26. Psycho

We arrived in an underground makeshift garage filled with luxurious motorbikes lining the walls. Fuck yeah.

Spencer and Tanner were already parked, helmets removed. As soon as I jumped off the bike, a heavy weight ricocheted into me, a hard thump rebounding off my chest. I couldn't believe it when my eyes processed the midnight blue hair itching against my chin, the trembling arms that circled my waist. Tears saturated my shirt and heaving sobs reached my ears.

"Ava? Is it really you? Fuck, Ava?" My words were jumbled, spilling over one another, my brain desperate for answers that were right in front of me. I embraced her with enough force to let me know she was real, that she was well and truly there.

Then she tilted her head back and gave me those endless grey eyes, shimmering with tears. I buried my face in her hair, bathing in her familiar scent.

"As happy as I am to see this cute reunion unfold, I also want to be reunited with my sister."

My gaze flicked to Spencer. She was the only one remaining in the garage, leaning back against her bike and perusing her nails. This bitch was starting to grate against my last nerve, but she was right. As much as I wanted to hold onto my sister, we had no time to spare.

Ava relented her crushing hold and latched onto my hand, not quite willing to break contact yet. "Theysaved me. Micah saved me. We have to get her back."

"There's no question, Ava. I'm going to get my girl back, don't worry."

Her lips tilted upward, face shining at my words, the outright claiming of the woman I love. Damn right.I fucking love her.

Spencer tilted her head with a sceptical look. "Your girl, huh?"

"Yeah, my fucking girl. Now let's hurry this posturing along, killer. We got shit to do."

Her gaze tracked over my features, searching for any deceit. She wouldn't find any. Micah fucking owned me and I didn't give two shits who knew. I'd claim that ass any day of the week. Not simply for what she'd done for me—for Ava—but for what she made me feel. Besides Ava, she was the only one to see me for who I truly was, the one to accept me wholeheartedly for who I am. I couldn't let her go, would never let her go.

"Spence, come and get this bloody mutt before I skin him alive!" I heard Tanner distantly yell, followed by a sharp, animalistic yelp.

Spencer rushed up the concrete steps, following the muscular grunts and high-pitched barks. "That's no way to speak to your namesake, Tan. He's just a baby," she said in a soothing tone.

I turned to Ava with raised eyebrows. She was still attached to my side, her warm palm settled in mine. She gave a light chuckle before leading me through the doors into Micah's home, the Temple.

As soon as I stepped over the threshold, a small, tawny-coloured ball shot towards me. I could barely process its beady devil eyes and sharp gaping teeth before they were rooted into my upper thigh. I roared from the sudden incision, ready to swat the small fiend to the ground. Ava blocked my hands, managing to unlatch its jaw from my leg and gathering the dog in her arms.

The dog was as tiny as it was ugly, barely reaching my knee. He didn't even have any fur, bearing a striking resemblance to a wrinkly, loose-skinned ball sack. I involuntarily shuddered seeing my sister cuddle up to the demon chihuahua, who was still eyeing me off for another bite.

Emerson snickered into a glass of dark liquor and Tanner looked pissed, swiping blood away from his own bite, gashed across his neck.

Spencer reared up to Ava, cooing alongside her while stroking the mutt's back. "Good boy, Franny. You were so close that time."

I groaned. "Close to what? Please don't say my dick."

Spencer huffed. "Your femoral artery. If he aimed for your dick, Psycho, it wouldn't still be attached. And I don't think my sister would forgive me if our boy Fran here bit off your manhood," she finished, arching a brow.

My gaze tracked to Ava, eyes widened in disbelief as if to say, ‘Where the fuck are we?'

Ava tilted a wide smile my way, her gaze shining back with a one-word answer in her eyes: Home.

Blueprint diagrams splayedover the kitchen island and each of us had a tumbler with some sort of liquor. The welcome burn of high-shelf whiskey soothed the lining of my throat.

"These plans are virtually useless, a hoax map to throw people off. People like you. There is no written map of the Caverns. Not one person knows the full layout."

Spencer grumbled and popped another candy into her mouth. The girl was addicted to sugar. "What the fuck are you doing here, then?"

My eyes narrowed. "Except maybe Maximus…and myself."

Tanner refilled his tumbler. "After we find Micah, can you lead us to Maximus?"

I stared at him, aghast. "Lead you to him?" I asked with difficulty, then swallowed. "The Caverns are a complex maze, made of interconnecting spirals and circles. Each offshoot has its own function, and to get through each ring, you have to pass a security checkpoint. You want to know where Maximus is in all of that?"

They gazed back, unrelenting, as if I was spouting straight garbage. I pointed a finger at the centre of the map. "Right there, right in the middle. That's where you will find Maximus."

All three shared a loaded look, which I didn't fucking like. "Nah, this isn't happening. We get Micah. That's the mission."

Emerson rolled her eyes impatiently and I dragged a palm down my face. "I know you want Maximus. So do I. But tonight is not the night for a side mission. The Gladiator Games are on. No one will make it inside his quarters tonight. No one."

Tanner grimaced, eyes roaming over his sisters before bouncing back to mine. "We will try."

