Chapter 41: Chapter 41

I had been stuck in that underground cell for five days. The game was supposed to last seven days, but I’d jumped the gun.

I learned that there were different ways to pass the game. Some women gave false information and came clean to the Roscottos when they were released, some tried to escape like I did, some waited out the seven days, and there were three who failed and switched sides after not being able to handle the torture.

I couldn’t fault them. Everyone had a different pain tolerance, and hunger was a terrible way to die. Most of us lost weight during this time, and two women were forced to drop out of the games after completing the loyalty test because their bodies became too weak.

Those women had already been underweight, so going without food crushed their health and spirits.

I, myself, had lost about twenty pounds, and I lost a bit of the muscle mass I had built up since I’d started training regularly with Sam and Rob.

When I had returned to the mansion, I was in and out of sleep for an entire week. I couldn’t find the energy to do anything but eat whatever soft foods Charlie fed me.

Everything had been shoved to the back burner to allow myself time to recover.

However, the days had gone by too fast.

Soon enough, I’d regained the energy to move and think clearly. Which brought me back to what Stefano and I had discussed.

Jalen.

I had known Jalen since childhood. He had been one of my closest friends before life took its course. I didn’t believe he’d do anything to harm me, but at the same time, there were questions I needed answers to.

Stefano had spent the entire week that I’d been incapacitated looking into Jalen, and he’d finally made a breakthrough.

Jalen had played a part in the hijacking of the Roscotto truck and the killing of their men.

I was reluctant to believe it.

Why would Jalen claim neutrality to me while siding with the Perez family? How should I handle this new information? He was my friend. I couldn’t bear to see him die at the hands of the Roscottos, but at the same time, my loyalty was to the Roscotto family.

When Stefano had told me the plan to confront Jalen, I’d asked to go as well. It was about time I contacted him myself after losing his number in my previous phone.

At first, Stefano’d refused, but when I’d promised I’d stay in the car and simply listen in, he’d agreed. I knew a part of Stefano was doing this out of some unwarranted jealousy, but another part knew that I needed to hear Jalen’s side of the story.

I needed confirmation for myself.

And after two weeks of planning, I’d gathered with Stefano and his men outside Juicy’s Bar and Grill, a popular downtown restaurant that I’d frequented quite a bit in the past, usually whenever I was hanging out with Jalen.

Stefano left me in the car with a guard and the driver.

I stared at my phone screen intently, watching the footage from the camera on Jackson’s glasses.

Jackson, Stefano, and Andrei walked into the bar. Their well-dressed figures instantly stood out against the crowd of burly men.

Jackson made an effort to look around so I could see everything. And even with my limited view of the scene, I could tell that the atmosphere in the room was tense.

The stares the three of them received were hostile, and it made the hairs on my arm stand on end.

I recognized a number of the men surrounding the pool table. They were familiar faces. I’d grown up around them. Henry’s buddies. Compared to their casual clothes and the tattoos lining their muscular arms, Stefano and his entourage stuck out like sore thumbs in their tailored suits and polished dress shoes.

Once upon a time, I’d thought this was a regular biker’s hangout, but I didn’t think that anymore.

Stefano and his men approached the bar, and I perked up when a familiar face came into view.

“That’s him,” I murmured through my earpiece, knowing they could hear me. “Jalen.”

He was working behind the bar, which was a new development. When we’d hung out before, he’d been enjoying the drinks, not serving them.

Stefano frowned and took a seat at the bar. Andrei and Jackson stood on each side, flanking him.

Jalen glanced at them, and my eyes narrowed as I watched his hands disappear beneath the counter for a split second before he approached them with an easygoing smile.

My nerves were pulled taut, and I held my breath.

I itched to run in there and confront him myself. I glanced at the guard keeping a watch on me and pursed my lips, deciding to stay put. For now.

“Hey boys, what can I get for you?” Jalen asked, slinging a towel over his shoulder.

My eyes were drawn to the tattoo peeking out from the collar of his shirt and up his neck.

I sucked in a sharp breath, my heart stilling.

“That’s where I remembered it from,” I murmured to myself.

“Whiskey on the rocks,” Stefano said. “Three of ’em.”

“Got you.” Jalen turned to get the glasses, and I used that time to speak in the three men’s ears.

“That tattoo on his neck. It’s the same as the brand we found on the dead bodies at the hijacking. He also has another one on his lower waist but with a crown over the wings.” I relayed what I remembered.

