29. Hellena

29

HELLENA

C haos echoes through the hallway from the atrium behind me. I scramble down, holding tight to the railing in the stairwell. The emergency lights flicker, red and menacing.

It punctuates the danger. The hell I found tonight.

It ends in a door, opening into an underground garage.

Only a few vehicles are parked in the dozens of spots, backlit by firelight flickering through the windows along the back wall. The lights are out down here, dust hanging in the air.

Blast must have knocked out the power.

Alone in the dark, I nearly fall apart, crumbling inside.

The hole in my heart aches, longing for Evan, hating him.

I don't understand. I can't reconcile who he was onstage with me with the man who would sell me out, sell me off!

Worst of all, to the devil who ruined my life. The wretched bastard who killed my mother.

Sobs threaten, clawing up my throat.

No. I have to get out. Get away.

Instinct takes over, sending me shuffling along, hoping to find a valet key box.

After several minutes of desperate searching, I'm debating making my way out front, trying to get on one of the shuttles back to town.

There will be plenty of them. I set them up myself.

Even considering it, I lock up, terror gripping me at the thought of Vice and his men waiting for me out there in the night. I'm huddling back against the wall when I see movement to my right, sending me scrabbling back.

"Hella?" The harsh whisper helps me find the silhouette in the dark.

"Tell?" I'm throwing my whole body into his arms without thinking.

Our lips meet, hands and arms clutching each other.

Then I'm shoving him back, slamming the heels of my fists into his chest. "How could you? You left me there! I needed you!"

"I—" He sounds stricken, his voice cracking.

"And you lied to me! I told you never to?—"

Hands wrap around my wrists. "It's not like that. I promise. I didn't abandon you. And I didn't know I was going to be here tonight. My dad insisted at the last minute."

"So, you've never been to one of these?"

"No. Believe me, I've tried to get in before. Their security is…"

"I know. I helped coordinate it."

I see his eyes widen in the darkness. "I really didn't even know I would see you tonight. I'm glad I did, though. You were incredible."

My resolve falters, my heart aching to be held by someone who cares, by this man who makes me feel warm, who cheers me up at my worst. "Tell. How can I trust you?"

"Because I've been there for you. Watching over you. Keeping you safe."

The words are contrite. A generality most people say, placating a stilted lover.

But from Tell…

It all clicks into place.

Dirk, the biker at the Block. Before that, at the docks, another one of the dealer's men I only now remember standing off in the shadows, watching. Running into me at Ora's. The strange man following me the day I got out of jail.

He's been everywhere, traces of him all over town.

Always nearby.

And here tonight, as the mayor's awkward son.

"That's… insane, Tell." I see the word hurt him before it's out of my mouth. "Who do you work for?"

He recoils ever so slightly, evading the question. "Please, Hellena, let me… let me get you home safely."

"No, no! If you care about me at all you will tell me the truth, Tyler."

A choked sigh slips out, his shoulders sagging. "I am telling you the truth. I'm not loyal to my father. I'm not loyal to the Ghosts or the Block. I'm only loyal to one person other than you, Hella."

"Who's that?"

"I don't know their name. All I know is a callsign. Spite."

"Spite. As in the Sinful?" the pieces line up.

"I think so. I gather information for them to make decisions. I make sure they know everything that goes on in Sanctum."

"And tonight?"

"I was left completely in the dark about this. You have to trust me."

"How? How can I trust you?" A tear slips down my cheek. "You're a different person from one minute to the next. You follow me everywhere I go."

"You've seen through each and every time. You've seen the real me."

"There's no way for me to know that." My words stutter, catch on my tongue. I don't want to mean it, to lose another person I love tonight.

Tell steps in. He's too close.

I want to let him in. I want to trust him.

I want him to hold me, to kiss me, to take me away from all of this.

So, I let it happen, the kissing, the embrace. His scent and warmth and touch consume me. My frazzled senses need the distraction.

He starts to press me against the wall, cupping my ass, barely covered by the sheerness of my skirt. A little whimper slips through my lips. "Tell, I need…"

His lips steal my words, swallowing my hurt, my fear.

For a single moment, I feel free.

Safe.

Noise from the vans leaving the colosseum, shouts of fear, and the crack of settling debris force me back to the present. To the reality that I am not safe. And there's only one place I know I will be.

I desperately want to get back to Gavin. To the shelter of our home. His protection.

Tell watches me fight with myself for a few seconds before he leans down, looking me in the eye. "Hellena… take my car. Go home to Gavin. I want you to be safe. To feel safe."

Suddenly, the thought of leaving him makes me feel cold. Frightened. "Come with me?"

"I can't. Tyler Jr. just got lost, scared shitless, you know?" He smirks at his joke.

"What are you going to do?" I hear the answer before he can answer, shouts in the hallway. My name. They're looking for me.

"I'm going to stay here and cover for you and for myself."

"Why do you have to cover for yourself?"

He smiles sadly, looking down at his clothes. They're smoldering, stained with ash.

The keys are tucked into my hand and he's running for the doorway as it starts to dawn on me. Of course, he can't resist one look back. In classic Tell swagger, he grins, taking my breath away. "Who do you think set off the distraction so you could escape, Hella?"

And he's gone.

My drive home is deadly silent aside from the ringing in my ears. The tremors in my hands. Halfway there, I start I feel the tears come, the burning sensation behind my eyes, and I try to fight them at first, but soon, sobs are racking my chest.

I hold it together enough to see the road to find the turn off to the back way home.

Everything's falling apart. I should have known I should have been ready. But how could I have been ready for this? For my entire world to come crashing down again.

But that's just it. There's always another floor to fall through.

There's always another hole underneath the basement waiting to swallow you up.

There's always another Marco Vice just waiting.

With chains in his hands to lock you back up to take away your life.

That's what it's like for people like me.

We do the best we can, we scrape by, we survive, but we're never free.

I can barely walk by the time I get to the house, my feet dragging with exhaustion emotionally, spiritually, and physically. I danced my heart out and had the best sex of my life.

My heart's wrecked in shattered little pieces. Evan, Tell, but inside, there's at least one person I can still rely on.

Forget the fact that he works for the heads of this organization. Whether he knows it or not. Forget the fact that he's a killer. Forget the fact that he lives a dangerous life. I know I can always trust Gavin.

The door is halfway open when I hear his cry.

Gavin, crying out in pain.