50. Death-1

Gray's POV Halfway into the house, walking through the hallway, I cloak my gun and hold it down next to my thighs as I make my way around. My eyes snap up to the security camera. Carving around the areas of view, I avoid them as much as I could. I could hear voices roaring from the floor upstairs. Whoever was talking sounded furious, thumping the ground with their boot-like shoes. "How could you let one man. One fucking man play you, " The voice is firm and angry. "Jelly was the one in charge. I went to pee, " another voice speaks up defensively. Two voices. A third-person reference. That meant at least three people were present. The first voice sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite place my hands on who it was. "What about the cameras?" the first voice asks. Luca. It was Luca. "Out. He took them out, " an entirely different voice replies. I look up to the cameras I had been avoiding all afternoon, and that's when I noticed the red lights were off. "The bastard could have taken off, " Jelly growls. A clattering sound follows his voice. Typical of Jelly to ruin things when he's mad. "Fuck, shit. Tiger's on his way here, " Luca says breathlessly. "He's gonna kill us all." The room is silent for a while, with only pulsing sounds heard. "I'm calling a lockdown, " Luca declares. My eyes widen at his words. A lockdown? "Woah, a lockdown?" Jelly objects, voicing out my exact thoughts. Lockdown meant end game. It was the code for kill or be killed. At that moment, I realized I just walked in at the worst time possible, and I wasn't going to get out alive unless I am able to kill everyone present. "And it's kill on sight, " Luca growls. "But-" "I don't care what my father says! Kill him. When you see him." Before I could put on foot in front of the other, a door to my left yanks open, and I'm hauled inside. My hands instinctively reach for my gun, but the person beats me to it. He kicks my gun from my hands with his shin, pinning me to a wall. Then the cold metal makes contact with the skin of my forehead, drawing blood from my veins. He levels the revolver, pressing the gun deeper into my bones. Blood draws from my veins. My heartbeat thumps louder with each passing second. I close my eyes. The only thing that ran through my mind was Aaron's words earlier. He was right. I should have called Kelch. She already had enough on her plate, and I only made it worse by ignoring her. I should have spoken to her. I should have heard her laugh. I should have made her laugh. "And that's how you get yourself killed, " he declares with a drop of his hands. Wait. My brow arches. I stop dead in my tracks- a chilling sensation runs through my spine. My eyes snap open. A pair of dark eyes stare back at me, the lips twisted in a snarl. With Jay, you could hardly tell. "You're alive?" I let out a sigh of relief. Even though I was confused, I pull him in for a hug, patting his back. "And you have five seconds to unhand me," Jay replies, but he returns my hug. Pulling away, I shake my head, my eyes trailing over every inch of his body. The bruises on his face come boldly in a hideous purple-black color. His forehead is swollen and solid. His eyes are slightly inward, still shadowy. His red blood stains the white color of his sclera. There are numerous cuts on the exposed area of Jay's skin, with some so deep, you could see the laceration of the muscles. I think in a sharp breath. "That must hurt like hell." My guilt devours me as a snake would its prey. Slowly, but surely. "I'm sorry, " I mutter at the group, unable to stare Jay in the eyes. A firm hand yanks my head up. Jay pats my shoulders while staring directly into my eyes. "It's not your fault. Those bitches are at fault, " He says, pointing at the door. "Don't go all soft on me now." "How- what happened?" I stutter. "Isn't it obvious?" "I mean what's going on? Where have you been? Why did they keep you alive?" "If I wanted to answer this many questions, I would have stayed in high school, Stone, " Jay rolls his eyes. I stare at him blankly. "Fine, " He lets out a low huff. "They captured me after you left with Dove, but I had a plan. I had to wait for Luca to leave the country before I could make my escape. There's a secret dungeon upstairs where I've been held and tortured. That's all." Jay speaks as if what he went through wasn't a big deal. "You could have found a way to contact me outside. I had no idea you were still alive." I wanted to yell out furiously, but I couldn't. "And put you in danger? No. I could handle this." "It's not your place to decide what's dangerous and what's not for me." Finally, I understood Aaron's anger. "How could you not reach out! You can take out half the guys here without blinking. Why didn't you leave sooner?" "I had a plan, " He simply replies. "Well, your plan is stupid. Luca's back, and he's in here." "That was also a part of my plan, " Jay proudly nods his head. "You see, there were eleven men here in the beginning. Luca took six with him when he went to Italy, leaving only..." he trails off, making calculations in his head. "Five, " I roll my eyes.