The final chapter of
Happy Death Day
What the hell just happened? And in what universe did I ever believe Kane would save my father’s life? But that’s what just happened. Kane returns to my side, and I say just that, “What the hell just happened?!”
“I don’t know.” Kit steps to our side, and Kane speaks to him in rapid Spanish, the general gist being to get word on the street. Find out who did this.
Chaos is an understatement, and my father demands both me and Kane be by his side. Kane offers Enrique and Jay to my father, who couldn’t be more appreciative. That was always the plan, of course, but not like this, not with an unknown enemy shooting bullets at my father and for all we know, us as intended targets, as well. But the win here is what the win was always supposed to be. Now Kane has trusted men guarding my father, watching what is happening inside a Society operation.
I coordinate with the police, talk with Chief Houston, and work through the safety issue, and somehow, forty-five minutes after the attack, the chaos has calmed down. When that happens, and despite my objections, my father convinces the hotel and the police that he must go on, even if it’s only on camera. After which, he will host a slimmed-down afterparty. And so, that’s what happens. He stands on the stage and gives a speech to the cameras that I expect will now end up on every television in the city. Everyone in this city will be spellbound by the television and what happened tonight. A part of me wonders if my father set this all up to ensure this attention came his way. I decide if anyone did this, it was Pocher, or my father would not have accepted Kane’s protection.
I’m more convinced of this than ever after my father’s speech, and before the party, that my father didn’t set-up today’s attack as a publicity stunt. Kane and I are inside a private room with my father when he shakes Kane’s hand again. “You saved my life. I don’t know who’s more surprised, me or you.”
“As long as she wants you to live,” Kane replies, “I’ll protect you.”
There is a not-so-hidden meaning punched into those words,as long as she wants you to live.
My father isn’t stupid. He gets it. This story works in reverse. If I want him dead, Kane can make that happen, as well.
Much later, the afterparty has turned into much more than a small party, with at least two hundred guests, and waiters working the room with trays of champagne and finger foods. Kane’s on the menu too apparently, as my father pulls him into conversation after conversation about energy and oil. An hour into the torture of it all, a waiter pauses next to me and hands me a note. I open it to read:Alleyway behind the kitchen –Andrew
I show it to Kane and he frowns, but I don’t give him time to object. My brother knows what I know. Tonight was all about an agenda, and we need to know who was behind it all. I hurry through the crowd and into the kitchen, continuing on to the rear alley doorway. I step outside to find Andrew there, waiting. He motions for the security guard, an off-duty cop, to step inside for a minute. When he resists, I flash my badge and he complies. When we’re alone, Andrew says, “What the hell was that?”
Apparently, it’s the one thought we can all cohesively manage. “I suspect an attention grab set-up by Pocher, but I don’t know. The men are in custody, but I spoke to the police chief right after they were brought in and they’re not talking.”
I never get the chance to say more. Suddenly, two black SUVs floor it down the alley toward us from either direction. Andrew and I reach for our weapons, but several armed men jump out from behind the industrial dumpsters, and we’re surrounded. The SUVs halt and the doors open. More men pile out, and we now have a good ten guns pointed at us.
“What is this?” Andrew whispers to me.
The answer comes when a man steps out of the rear of one of the vehicles. It’s Kane’s uncle. He motions to the door. “Let’s chat, Lilah.”
“I’m not getting in that vehicle with you.”
“Either you get in, or we kill your brother. Your choice.”
“Donotget into that vehicle, Lilah,” Andrew hisses. “If you do, you won’t get back out alive.”
Chapter One
Get in the vehicle or my brother dies.
This is my ultimatum issued by Kane’s drug lord uncle, Miguel. He and about ten of his men have cornered us during our talk in the alleyway behind the building where my father is hosting a huge election event. I’ll worry about where the security is that should have blocked off the alleyway in the first place later.
Right now, Miguel and his threat are my focus.
And considering who Miguel is, and the carnage I know him to be capable of ordering, most people would assume me to be rattled. But I’m not like most people. Miguel is dangerous, of that I have no doubt, but Miguel’s men hate him, love Kane, and fear a badge, which both myself and my brother possess. He also isn’t here to kill us, or we’d be dead.
May the odds be in my favor?
Theyarein my favor, but my dumbass brother doesn’t seem to understand that.
“Lilah,” he warns yet again. This is time two. “Donotget in that vehicle,” he adds, referencing the huge, black SUV Miguel exited a minute ago.
Let’s Talk, Lilah,he’d said.Get in.
Fuck you very much, is my answer to that, but I don’t say the words, and with good reason. I’ve heard a lot about Miguel. He needs visual aids, and I have a few in mind.
On the other hand, the very fact that my brother thinks I’m stupid enough to get in a vehicle with Miguel tells me he’s feeling pretty stupid himself. Maybe he had a drink inside. Maybe he was just born that way.