Chapter 45: Chapter 44. I Have a Plan

JASON

“Logan, that’s enough. Stop it,” I yelled, my voice laced with fear and urgency.

“Man, we gotta stop. She’s about to pass out,” James, Logan’s right-hand man, called out.

“Stop!” Selena, the newest member of our gang, echoed.

With an eye roll, Logan finally ceased. “Alright, alright. You guys are such killjoys. I wasn’t going to kill her. She still has a day to make up her mind.”

His dark brown eyes sparkled with a wicked glint.

“We get that. But if we keep this up, she won’t be able to speak at all,” Selena retorted, her eyes narrowed at Logan.

Logan just shrugged, rolling his eyes again, and dropped the whip onto the ground.

“Clean up this mess, will you? I’ve got a business deal to handle.” He dusted off his black leather jacket, opened the door, and left.

The old, brown door slammed shut with a loud thud.

My gaze shifted to Claire’s frail, motionless figure. A pang of sympathy hit me. She had no idea what she was getting into when she started fighting.

Street boxing was a dangerous game. It could easily lead to someone’s death.

I’d watched Claire fight countless times, but she’d never killed anyone. It took me a while to understand that boxing was her escape, her coping mechanism. She never intended to kill.

She just wanted to fight, that was it. She never wanted to be part of a gang, or live in fear for her life and those she cared about.

Claire didn’t fully understand what she was getting into until Logan targeted her for revenge.

“Why do you hate her so much?” I found myself asking, breaking the heavy silence that had settled in the room.

Selena and James remained silent. Neither of them dared to make a sound or move. Their silence only fueled my anger.

“Why? What has she ever done to you? She doesn’t want to be in this gang, and she doesn’t want to die. Why are you helping Logan? She’s just a kid,” I spat out, my voice filled with anger.

I was twenty-four, she was seventeen. I joined this gang at twenty, and I was never happy about it.

But I did it to protect the only family I had left: my younger sister and her five-year-old daughter.

The rest of my family died in a car crash, and my sister’s husband succumbed to cancer. I couldn’t let them down. I couldn’t let them die because of my selfish choices.

I already carried the guilt of my manager’s death. I couldn’t bear the guilt of my sister and niece’s deaths too.

“I don’t hate her. I’m just following orders, Jason. I have to pretend to hate her to save my own skin. Isn’t that what we’re all doing?

“It’s not our fault she’s too stubborn to join us.” Selena finally spoke, her voice cautious.

I took satisfaction in the fear in her eyes and the tremor in her voice. Everyone knew how ruthless I could be in a fight.

I’d put nearly all my opponents in the hospital. They knew I wouldn’t hesitate to do the same to them if they crossed me.

“I don’t hate her either. In fact, I loved her,” James said quietly. I shot him a glare, waiting for him to continue.

“We dated for a year. I was completely in love with Claire. But then Logan offered me a spot in his gang after I saved him from a rival gang’s bullet.

“I was always intrigued by gang life and wanted to be part of it. But the catch was, I had to give up Claire.

“So, I did something stupid to avoid telling her the truth about our breakup,” James swallowed hard, looking down in shame.

“Right after she lost her virginity to me, I slept with her worst enemy at school.

“The pain of seeing the betrayal and hurt on her face when she found out was unbearable. She loved me so much she wanted to talk it out.

“But I had to act cold and heartless so she would give up. I haven’t seen her for two years,” James finished, his voice breaking.

My fist clenched in anger and frustration as I listened to their ‘love story’. I wanted to smash his face into a wall for taking her virginity and then carelessly cheating on her.

“So now what? You’re willing to let her die to save your own skin?” I hissed.

James flinched at my tone and shook his head.

“There’s nothing we can do, Jason. If we tried anything, we’d all be dead. The Claire I knew wouldn’t want that for anyone.

“She wouldn’t even want Logan to die for her. That’s just how she is. I know she’s still like that,” James said, his gaze lingering on Claire’s lifeless form in the chair.

Her body was slumped forward, her back marked with bloody, ragged lines. The memory of the sound of the whip cutting into her skin made me cringe.

I was amazed by her stoicism as she endured the whipping. But my admiration faded quickly when I saw her face turn pale and her eyes start to droop.

She was fighting to stay conscious, and I knew she’d been through too much in the past two days.

Her body couldn’t take any more pain and had gone numb. I knew what that felt like; it had happened to me more times than I could count.

She needed to be cleaned up, fed, and hydrated to maintain the little strength she had left in her small, fragile body.

“So, after everything we’ve done to Claire, she wouldn’t want us to risk our lives for her, even if it meant she would die?” I asked, seeking clarification.

James looked away, his gaze landing somewhere else in the room. “Yeah. Who would’ve thought my sweet, gentle girlfriend would turn into a fierce fighter in just two years?” He shrugged, a casual gesture that made my blood boil.

A low growl rumbled in my chest. “A lot can change in a month, James. Just look at you,” I shot back, my words laced with venom.

I knew I was being overly protective of the girl, but she reminded me so much of my little sister. She was fiery and stubborn, but also caring and kind.

“Why do you care so much about her, Jason?” Selena asked, her eyes narrowing into slits as she glared at me.

I returned her glare, my hand balling into a fist. I took a deep breath, trying to keep my anger in check.

“She’s just a seventeen-year-old girl who didn’t fully understand what she was getting into. Claire doesn’t deserve to die, Selena,” I snapped, my patience wearing thin.

