22.Involuntary Consequences

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The puddle of blood surrounding Greg's body only seemed to grow with every passing moment of Jace's absence. My fingers, wrapped tightly around the handle of the gun, ached from the exertion of my grip. Swallowing around the increasing lump in my throat, I wiped a sweaty hand down the ruins of my dress.

"Come on, Jace." I muttered anxiously, unable to deny the spiral of resentment towards Jace that leaked into my gut. I forced myself to inhale, wishing I could pick myself up from the floor and stop the shaking in my legs. The man had yet to move, his form still unconscious and unmoving. An occasional twitch had his body jarring and mine tensing even further. The darkness of the room teased me, causing me to tense further at the idea of just what could be lurking in the shadows. Feeling vulnerable was something I was not comfortable with.

Realistically, it had only been moments since Jace had exited, though the minutes passed by agonizingly slow. With my teeth sinking harshly into my lip, I couldn't seem to piece together the reason as to why Jace was acting so coldly to me after what had happened. His attitude left me with a bitter taste in my mouth and it felt like a hand was squeezing my heart. It was evidently clear that whatever he felt for me was minor when he left me here to watch over the man who had just held a knife to my throat.

I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment to will myself not to cry, unwilling to keep them closed for any longer with the possibility of Greg awaking without me noticing. The thought terrified me and I jerked my eyes open to reassure myself that he had not. More than anything did I want to return back to the safe house, hide in the sanctuary of my locked room, and bury myself under a mountain of blankets away from any problems that continued to haunt me.

The bang of the door opening had a barely-resisted scream lodging itself in my throat. I stared with wide eyes as Riley and Cameron's broad frames charged in, not even sparing me a glance as they threw themselves towards the man, lugging him up without a single look of tiredness written across their emotionless faces.

I stayed frozen, the damned gun still pointed loosely in their directions. I couldn't gauge if they held contentment for me as Jace seemed to. Instead I continued to stay seated, finding myself unable to move as I numbly watched them lug the man out of the room, blood staining their dress shirts.

"Let's go, Savannah." Cameron said lowly, barely glancing in my direction as they paused in their steps. "We have to get out of here. The jet is being prepared for us to get back to Seattle."

His words jarred me from my thoughts.

"I-is everyone alright?" I stammered out, forcing myself to stand upon weak legs. My concern only increased as they exchanged a set of dark gazes that had my heart pounding, as my question went unanswered. I swallowed thickly, blinking wildly at the pair. "Cameron? Riley? Is-"

"I said let's go, Savannah." Cameron ground out once more, the harshness coating his words jarring me into a state of shock. I stumbled forward, listening to his thoughtless order, a certain numbness cutting any feeling from my chest. I stared blankly after the guys, forcing myself not to cast one last look behind me at the room that would haunt my thoughts for the rest of eternity.

The hallway still had a certain feeling of dread lingering in it as I dragged myself after the boys, feeling the weight of the weapon still gripped tightly in my hand. I was eager to rid myself of the glock, knowing that I was carrying something that had so easily nearly killed a man. I curled my shaking fingers into a fist, narrowing my eyes unseeingly in front of me.

They made their way down the hallway at a fast pace, not sparing glances behind them to make sure that I was following their steps. They made not effort to speak, instead settling for a choking silence that seemed to swallow my being. The heaviness that the tension allowed made it hard to breathe.

Cameron kicked the door open, allowing a gush of shockingly fresh air to flow in around us from outside, the chill of it had my shoulder's stiffening, though I did nothing to try to shield myself from it. The coldness made me feel like I could think a little clearer, though I knew with my muddled mind that was unlikely.

We had exited into the side yard, near the gardens. Scanning the area, I felt my stomach pull at the sight of Jace. He was stripped of his suit jacket and his tie was hanging loosely around his neck. It was clear that he had run his hand through his hair multiple times from the way it was ruffled and his mouth was pulled down into a frown. I sunk my teeth into my lip, momentarily unable to pull my gaze away from his mesmerizing figure, or maybe it was the machine gun gripped loosely in one of his hands.

SUV's lined the side of the building as Jace ordered men into cars, the expression on his face anything but calm as he did so. Swallowing thickly at it, I paused in my steps, flickering my gaze around me unsurely. Distantly, I could hear the sounds of laughter and the guests for the Gala mingling and it astounded me that everyone who had attended could be oblivious to what was occurring seemingly so close to them.

"Boss, where do you want him?" Riley called out towards Jace, jerking Greg, which elicited a groan from the injured man. Cameron shot him a lethal glance, causing shivers to snake down my spine at the fury in it.

"You know where to take the fucker. Take any car." Jace waved his hand dismissively. "Take Jordan too in case there's trouble." And with that, he turned away, his attention drawn to another man stepping up to his side.

I shifted uncomfortably, wishing I could sink into the shadows and not have to face the man I desperately didn't want to. Though I didn't get a chance to, because suddenly he was marching towards me.

"Savannah - you're headed back to the safe house." He gritted out, barely glancing my way as he turned to the man beside him. "Jeremy will be taking you there, with Trevor." The man nodded coldly at me and I forced a smile back

"Is everyone alright?" I asked slowly from stiff lips. "I-"

"I don't have time for you're questions." Jace spat at me, leaving me taken aback. I stumbled a step away from his menacing figure, gaping at him.

"Did I do-"

"Shut the fuck up, Savannah, and do what I say for one fucking time." He growled out, his eyes spitting fury as he stared harshly down at me.

My jaw unhinged as I stopped any feelings from his words to assault my mind. "You're an ass." I choked out, chucking the gun at his feet uncaringly. "Fuck you."

