6. Earthquake In My Head

"He called a meeting."

My eyebrows cocked, as I moved my head to look at Cameron leaning against my door. I bit back a sigh of relief, as I folded the newspaper that I had found on my nightstand this morning, next to my breakfast that had been laid out for me.

"He did?" My head tilted, the interest at his words growing within me. As much as it disgusted me, I was curious about everything that happened here – not that I would ever admit it.

Cameron's eyes zeroed on to the paper in my lap, an agitating smirk growing on his face. "Oh no, you've resorted to reading the paper." He cried dramatically, his eyes twinkling as he tossed his hands into the air. "Whatever is this world coming to?"

His words reminded me of what I had been doing and I rolled my eyes. "I'm trying to find a missing person report, with my name on it." I spat, crossing my arms.

I jumped when Cameron roared with laughter. "Oh my goodness, little Savannah. You made my day; missing person report." He let out another laugh.

I shot him a glare, straightening up and leveling my gaze on him. "I'm almost positive there will be a report in here soon. Then, I'll escape and go straight to the cops!"

"Hopefully, you don't go to the crooked ones then." He snickered, his words choked as he forced to get them out.

I kept quiet, as he voiced my fears. Clearing my throat, I shook my head "What are you doing here now?"

It had been surprisingly quiet for the past two days. I had been left alone for the most part, only gaining (sometimes) unwanted company whenever one of them grew bored and decided to come and agitate me, which they found amusing. Ash was the most frequent, checking my body for infections and delivering my meals to me on a regular basis.

"Jace has commanded me to get you down there for the meeting." He brightened. "Congrats! That means you must be a member now."

My eyes widened, "Oh, no, no, no, no..." I shook my head, my tangled locks slapping my face. "Haha Cameron. That's a good one."

Cameron only shrugged though, "It wasn't a joke, now c'mon."

I froze, "Does going down there really mean that I am an unofficial member?" I regarded hesitantly.

Cameron smirked, his arms crossing. "Yes, yes it does."

"Then nope I am not! I am perfectly fine right here." I declined, snuggling deeper into the duvet.

"I have orders - I have to follow through with them." He shrugged, stepping closer.

With every step he took I leaned farther away, suspiciously. "What-"

I didn't have time to question his actions because before I knew it, I was being swiped into his arms.

I gave Ash a mental high-five for giving me such numbing pain medication.

I let out a shriek. "Cameron! Put me down, this instant!"

He had already started for the door and I squirmed, frantically. "Nope."

I let out an angry war-cry, latching onto the door-frame. There was no way in hell I was going down there. I knew what this meeting was to be about - all the stuff that I had been specifically avoiding and I would be damned if Jace decided he wanted to force me down there.

"Let go, Savannah!" He whined, shaking his blonde hair out of his face. "That isn't fair!"

I snorted, giggling viciously as I flailed my legs, managing to lay a well-placed kick to his chest.

"You, little-" He pulled me from the wall and let me thump to the floor, me groaning in response at the twinge of pain that had throbbed in my ribs.

"I would run." He smiled, viciously and I let out a squeal, quickly stumbling up, my legs feeling very unstable. Being in bed for two days hadn't done anything great to my balance.

He let out a yell, starting after me. I flew towards the staircase, letting out another scream.

"I've got you." He yelled, just as we reached the staircase. I dodged his arms, sprinting down the stairs and into the foyer...

...where my steps quickly halted.

In the living room sat all the people I had been avoiding, gathered around on the couches that surrounded the coffee table. Extra chairs had been brought in and randomly place throughout the space, in order for everyone to have a seat. Nervousness began to bubble in my gut, as their gazes focused in on us, a very disgruntled, panting, bed-head, me and Cameron who was standing sheepishly by me. The expressions on their faces ranged from bored to entertained.

"I said retrieve, Cameron, not chase the girl through the house." He snapped, his gaze moving up and down my t-shirt clad frame and I squirmed, not liking the things his gaze was doing to my stomach.

