The Original Crowd (A Whole New Crowd 0.50)

Fuck.

Chance was known so there was no way he was working undercover.

“Tray,” I whispered again, realizing what he’d already figured out the second he saw his brother’s image.

“Don’t,” he clipped out, his jaw clenched, “just don’t.”

He walked out of the room, his shoulders rigid.

I walked Props out, reassuring him everything was fine and thanked him for his help. As I shut the door behind him, I doubted the guy would ever help us again. He actually had peed his pants, a tiny bit, when Tray turned into scary maniac guy.

I sighed, locking the door and wandered through the house. I shut off all the lights and found Tray in the glass patio, like so many other times. I was starting to realize that was where he went to think.

I sat quietly in the seat beside him and drew my knees to my chest. I sat and waited. I’d wait until morning if need be.

It wasn’t long before Tray spoke, in a low monotone voice, “Chance is working with either Lanser or Galverson. I don’t know what the alliance is between Lanser and Galverson anymore, but Chance has to be working with one of them.”

“What about your dad?”

“Dad works with Galverson, but he must’ve joined with Jace for your adoption. It was orchestrated by all of them. Had to be.”

“What makes you wonder about their alliance? With Jace and Galverson, I mean?”

“Because Chance hates our dad. He wouldn’t work with him, no matter what. So that means that he’s working with one side while Dad’s working on the other side. I’m betting that they’re keeping them separate.”

“I thought Chance hated Galverson.”

“He did. He does. That hate doesn’t ever change.”

And Tray would know.

He said again, “If Jace wanted us to go to that warehouse, he wanted us to know that my brother was here. But I don’t get why. It’s pissing me off.”

“Maybe he didn’t want us to know.”

“Then what were they using that warehouse for?”

“I don’t know.” And it was true; I wasn’t the mastermind, not like Tray or Jace or Galverson.

Tray fell silent, so I said, matter-of-factly, “We don’t know what Jace wanted or not. We don’t know why your brother is here or why Jace wanted me to be adopted. But what I do know is that Brian died for something. And that something has something to do with Jace and Galverson. And I know that if we don’t move quickly, I might be losing another person I consider family. I can’t lose one more person.”

Tray turned and met my eyes. He said honestly, “I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

I whispered hoarsely, “I don’t think we are going to know what’s going to happen. But what we know is enough for me.”

“Worst case scenario: we get in there and find Grayley dead and we die,” Tray spoke, but continued when I flinched, “and best case scenario: we get in there and we get him out, alive.”

“But what about taking everyone down?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t figured that out yet.”

That was the crux of it: Tray thought everything out. He had every angle covered, but with this—he couldn’t cover every angle because he didn’t know how all the pieces fit together.

It was time we figured the puzzle out.

“There’s a reason why Jace wanted me gone,” I murmured. “I’m good, Tray. I can get in there and I can get out. No one will even know I’m there.” It was true. Galverson wanted me gone because of what I could do. It was power, in the skill I’d developed and sharpened over my life—it was powerful.

It was the power to be invisible.