit. And Tyler, Josh, and Ethan are all there because they don’t know how to stop him from doing it.”

  His brow creased in confusion, and he looked between the three of us, registering our serious faces, my desperate voice. “Why do you care?”

  He wasn’t stupid. My reaction to Alec being in danger was too strong for someone who was just his cousin’s girlfriend. I hesitated only a second, weighing the risk of letting one more person in on the secret.

  Dot tried to save me. “She’s just worried about Ethan—”

  “He’s mine,” I cut her off before I could change my mind. Alec didn’t have many people in his life who truly cared about him, but I’d seen him with his team. They were more than just work colleagues. These guys genuinely cared about him. I hoped. “They’re all mine. I’m their Vital.”

  I spoke low, but my voice was firm and sure.

  Kyo took an involuntary step away, his wide eyes darting across the ground as he processed the implications. Then he looked at me again, a hopeful smile crossing his face.

  “Fuck!” He huffed in frustration, and I knew I had him.

  “Kyo? What’s going on?” Marcus cut in. They couldn’t hear what we were saying.

  I ignored him, focusing on Kyo, pleading. “We need to go.”

  He nodded, finally realizing how serious the situation was for me. For Alec. For all of us.

  “Change of plans, boys.” He turned to his teammates, slinging his weapon off his shoulder. “We’re heading into the city. Civilian clothes and concealed weapons only. We need to leave now, so we’ll change in the car.”

  Everyone looked at Zara’s purple Mini Cooper; it would fit maybe four people if we squished up. Zara just stared back, unflappable as ever.

  Kyo rolled his eyes, walking over to a monstrous all-terrain vehicle with blacked-out windows and chrome wheels. “Obviously we’re taking the company car.”

  Eight

  About a half-hour drive past Manhattan, we pulled into a parking area in an industrial part of town. It looked like a massive lot for a giant factory, but the only building around was a brick structure that couldn’t have been bigger than a four-bedroom house.

  As we came up to a door recessed in the building, a very large man stepped out of the shadows, scowling. Kyo took the lead, and the bouncer’s face relaxed measurably when he saw him.

  “Kyo! Hey, man!” They did one of those manly handshake-hug things with lots of thumping on the back. “All the old crew is here. Should have known when I saw Ace slip in the back with his fight face on.”

  “Yeah, good to see you, man.” Kyo launched into a catch-up session, keeping the focus off the rest of us.

  I bit my tongue to keep from fidgeting impatiently.

  “Anyway, better get in there.” Kyo brought the chat to an end. “Don’t want to miss anything.”

  “Cool, cool. It’s gonna be an epic night.” The bouncer gave him another slap on the shoulder and then turned to the rest of our group. “Bit young . . .” he remarked, eyeing me and Dot.

  Kyo laughed.

  “Since when have you guys bothered with legal drinking age?” Marcus asked. “Or legal anything?” He ended on a wicked little grin, slinging one of his arms around my shoulders. I leaned into him and smiled at the bouncer, doing my best to look relaxed.

  “They’re cool.” Kyo drove the point home. Apparently that was all the convincing the “security” man needed to let three eighteen-year-old girls into possibly the seediest establishment in the city. He swung the metal door wide open for us.

  The structure appeared to be completely empty, and I frowned, but everyone kept moving. Kyo made his way to a second door farther inside, opening it dramatically to reveal a stairway leading down and a pounding, heavy beat of music trailing up.

  “Welcome to The Hole,” he announced, resigned. “Remember what we talked about in the car. Stick to our sides and don’t talk to anyone.”

  He took a deep breath and thumped down the narrow stairs, muttering about how crazy this was.

  The Hole was quite literally a hole in the ground. The space spanned an area much larger than the brick structure above, and it was teeming with people. At least two scuffles broke out in the time it took me to reach the bottom of the stairs. My eyes struggled to adjust to the dim light; at first only the bar was clear, stretching along the left wall under the naked light bulbs hanging from the high exposed ceiling.

  As “Can’t Go to Hell” by Sin Shake Sin started playing, I stepped closer to a dark corner behind the stairs, tilting my head. There were two people back there, a woman and a man. I couldn’t quite see what they were doing, but something about it didn’t look right. The woman was leaning back into the man, her eyes closed and lips parted, while the man pressed one hand to her throat and one to the exposed skin under her crop top. If not for the loo
k of bliss on her face, I would’ve thought he was hurting her.

  Curious, I inched closer. Just as the woman’s eyes opened, Kyo’s firm grip on my elbow dragged me away.

  “Stay the fuck away from the Lightwhores,” he growled close to my ear. My eyes widened, and I looked back just in time to see the woman walking away as the man stuffed some cash into his pocket.

  Not all Variants had Vitals, but the Light was craved by all, so some Vitals chose to sell their Light. The Bond was sacred for Variants; a Vital’s Light was something precious and usually reserved only for his or her Bonded Variants. Selling Light as if it were a street drug was considered outrageous and dirty.

  I let Kyo pull me along, taking in the rest of The Hole. The bar was on the highest and widest level—the one we’d emerged onto. The middle level had high tables and chairs. The only other well-lit area was on the lowest level, in the very center: a hexagonal chain-link cage raised on a platform. Bright floodlights illuminated disturbing stains on the cage’s bare floor.

  Zara leaned over my shoulder.

  “Charming, isn’t it?” she deadpanned. I just grunted in response. “The sides of the cage come off, so sometimes it’s just a stage for live bands. But mostly people come here for the fights.”

  As if to illustrate her point, the next fight began. The music lowered, and the lights trained on the cage intensified as two people entered through a gap in the fence. A palpable buzz of excitement spread through the crowd. Several people shouted over everyone, openly taking bets on the outcome.

  I moved over to the first-level railing to get a better look.

  The two people in the cage were warming up. One was a bald man with a wiry physique, wearing a pair of shorts. The other was a woman with tied-back black hair, wearing shorts and a sports bra. They were both barefoot; neither one had any kind of protective gear.

  My heart rate sped up. Was it such a good idea to come here? I wasn’t so sure I wanted to watch a bare-knuckled fight, but I couldn’t look away. I wrapped my sweaty palms around the steel barrier and braced myself.

  “Keep an eye on the light above the ring, in the center there.” Zara pointed at a flat, unassuming light—the kind of thing you might see in a garage—low wattage with a crappy plastic cover. “If it comes on, you know someone’s used their ability. Although it’s often plain enough to see anyway.”