"She's here, isn't she?" Cameron pointed out.

I turned to aim my glare at him, stabbing my finger into his chest. "You suck!"

He shrugged, taking a seat on one of the nearby couches. "I had orders. Now park that fine ass right here." He patted his lap, while I gawked at him.

"She will do no such thing!" Jace barked, shoving his fingers towards the couch "Savannah, sit between Cameron and Riley."

"I don't have to do anything." I sniffed, crossing my arms stubbornly. I wasn't about to let the guy order me around, after he had just kidnapped me.

"Savannah." Jace gritted, his beautiful eyes narrowing at me and I shivered at the intensity of his gaze. "Sit down."

"Yeah, sit your ass down and let's get this over with." Riley snapped from his place, his face turned away from me. His shoulders were stiff with agitation and I gritted my teeth.

"Not thank you. I'd rather not participate in this little event. So, I'll just be-"

"Cash," I heard Jace speak over me and a second later, I was seated between Riley and Cameron, who quickly locked his arm around my shoulder's to hold me down.

"Hey!" I let out a squeak of outrage, squirming underneath the heavy weight of Cameron's arm. "That isn't fair!"

Riley's eyebrows cocked at me. "It took you long enough."

Jace cleared his throat. "Let's just get started."

I drowned out his voice, my eyes flickering around the room. This meeting had no interest to me. Sure, I was curious. But, the fear and anxiety that bubbled in my gut let me know that I didn't need to hear this. I had the wounds to prove it.

Riley leaned closer to me. "You seem kind of tense." His words were whispered. "Is it because Jace makes you horn-"

I let out a choked gasp, couching wildly, before shooting my hand up. "Jace - Jace! At these meetings we talk about problems, right?"

Jace's eyes narrowed suspiciously and he nodded once, looking annoyed that I had interrupted whatever he had been saying. I shot a glare towards that agitating boy seated next to me. "Then, why don't I start by saying that Riley ought to shut his big ass mouth-"

"Okay, moving on." Jace smoothly cut in and another warning glance was shot my way. "As you all know, a victim of Ricardo's men is now staying-"

"Not with my consent." I loudly stated and I crossed my arms, as Cameron lightly elbowed me. "No way in hell, would I stay here willingly."

Jace cleared his throat. "As I was saying - Savannah, here, will be staying with us for a very long time." He shot me a smug look and my hands tightened into fists.

Two could play at this game.

My hand flew up again.

"Jace!" I forced a smile at him. "If we are talking about problems, shouldn't you listen to what others have to say? Or is it too impossible for you to shut that big ass mouth for a minute?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "And what would you like to say, Savannah?"

"Well, if I am part of this 'gang'," my nose wrinkled in distaste, "Then, shouldn't I be able to come and go as I please?"

"Well, until you have the trust of-"

"That doesn't seem fair, Jace." I forced out. "Unlike you, I actually have a life out of this little world." Thinking of my life before all this, had my heart aching. I missed Brooke, I missed my little house, heck – I even missed my boss.

His eyes narrowed into slits, before he shut his eyes briefly, taking a cooling breath. "I have heard your complaints. Moving on..."

I stopped listening, letting out a loud sigh of boredom. Cameron was looking at me, amused and I turned away quickly.

I leaned over Riley, to get to Ash. "Hey, Ash."

His gaze barely strayed from Jace and he didn't speak.

"Ash," I poked his arm. "Ash, I'm hungry."

No answer.

Exhaling loudly, I leaned back, my gaze flickering around the room.

I really was hungry...

"Jace, I have another complaint!" I announced, interrupting his words.

He paused, his gaze focusing on me, a displeased look settled on his face.

"I'm hungry."

Cameron chuckled, propping his booted feet on the table and crossing his hands behind his head. "Then, do something about it, Savannah."

I jumped up, all too willing. "Oh! So I can-"

"Sit down." Jace growled out. "Ash, go get Savannah some crackers."