I lit another cigarette (chain-smoking at this point, nicotine the single leash on my dwindling patience). Every cell in my body called for Micah, the need to have her safely in my arms. The Caverns were vast, with numerous hidden recesses and possibilities. I had to work smart and plan ahead, because once I entered, there was no way I was leaving the underground without her.

We'd finally comeup with a plan and geared up to infiltrate the Caverns. I was deposited in Micah's room, cleaned and changed into black designer clothes supplied by Tanner, the fabric stretched tightly over my bulkier build. Her room was rudimentary and crudely carved, giving a cave-like exterior, filled with the essentials. Yet it still felt strange being in her space without her.

Ava approached from behind. I'd recognise her light footsteps anywhere. Without turning, I said, "I don't care how many times you ask. You're not coming."

She huffed before offering another gun, which I secured in my chest holster. "You'll get her back, August."

My eyes lifted to hers, the reservation clear in my expression. She was direct evidence of one of my greatest failures. I wasn't able to protect her for twelve straight fucking months. My own baby sister.

I lifted a hand to pat the top of her head, still mesmerised that she was in front of me. "How was it?" I asked. It would kill me to know everything she went through, but the least I could do was hear her experience if she had to live through it.

She extracted my hold and squeezed my hand between her palms, warmth saturating into my skin. "I was not harmed. Though I was a prisoner, I was mostly alone, and well protected. Maximus fears you, afraid of your capabilities. Why do you think he took me as a hostage? My abduction was the only thing he could do to keep you from hunting him down."

"He should've killed me."

Her head tilted. "I think he loved you, in his own twisted way. In the end, his fear overruled his fondness for you."

"He's right to fear me. As soon as Micah is safe, I will show him every reason why he shouldn't have turned on me."

Ava pulled back as her fingers trailed down my cheek. "He'll be frantic, on high alert, knowing both of us are missing. Please be careful. I just got you back."

I opened my arms, gesturing to all my strapped weapons. "I'm not going anywhere, lil sis." I glanced through the doorway, not one King in sight. "Have you spoken to G?"

"I have spoken with him, albeit not much. You were both looking for me. I…I refused to give him my location." Ava's cheeks reddened, fingers twisting in front of her. "I'd already lost you. I couldn't lose someone else. I'm sorry, August. I was alone. I couldn't…I couldn't risk him."

I pulled her into a crushing hug. "Stop. I'm here now. You did the right thing. Is his line still active?"

She nodded. "He's sent me messages, asking where I am." My arms tensed. "I haven't replied. He's your best friend. You can trust him, August."

"Give me your phone. I'm going to find out."

We exited the room. Tanner sat on the couch, his legs outstretched before him, ankles crossed, drink in hand. Emerson lifted something small between two fingers before flicking it at me.

"An earpiece," she said.

I managed to snag the tiny piece of plastic mid-air. "How does this even work?"

She rolled her eyes, strapping the rest of her knives to the waist of her biker pants. "Place it on the inside of your ear. It uses bone conduction to transmit sound vibrations."

I followed her instructions. "For people that are supposed to be dead, you sure have a lot of shit." My arms waved to encompass the room. "A hidden lair, expensive gear, copious resources. Again, who the fuck are you people?"

Tanner downed the remainder of his drink and flicked a finger to the bottom of his chin. "Micah told us you know she's Ultraviolet. What she didn't tell you is we all are. That's where most of our funding and resources come from."

My mouth literally fell open at the straightforward answer, as if he didn't drop the biggest fucking bomb into my lap. The Ultraviolet were elusive beings, complete phantoms. Not true earth dwelling creatures, but more the epitome of death itself. To know I was in love with one and working alongside three others was frankly jaw-dropping.

Emerson failed to hide a chuckle and Tanner smirked. "Not what you were expecting?"

I snapped my jaw closed and swallowed through the lump in my throat. "I'm more surprised at how open you are, that you trust me with that information."

"Micah trusts you, and we trust her. Which makes anything we think or feel null and void. She's never wrong about anyone." He approached with forced ease to halt in front of me. "And now you know each one of us is more than equipped to deal with you if you happen to prove her wrong."

"I'll bow down to death before that ever happens," I admitted honestly.

"Get her back for us." He offered his hand, which I accepted in a tight grasp of my own.

Tanner released me, then veered for the door. "Let's go hunting, Meek."

Spencer announced her arrival in the common area by loading a gun. My eyebrows raised to the roof, hand gesturing to her attire. "Why are you in a ball gown? You do realise we're going to the Caverns…the fighting pits?"

Emerson and Tanner loitered in the exit, both their faces identically amused. Ava sat at the kitchen island stroking Fran, trying and failing to hide a laugh.

Spencer smoothed over her dress as if I'd personally offended her. We wouldn't get two steps in without being spotted with that orange monstrosity. I directed a glare to the King duo that remained in the doorway. "She should go with you."

"Don't be like that, lil bro." Spencer had to extend to her tiptoes to place a loose arm over my shoulders.

"Can you watch where you point that fucking gun?" I screeched, the barrel of her pistol carelessly digging into my side.

I detached from her grasp and, ignoring Fran's growls, placed a kiss to Ava's hair in farewell. I was over waiting.

Shouldering through the shit-stirring Kings, I descended the stairs to the garage.

"Ultraviolet my fucking ass," I mumbled under my breath.