Stefano turned to look at Jackson coldly, and Jackson coughed and turned his head away.

“I can’t see!” I urged, wanting a good look at everything that was happening.

Jackson turned back just as Jalen slid the drinks to each of them. “Anything else?” he asked.

Stefano took a sip of his drink before placing it down. His shoulders were stiff, and he seemed to be in an awful mood as his voice carried a dangerous edge to it.

“I have a question,” he said.

I leaned forward in my seat, my heartbeat ringing in my ears in anticipation.

“Shoot,” Jalen said. He crossed his arms and leaned against the bar top, completely unbothered.

It was so like him to be unaffected by Stefano’s presence, despite knowing who he was. He’d never been one to bow to power, even if it could cost him his life.

It made me wonder.

Why did he choose Perez?

“What do you know about crows?” Stefano asked him, his grim eyes scrutinizing Jalen’s face.

But I knew Jalen. He wasn’t so easily fazed. There wasn’t a single crack in his mask. He was a professional at holding secrets.

Clearly, even from me.

An unsettled feeling pooled in my gut.

~It should be me in there. I want to talk to him.~

Jalen’s smile widened. “They’re birds of vengeance, yeah? What about them?”

“Is that what they mean for you? Is that why it’s tattooed on your neck?” Stefano probed.

Jalen shrugged. “It’s a family tradition. Crows are cunning and witty. You got to learn to love ’em, right?”

~A family tradition?~ I furrowed my brow. I thought the wings of the crow were the symbol that the Roscotto Reaper Corps used. Did the Perez family adopt it, or was there something else?

“Hmm, I’ve recently come to that same conclusion.” Stefano hummed and downed his glass. He slid it over and asked, “How much do I owe you?”

“Thirty-two.”

There was a tense silence as Stefano reached for his wallet, but what he pulled out instead was his pistol. He placed it on top of the bar, next to the empty glass.

Jalen’s eyes followed the movement, and the silence in the room was deafening. Everyone in the bar was watching the exchange.

Jalen looked at the gun blankly and shook his head. “This is a no-guns-allowed bar.”

Stefano’s lips quirked. “You expect me to believe that? Your friends seem to be carrying.”

He gestured with his head to the men at the pool table. Jackson adjusted his gaze so I could see.

My heart almost leapt into my throat, and I clutched my phone tighter.

Things were getting dangerous.

The men had their guns out and aimed at Stefano, Andrei, and Jackson.

Andrei and Jackson quickly responded by taking out their guns and aiming them at Jalen’s head.

Everything was at a standstill.

Jalen chuckled and dropped his friendly act. It was the first time I’d seen him so serious as he stared at Stefano.

“You pulled your gun first. It’s only fair that my men retaliate. Besides, I didn’t know you were stupid enough to start a fight with only three people.”

Stefano raised an eyebrow. “Who said there are only three of us?”

As if on cue, his men who had infiltrated the bar earlier that night pulled out their guns and aimed them at the enemy.

Jalen was caught off guard, and his mask finally cracked. I saw a bit of trepidation in his eyes before he regained his composure.

He crossed his arms. “It seems I’ve underestimated the Roscotto family.”

Stefano nodded and grabbed his gun, inspecting it. “So, you know who I am. Makes things easier. I have some questions.”

“I’m not obligated to answer.”

Stefano raised his gun and aimed it at Jalen’s head. “This gun to your face says otherwise. Let’s see whose finger is faster.”

I stiffened, hesitant to do anything, but fearful that if I didn’t, I wouldn’t like the outcome.

Both men stared at the other in silence, neither of them willing to break eye contact.

I could feel the stifled air from all the way in the car.

I couldn’t take it anymore.

My hand shot out and jabbed my guard in the throat, sending him into a coughing fit.

“Sorry!” I said as I quickly discarded my phone and earpiece and hopped out of the car.

I pushed open the door to the bar, and all eyes snapped to me.

Stefano stiffened, his hand on the gun wavering.

Jalen looked at me in shock.

I walked to the bar, maintaining eye contact with Jalen. My face was set, and I didn’t let the multiple guns pointing in my direction faze me.

When I stopped next to Stefano, I placed my hand on his gun and lowered it out of Jalen’s face.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it, Jalen?” I addressed the man in question.

Jalen looked at me like I had gone mad.

“Catalina?”