Chapter 47: The Rebellion Begins

Chapter 47: The Rebellion Begins


Jake stood before Lisa, his mask securely in position over his face.

She looked at him, sipping wine as if she hadn't ripped the last few weeks from his life. "You're changed now," she said. "Stronger. Wiser. Ready to embrace what you were always meant to be."

Jake nodded, his voice unshakeable. "I know now."

Lisa smiled once more. "Good. You won't tarry, then, when I tell you next to do what."

She flapped her fingers. One of her enforcers produced a tablet. Lisa flipped the screen to Jake, and his stomach rolled.

Live footage of Zane, Mia, and Rico.

They huddled in some kind of hideaway, battered but obstinate faces. They were still struggling. Still struggling to save him.

Lisa traced a finger along the screen. "It’s time for your final test, Jake. Find them. Hunt them down. Prove to me that you’re truly mine."

Jake swallowed hard, forcing himself to stay still. If he reacted too strongly, she would see through him. He wasn’t broken. But she couldn’t know that.

He met Lisa’s gaze and nodded. "Tell me where to start."

Zane’s Regroup – Outnumbered and Hunted

Zane braced himself against the safehouse wall, clutching his injured side. The pain wasn't easing. His body was clinging to life by a thread. None of it mattered, though.

Jake was still out there. And he wasn't leaving him behind.

Mia walked back and forth in front of the window, staring out. "We've got a problem. We're being followed."

Rico was surprised. "Lisa's goons?"

Mia nodded. "They're moving in quick. We've got no time."

Zane rolled onto his feet, though his muscles protested. "Then we fight."

Rico shook his head. "Man, sorry to tell you, but we've got half-strength left. We're outgunned, outnumbered, and—"

"And Jake's still in there," Zane growled. "So unless you're ready to surrender—"

Mia interrupted him. "We don't surrender. We improvise. And our best hope of winning now is to outsmart them."

Zane ground his teeth. Every second that they remained behind, Jake was at Lisa's mercy.

Mia glanced up at him, speaking softly. "We'll get him out. But we need to prepare."

Not as if Zane had any chance to answer, when the safehouse alarm cut through the stillness.

They bounced while everything spiralled out of control beyond. Lisa's bodyguards had discovered them.

Rico cursed. "So much for a plan."

Zane's fists curled. "Then we improvise."

Flashback: The First Real Moment of Vulnerability Between Jake and Zane

Years prior to war having broken out officially between them, Jake and Zane had experienced something that neither would ever discuss.

They had both tumbled from their backpacks, seeking shelter in a destroyed cabin deep in the woods. It was neutral ground—a ground on which nobody would ever dare seek them out.

Jake stood beside the fire, his fist clenched around a cup of tea Zane had forced him to drink. "You're such a domestic."

Zane grinned and sat beside him. "Shut up and drink. You were white enough to get a free walk out."

Jake paused, then downed the drink. The warmth did help.

Zane relaxed back and breathed deeply. "Why do you let them control your life?"

Jake's body stiffened. "You don't understand. It's not control. It's survival."

Zane drew a sharp breath. "You mixed those two together."

Jake set the cup down next to him, looking into the flames. He never allowed anyone to get their hooks into him like that. Weak. Exhausted. Lost.

Zane was looking at him closely. "You don't have to do it by yourself, you know."

Jake met his gaze. "And trust you?"

Zane's smile was pleasant, but underneath something else seethed. "You already do."

Jake's breath was caught. Because Zane was lying.

And that was the most frightening thing of all.

The Battle at the Safehouse

The door slammed open, the first enforcer bursting in.

Mia had the gun out first, one into the guy's chest. But still they came.

Zane was acting on reaction, grabbing the next and striking his fists at the guy's face. Fire raged through his injuries at each strike, but he did not falter. He couldn't.

Rico grabbed a blade from the table and sliced at an enforcer’s arm, forcing them back. "We need to move!"

Mia ducked behind cover. "We’re surrounded!"

Zane gritted his teeth. They weren’t going to win this fight.

Then—

The gunfire stopped.

A voice that was known cut through the chaos.

"Stand down. He's mine."

Zane's blood went cold.

He turned around—and there was Jake.

Wearing black, among Lisa's thugs. Face expressionless.

Mia released a rough breath. "No."

Jake took a step forward, gun pointed at Zane. "Lisa sent me to take you in."

Zane's heart dropped in his chest.

Mia breathed quietly, "He's bluffing them. Right? He has to be."

Rico didn't say anything. They all weren't sure.

Jake cocked his weapon.

Mia's muscles tensed. "Jake. Whatever she did to you, we can reverse it."

Jake didn't budge. He wasn't touched.

Zane's heart was racing. "Jake. Drop the gun."

For a—one—moment, Jake wavered.

And then he held the gun higher.

Lisa's voice was a rasp in his earpiece. "Demonstrate your loyalty. Take them out."

Zane inched slowly forward. "Jake. I'm me."

Jake's hands were shaking.

Lisa's voice again, and this time it was commanding. "Do it. Now."

Jake's trigger finger hovered over the trigger.

Zane shut his eyes. Waiting. Hoping.

Then—

Jake spun.

And fired Lisa's enforcers instead.

Bullets ripped through them. Panic erupted.

Mia swore, pulling Rico back with her. "I knew he wouldn't—"

Zane was already moving, shoving through the fight, reaching Jake as he reloaded. "You with me?"

Jake looked at him, eyes wild with something between panic and determination.

"Yeah. I’m with you."

Zane jerked his wrist. "Then let's get out of here."

They both ran, shooting wildly, the rebellion finally begun.