Falls Boys (Hellbent 1)

“Not that bridge,” I state. “The train bridge.”

Kade growls, jamming the bobby pin in over and over like more force is the trick.

Kind of like how I play video games, I guess.

“Can we drive on that bridge?” Dylan inquires.

I let out a sigh, glancing at Nicholas in my rearview mirror. He looks back, both of us knowing why Hugo specified that location.

“No,” I tell Dylan. “We can’t.”

She’s going to find out soon enough what’s in store.

The train bridge runs parallel to the main bridge, less than a mile up. The overgrown brush lines the sides of the road, the tar worn and filled with potholes, much less manicured than the Falls’ side.

But still, I like it out here. You can smell the mud in the water, and you can’t buy this kind of wild. Air that you can eat. It’s like a city fifty years after an apocalypse. Rundown warehouses surrounded by tall grass and everything falling apart, because there’s no money.

But everything is alive. Especially at night. In the fall and in the winter.

Pulling over to the side, I park and step out of the vehicle, taking the bag with me.

“Aro!” Kade bites out, and I know he still needs help with the cuffs, but I can’t take my eyes off the bridge.

We walk, and I hear everyone leave the car.

I stop at the start of the tracks, looking across the bridge and see Hugo with his people already standing in the middle. Trees loom on the other side, their headlights lighting up the bridge, and I feel the heels of the boots Dylan gave me dig into the gravel. The balmy August air sits on my stomach. I look around for Hawke.

Where is he? Not that I need him right now, but if he’s not here, then something happened.

We walk up onto the bridge, the wooden planks between each track spaced about six inches apart. The ground appears below, but if I keep going, it’ll be water instead of dirt. Ripples. Light then dark, because it’ll get deeper, and my hands shake. I grip the strap of the bag with both hands.

“What’s the matter?” Dylan asks.

I open my mouth, bile rising instead of words. “Nothing,” I finally reply.

Forcing my feet to move, I step from one plank to the other but keep my gaze ahead on Green Street and my fellow Rebels. Shoulders squared and chin up, I don’t want Hugo to have the satisfaction. He chose this place because he knows it scares me.

We stop about ten feet away from them, and Hugo holds out his hand for the bag.

But I squeeze my hands around the straps. “No.”

He eyes me, waiting.

“I don’t trust you,” I tell him. “What do you want?”

He drops his hand, Axel, Jonathan, Farrow Kelley, and a few others shifting behind him. They outnumber us, four to eight. I’m not counting Nicholas as being on my side as much as he wants to be.

“I want the money,” he states.

“What do you really want?”

His brown eyes gleam. “What do you got?”

I need my freedom. I don’t want to live like this. I can’t go back to Green Street. Not after having Hawke. I love him.

Hugo needs to let me go.

“The video Hawke turned in screwed you,” I point out. “You’re afraid Officer Reeves will roll over on your entire operation to save himself.”

“And?”

“And that won’t happen,” I say.

I’m going to do what was so impossible to do, but it’ll be the one thing that saves me.

I’ll ask for help.

I’ll get Hawke to take me to his uncle, Madoc Caruthers. I’ll get him to not allow Reeves to cut a deal. I’ll get him to protect Green Street.

For my sake.

“Are you connected, girl?” Hugo teases. “Already?”

“Just say okay.”

He stares at me.

My stomach rolls, and my eyes start to sting. “Say okay,” I grit through my teeth.

“Okay.” He holds out his hand.

But I turn my head toward Dylan. “What time is it?”

She pulls out her phone. “A little after nine.”

“What time is it exactly?”

“Why?”

I pin her with a look.

“Um…” She fumbles with the phone. “Nine-oh-eight.”

I look up at Hugo again, hardening my eyes. “I want my freedom,” I bite out, still holding the money. “And I want your word in front of all of these people that I owe you nothing further. You’ll leave my family and me alone.”

“I promise I’ll leave your family alone. And you owe me nothing more.”

I don’t move. That wasn’t what I asked him.

“But I can’t leave you alone, Aro,” he says. “You’re part of my family. I can’t just let you forget that.”

A high-pitched whistle echoes in the distance, and I drop my head.

“What if I miss you?” he taunts.

He could’ve just lied. He could’ve just lied and said he’ll let me go, but he didn’t. I guess I should be grateful for that, at least.