"Crackers!" I shouted, causing Xavier to jump, alarmed. "Crackers? What the hell am I supposed to do with crackers?"

"Shove them in your mouth to shut you up." Riley grumbled.

I continued. "A girl's got to eat. And crackers are not going to do the job." I crossed my arm.

"They fucking better." Jace snapped, pressing his palms flat against the table, but my sneer didn't waver. "Its crackers or your ass stays hungry."

"I'll get her the crackers." Ash hurriedly stood up. "Why don't you continue?" It was clear Ash was hoping to diffuse the situation, to hopefully release the tension.

"Why are all these fights about food..?" Jace muttered. "Which brings me onto the next point? I came home to find soup, covering the walls of the guest bedroom. Imagine my surprise when I find out it has to do with Savannah and Riley."

"It was his fault." I spoke up.

Riley snorted. "Right, I was the one chucking a bowl of hot soup at someone's head."

"I was doing everyone a favor." I shot back, sniffing. "I'm sure no one would have minded if you had to stay in the hospital for a few days." He rolled his eyes.

"Don't let it happen again." Jace warned, just as Ash bustled back in.

My nose wrinkled up as I bit into my crackers, only half listening now.

"As you know, Savannah was attacked by Ricardo's men, who were on my land."

I choked on the cracker. "Your land?"

He nodded, looking bored. "I own a lot of land. Most of which I leave open for the public to use."

"How much land do you own?" I pressed curiously, shifting my head to the side.

"More then you could wrap your head around." He answered, briskly, moving past the question quickly. "Not only has he attacked one of our own, he marked her."

I looked down at the bandage on my arm.

It was an X.

"What does the symbol mean?" I questioned, lightly tracing the bandage.

His expression became closed off. "The X means you're a target, usually. It's like a warning - to tell us they are watching us."

My gaze moved to Xavier, who had spoken up, his voice reassuring. "They must've seen you with us. Whether it was at the diner or another time and they were waiting for the perfect time to strike. You had some sort of connection with us and they wanted to show us what they could do.

"That's kind of stupid." I snorted, earning surprised looks from all of them "I mean, come on - an X? Couldn't they be more creative than that?"

Jace shot me a disapproving look. "Whether it's stupid or not, it should be taken seriously."

I rolled my eyes. "I almost died because of it. Of course, it's serious."

Turning away, I shoved more crackers into my mouth. Chomping loudly, my eyes flickered to Cameron who was shaking his head at me, an amused look on his face.

"Do you have a pen and some paper?" I started, again, an idea beginning to dawn on me and I hid my mischievous smile.

Jace paused, again. "Savannah." He growled out and I refused to back down. "Can't you be quiet for a second?"

I widened my eyes innocently, knowing I wore the look well. "What? I don't think I'm doing anything wrong?"

The items I requested were shoved in my direction and I quickly yanked off the cap of the pen, tossing it over my shoulder and I quickly drew the four lines. "Cameron," I whispered, purposely speaking louder than needed. "Play me."

He grinned, moving closer. "What are you doing?" He mumbled back, what as I finished what I was doing.

"Tic-Tac-Toe!" I exclaimed, excitedly putting an X in the box I wanted.

"That's not fair!" He whined, yanking the pen from my grasp. "I want to be the X!"

"I went first, so I got to choose." I reasoned, smirking at the frowning boy.

Let's be honest, everyone always wanted to be the X.

"That's not-"

A hand slapping against the table, had us both jumping. "Are you joking?" Jace addressed us, groaning mildly. I was able to maintain my poker face, it was working.

"Huh? I don't think neither of us told a joke..." I reckoned, only snickering when he shut his eyes to; once again, pinch the bridge of his nose.

"Why don't we just continue...?" Jace conceded, shaking his head. "With this symbol, Ricardo declared war on us. This isn't just a battle about her anymore."

I pressed my lips tightly together to keep the questions from bubbling out. Instead, I focused on where to make my move in the game.

