Desperate Lies (Lies 2)

I leave a message saying Langston is in trouble.

That leaves…Siren.

I hate her. She betrayed me. But right now, I need her to be there for Langston above everything else.

I call Siren.

No answer.

I leave a message saying Langston is in trouble.

“Shit,” I curse as we drive toward the airport.

I don’t know who else to call for help.

A second later, Maxwell’s phone starts ringing in my hand.

“Hello?” I say.

“Liesel, what’s going on?” Siren’s voice replies.

“Langston is in trouble. I fucked up. He won the game, but it was a trap.” I don’t include the fact that I set the trap in the first place.

“Fuck,” Siren says.

There’s a pause. “I’ll make sure Kai and Enzo know. They’ll put together an extraction team to get Langston out of there.”

I sigh, relaxing. “Thank you.”

“Where are you now?”

“I was headed to the airport to come persuade you guys to get your asses here to save Langston.”

I can feel her smile through the phone. “Head to your apartment. Zeke and I will head to you. You need to be protected.”

“I have…” I’m about to say Maxwell, but he’s not really protection. Not like Zeke and Siren would be. “Thank you,” is all I end up saying.

I find the button that connects me to the front of the limo. “Maxwell, take me to my apartment.”

He sighs. “Will do.”

And then I’m alone in uncomfortable silence. The ride to my apartment takes over an hour. I assume Zeke and Siren are back in Miami, and will take a while to get to me, but I’m not sure.

Maxwell goes up in the elevator with me, and when I get to my apartment door, he asks if I want him to come in with me.

“No, I’m exhausted. I just need to get some rest.”

“Of course.”

“Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

And then I open the door and walk inside. I flip the lights on. Nothing seems out of place.

My feet wobble as I walk. I need rest. This weekend was too much.

I head toward my bedroom, planning on just collapsing into bed with Max’s phone, hoping that Siren calls soon to let me know they got Langston.