She sighed, explaining quickly, “Badger has eclectic tastes.” But she tacked on with all seriousness, “If he asks, you prefer Tchaikovsky over Mozart and you think Beethoven is an overrated hack. And do not even mention Vivaldi. On second thought, don’t say anything.”
All I could do was nod. Nothing made sense down here.
As we got closer, I realized the railway car had been turned into a residence and it was definitely occupied.
Two teenage thugs with hard eyes and jaded souls blocked our entrance to the railcar. Dylan scowled. “Get the fuck out of my way, Roach. I need to talk to Badger.”
“You’ve got balls of steel showing your face down here,” the one on the right said without budging. “You know there’s a bounty on your head?”
“It’s nice to be wanted,” Dylan said, not the least bit cowed. “Move before I make you regret ever leaving that group home in the Bronx.”
“Still the salty bitch,” Roach said with a smirk. “I’ll laugh when Badger throws your ass into the pit.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. Jilly and I shared anxious glances as we waited for which way the wheel was going to turn on this fucked up scenario.
“What say you, boss?” he called out.
A long pause followed. Sweat beaded my hairline in spite of the chill. Dylan held her ground. If she was scared, she didn’t show it but I was about to shit my pants. Jilly looked ready to faint.
A tall, lanky 20-something man with a shaved head, worn leathers, and a vivid pink mohawk appeared at the entrance, grabbing onto the poles, a sardonic but hard smile on his face. “Well, look what the cat dragged in,” he drawled, using the poles to lean forward menacingly. “I never expected to see your face again. I figured you were smarter than that.”
“No one’s ever accused me of being smart. I was your No. 1 once, remember? I’d say that was probably the dumbest move of my life.”
My eyes bugged. What did that mean? His No. 1?
Badger chuckled, considering his next move. The thick tension in the air coiled around us like a noxious fog but Dylan didn’t shake or drop eye contact. The stakes were high in this game and Dylan came to win or lose big.
Which was all well and good, except she brought us along for the game with front row tickets to the sudden death championship and I didn’t agree with her choice of entertainment.
“What to do with you…” Badger said, dropping down the steps as his thugs parted to make room. He stood before Dylan, towering over her. “Protocol dictates I should toss you down into the pit.”
“But you won’t.”
Badger held Dylan’s gaze as he asked softly, “And why won’t I?”
Dylan stared. For a brief moment, it almost seemed as if Dylan were struggling but not with fear. She exhaled a shaky breath, saying, “Because I know who took Nova.”
Everything changed in a heartbeat. I stared in confusion. Who the hell was Nova? What the hell was happening? My gaze darted from Dylan to Badger, trying to figure out why they both looked stricken.
Badger stiffened. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
Either Dylan was totally bullshitting to save our asses or there were things Dylan hadn’t shared about how she ended up signing with Madame Moirai.
Important things.
My head was spinning. Jilly was just as stunned. Wisely, we kept our mouths shut, too afraid to say anything.
“Don’t lie to me,” Badger warned, crowding Dylan’s personal space. “You better start talking real quick.”
But Dylan pushed Badger out of her space with a glower. “Shut up and listen. Nova signed a deal with a woman named Madame Moirai. She wouldn’t give me details but she made me promise not to tell you, saying it was all going to be worth it in the end. I was supposed to pick her up in five days when it was all done but she never showed up and her phone kept going straight to voicemail. When a week went by and she still hadn’t contacted me, I knew something had gone wrong.”
“What do you mean, gone wrong?”
“You know Nova would never be without her phone,” Dylan said, searching his gaze. “If she wasn’t answering, something bad had to have gone down. I tried to find her but it was like she disappeared off the face of the planet. I almost gave up. Then, I got a call from an unidentified number, claiming to be an emissary for this Madame Moirai. It was the only lead I had. I had to take it. I had no idea what was going to happen next.”
Badger’s bewilderment was almost palpable. “I don’t understand. Why wouldn’t she tell me?”
“There are a lot of things she never told you, Badger. You wouldn’t have let her go if you knew and she was determined to make it happen,” Dylan said. To my added shock, Dylan’s eyes started to water as she said with a catch in her voice, “And knowing what I know now…I wish I had stopped her.”
Badger paled, like someone had just kicked him in the nuts with a steel-toed boot, lodging a vicious ache in his gut. “Where’s Nova?”
Dylan looked Badger straight in the eye and answered with undisguised anguish, “I’m pretty sure she’s dead.” Dylan gestured to me. “If it weren’t for her…I’d be dead, too.”
I confirmed with a small nod.
For a long minute Badger stood there, uncomprehending, unable to accept what Dylan shared but then something must’ve resonated with his private fears as the words resonated with truth. He dropped to a crouch, a ball of grief and anger, with a roar that I felt in my soul. Dylan dropped to the ground and held him with a ferocity that’d never seen.
Whoever this Nova was, Badger and Dylan had both loved her.
Holy fucking shit.
With sudden clarity I saw a brand new version of the woman who didn’t seem to give a damn about anything or anyone but had a whole lot of fucking secrets locked behind that sharp mouth.
Tana wasn’t the only one who’d never left Madame Moirai’s care. The sheer scope of what we were staring down was even more overwhelming than before.
And just like that, without realizing the game was open to more players, another piece had been added to the board.
About the Author
Angel James is the young adult pseudonym of USA TODAY bestselling author Alexx Andria. She enjoys writing about angsty, emotional stories with deep personal impact. You can find her on social media for more information about her books.
Copyright
NO ONE TO NOTICE
By Angel James
© 2020 Kimberly Sheetz. All rights reserved.
No part of this NOVEL may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. All characters are fictitious and any resemblance to an actual person is purely coincidental.
Cover design by Mayhem Cover Creations
The following NOVEL is approximately 51,000 words and an original work of fiction.