“Enough. Let’s just clean this place up before he gets back,” I said, grabbing the black leather whips and storming out of the room.

Once I’d slammed the door shut, my eyes landed on Claire’s boxing bag. It was lying on the floor, discarded when I’d first brought her here.

I felt a strong urge to go through her bag.

After a few minutes of internal debate, I gave in. I slung her bag over my shoulder and headed for a private room where I could be alone.

I entered the dusty, empty bedroom and locked the door behind me. I placed the bag on a table in the middle of the room and unzipped it.

Inside, I found a blue short-sleeved V-neck shirt, some blue skinny jeans, a silver chain with a golden pair of boxers as a charm, purple boxing gloves…

…a picture of her with a black-haired, grey-eyed boy, and… jackpot! Her iPhone!

I couldn’t help but smirk. She didn’t even have a lock on her phone.

I scrolled through her contacts until I found the name “Blake <3.” He must be a close friend or her boyfriend if she put a heart next to his name.

Either way, I figured he’d be worried about Claire. I clicked on his name and hit the call button, holding the phone to my ear.

The phone barely rang twice before someone answered. “Claire. Claire, baby, is that you? Please, tell me it’s you,” a frantic male voice said. Definitely her boyfriend, I thought with a smirk.

“This isn’t Claire,” I replied, keeping my voice low so no one else would hear me.

“If you’ve hurt her, I swear I’ll find you and beat the shit out of you!” he threatened, his voice filled with determination.

I was taken aback by the conviction in his voice.

I chuckled at his threat, quickly shutting up when I remembered how fiercely protective men can be, especially when it comes to women.

Clearing my throat, I responded.

“Blake, I don’t have much time. But I need to tell you that if someone doesn’t save Claire by tomorrow, she’s dead.

“I won’t lie and say I didn’t hurt her, because I did. I had to, and for that, I’m sorry. But Claire is in danger and she needs you.”

“I found her bag and went through it, hoping to find something useful. I’m guessing you’re the one she told me about, so I’m asking you to stay alive.”

“Claire made me promise to keep you safe. I’m guessing you’re her boyfriend, so I have one question: Do you love her?” I asked.

There was a pause before Blake responded. “W-what?” he stammered, his voice cracking as if he was fighting back tears.

“You heard me. Do you love Claire enough to risk your life for hers? Because if not, I need to know now,” I said, my patience wearing thin.

There was another pause before he finally spoke. “I love Claire more than anything. I’ll do whatever it takes to get her back, alive, in my arms, again.”

I couldn’t help but grin, relieved by his answer.

“Good. Now, I need you to promise me you’ll do your best to stay alive.

“I promised Claire I’d keep you safe, and we both need to understand that you won’t get out of this without a few bruises, broken bones, or scratches.

“If you’re still willing to pay that price, then listen to me and do exactly as I say,” I said quickly.

“Yes, yes, I promise. As long as I can get Claire back alive, I’ll do whatever it takes to have her back where she belongs.”

~With me.~ He didn’t say it, but I knew that’s what he meant.

I grinned again, touched by the sincerity in his voice. Blake and Claire were clearly in love. This just proved how far they were willing to go for each other.

“Great. Now, you’re going to need at least three other people with you. Tomorrow, you’ll all get in one car and drive to the address I give you at a specific time.

“I’ll meet you there, and two of you will come with me while the other two stay in the car. They’ll either drive away with Claire or provide backup if needed.

“I’ll try to get some of the gang members on our side to help get Claire to you safely without Logan noticing. That’s all you have to do. I’ll handle the rest.

“I’m trying to save Claire. I don’t want her to die. You can think what you want, but right now, you don’t have a better plan.

“Don’t ask to talk to Claire. She can’t talk right now. I’ll keep this phone with me, on vibrate.

“Don’t text this phone unless I text you first. Got it?” I asked, my voice firm.

“Got it…” Blake’s voice trailed off, waiting for me to say my name.

I laughed a little. “My name isn’t important right now. What’s important is Claire. I’ll contact you when it’s time. Have a good day and get your team ready.”

With that, I ended the call and switched the phone to vibrate, slipping it into my pocket.

I brushed off my jacket, hiding my face and the smile that was threatening to spread across it. I was going to get Claire out of here. That was certain.

Now, I just needed to convince a bunch of traitors to help me.

When I walked back into the room where Claire was, her body still and lifeless in the chair, I glanced up to see James and Selena looking at her, fear in their eyes.

I knew that look. It was fear of what might happen. Fear of the death they might have to cause tomorrow if Claire didn’t join us.

“So,” I began casually, sitting next to Claire and picking up a warm, wet cloth to clean the bloody cuts on her back.

“If you had the chance, and you knew you’d survive, would you try to help Claire?” I asked, not looking at them, but focusing on Claire’s wounded back.

“Yes,” James answered immediately.

Selena hesitated. “I don’t really like her, but I don’t want her to die. So yeah, I’d try,” she said, shrugging.

I nodded, wrapping some gauze around Claire’s cleaned wounds. The deep cuts on her back were still hard to look at, but I’d seen worse. I’d done worse.

“Why are you asking?” James asked, curiosity in his eyes.

I couldn’t hold back the grin that spread across my face. “Because,” I said.

“I have a plan. But I need a few more people to help me with it.” I turned to look at their faces, and from their expressions, I knew they were in.

“We’re in.” They said together.