"What do you mean?" Cash spoke up and I shot a glance at him, to see him leaning towards Jace, intrigued.

"When they marked Savannah, it shows that they are willing to harm those in relation to us. That's war."

"That seems a little dramatic." I hedged, reluctantly speaking. "I mean, sure it'll scar, but I'll live."

"They could do that to anyone." His posture was tense, his shoulders rigid. "They could hurt others, Savannah."

I shook my head "I can't help that. That isn't my fault. You can't just keep me here while you deal with your problem!"

"You could get hurt. Believe it or not, you're involved now too." Jace gritted out, his hands had tightened into fists.

"Jace..." A guy, whom I hadn't been introduced to, spoke up, his tone hesitant and worried. "Maybe we should-"

"Jason." Jace's voice immediately had the guy shutting his mouth and an eerie silence entranced the room.

I felt my eyes begin to water, against my will. In no way did I want to cry in front of all these men, especially Jace. I was positive that the only effect crying would have, was making me look even more pitiful and weak. My hands balled into two fists, and my eyes drifted down towards the floor.

"Here's what's going to happen." Jace's voice interrupted the silence. "We are going to figure this out once and for all. This is going to end." His words sounded more directed towards him than the people surrounding him. "Savannah will be staying here, until I decide it's safe for her not to be. If she does have to go somewhere, she'll be assisted with one of us. And if Savannah breaks this rule," He leveled his dark gaze on me and a shiver ran through. "She'll have to pay the consequences then."

Still feeling the tears in my eyes, I cleared my throat. "I should have answers then. Why the fuck won't you give me answer then?"

"You can have your answers." He let out a laugh, the sound sarcastic and mean.

"You won't-"I started, hesitating.

"Ask away. I won't hold back."

"How did this start? I mean, why is this still going on?" I stammered out, shrinking back with every word. His face had gotten darker as I spoke.

"It started years ago. In fact, it's been on for generations. And it is going to continue to they give us back what we want." Cash spoke up, his eyes flickering to the faces around him.

"What do they want?" I pressed.

"Savannah..."

"Tell her." Riley let out a laugh. "She wants to know."

"I-"

"Ten years ago, Ricardo kidnapped two people." Cash continued, his voice beginning to grow angry as well. "We had just begun to mend relations with them to end this, once and for all. Though, mending the rifts between us really were not their intentions and they kidnapped two of our people."

"Who were the people?" I pressed, shifting forward. "How did they manage that?"

"They set us up." Chace's voice sounded distant. "Basically, they had someone stabbed and we responded to it. They led us in the opposite direction of where we needed to be. We realized when it was too late that it was a set up."

At this point, my lips were pressed tightly together, my hands were shaking, and I suddenly didn't want to know anymore.

But, Jace wasn't having any of it. "Go on."

"It was Jace's mother and Jared's little sister, you haven't met him yet. They had broken into the house and taken them both. And they left the evidence to prove it." A disgusted look had graced Riley's face. "We are a closely knit family, so the loss of both of them really tore everyone apart and it wasn't the worst yet. They left no evidence on how to find them. It was basically a guessing game."

"Then, a week after they had disappeared with no contact or information on the both of them, Jace's mother appeared at the entry gates." Chase shuddered. "It wasn't pretty. It was evident she had been tortured and she had some serious wounds. She was also suffering from starvation and severe dehydration. They weren't sure she was going to make it."

"Did she?" I whispered, my eyes flickering up to where Jace was standing stonily.

"She did." Cameron confirmed, his serious expression still shocking to see upon his face. "But, she isn't exactly – sane. Jared's sister, who was only six at the time, was still missing and Jace's mom had described some pretty horrific things that they had done to her." He hesitated, before continuing. "We haven't found her. That's why all this is still happening."

"How do you know she's still alive?" I pressed, wincing at the fearful amount of hideous glares that appeared on the faces around the room. "How do you know she isn't dead?"

"They send proof - pictures every year, annually." Cash shook his head. "I think they're getting impatient."