I turned on my heel, unable to hide my tears from the men I passed. Frustration made it hard to breathe as I limped away, my only hope that Jeremy was following wherever the hell I was going. I wasn't able to pinpoint the exact reason why so much of his anger was directed towards me, though I didn't focus on it. I knew he resented me now, just like Ricardo had planned. Jace was eating right into Ricardo's palm and he had no idea- though I couldn't focus on that. I refused to. There was nothing that I could do to change that fact and hounding myself about it would only cause me damage. The events that had occurred were beginning to weight on my mind and I blinked blearily, my steps becoming slightly uneven as I continued to push forward.

"The car is here." Jeremy called out, stalling my thoughts and causing me to turn slowly to face the direction he jerked his head towards. Trevor was leaning against the black vehicle, staring unseeingly out into the yard. "Come on."

Reluctantly I followed his orders, following behind him as he marched towards the car. Trevor pulled the door open, allowing Jeremy to climb in before gesturing me to follow.

"Hi, Trevor." I mutely mumbled, receiving only a grunt of awareness in return.

I slumped in the comfortable seat, shutting my eyes as I felt Trevor settle in beside me. I could feel the wetness of tears still leaking down my cheeks, though I refused to acknowledge them or be ashamed that they were there. I was unable to deny the fact that everyone's, especially Jace's, coldness towards me hurt more than I wanted to admit.

"I'm supposed to let you know what's happening now." Trevor spoke, sounding disinclined to. "Then you can sleep."

I refused to let him know that I wasn't going to sleep because of the nightmares that I knew would plague me, though I pressed my lips into a thin line to let him know that I was listening.

"Jace will be staying in New York for an extended period of time for some things he has to finish here. We're headed to his jet at this moment, which will take us back to Seattle. We'll return to the safehouse."

"Is that all?" I flicked my eyes open, staring at the man with hostility. "Nothing about tonight? No one is going to let me know anything at all?"

Trevor looked hesitant, so Jeremy was quick to speak up, shooting him a narrowed look. "That's all you need to know."

"How long is he staying in New York?" I numbly replied, staring blankly ahead as the driver pulled away from the gala.

"As long as he needs to." Trevor shortly answered, crossing his ankles and arms as he leaned back in his seat. "Get comfortable, it's a lengthy drive to where the jet were taking is stationed."

I slammed my lips shut, knowing it was best not to say anything more though I desperately wished to. Gritting my teeth, I resumed my previous position, shutting my eyes and slumping in the seat.

Silence enthused.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With exhaustion weighting on my mind, it was by some miracle that I didn't succumb to sleeping. I instead sat stiffly in between the two men, my hands fisted in my lap, with my eyes stubbornly shut. Vaguely I could make out Jeremy muttering something into a phone, his words spoken in a different language so I couldn't have a clue as to what he was saying.

I resisted thoughts about Jace from assaulting my mind, knowing that if they did I would go crazy. The idea that sweet Stella was somewhere with a bunch of dangerous men had guilt making nauseous and I couldn't stop myself from thinking that everyone was treating me the way they were because they had wished that I had been traded for Stella.

I couldn't blame them for that, though the idea still had pain searing through my chest.

And the worst thing was that I knew it wasn't over yet. Ricardo's plan was still going to unfold, more people were still going to continue getting hurt, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

"I need a fucking drink." Jeremy growled out, causing my eyes to snap open as he chucked his phone on the seat across from us. I quickly shut them once more, resuming my act of unconsciousness.

"How's he doing?" Trevor questioned curiously, his tone dark. "Still not stable?"

"Ash is try to get the fucking bullet out, though it's lodged in there real good. If he dies than Jace is going to be on a fucking murder spree. You know how he gets when one of our own dies..."

"How's Greg too?"

"No one gives two shits about Greg. But they're doing the regular stuff. He's not giving anything up. Which is why I need a fucking drink."

"There's scotch on the jet – the good stuff." Trevor nonchalantly informed him. They seemed to have not noticed that I was awake. He glanced down at his watch, before resuming his position of staring straight ahead. "We'll be there in about twenty."

I didn't bother asking how long it had been. The time had passed so slowly, I knew it had been hours.

"Boss wouldn't be too thrilled if I get drunk while watching over Savannah." My name was spat bitterly and I resisted the urge to flinch at it.

"Resentment?" Trevor laughed "Seems like there is a lot of that for the little girl."

"I'm not thrilled to be playing babysitter." Jeremy hissed out. "And that's exactly what we'll be doing for who know's how long? Jace should've fucking chose someone else."

Trevor scoffed "Don't be pissed that he's fucking a hot bitch and you have to pay to get some."

I gritted my teeth together, violently wishing that I could punch Trevor in his stupid face and correct him on his assumptions, no matter how close they were to being correct.

"Not like they'll still be fucking after what happened tonight." Jeremy snorted, a chuckle escaping his lips.

"Jace wouldn't be interested anyways based on the way he acted." Trevor mused, sounding interested. "Maybe, I should-"

My shoulders tensed, his words casting a violent sting of pain through me, though Jeremy was quick to interrupt.

"Don't even try." He guffawed. "Jace would fucking murder you. No one wants to be on his bad side and if he knew you were trying to..." He trailed off quietly, letting out a low whistle.

"Oh, come on." Trevor complained, sounding irritated. "He could barely look at her. He was pissed. Something more must've gone down in that room. I think we can both agree that he's done with her, and I wouldn't mind his sloppy seconds."

I bit down on my lip, wishing that the twisting in my stomach would stop.

"You're crazy, man." Jeremy laughed out loud. "You aren't getting none of that. And if any of the guys heard you say that-"

"Like they could do anything." Trevor cockily replied. "Plus, remember that Savannah is supposed to be taking Stella's place very soon. That was the plan remember? Might as well fuck it while I can."

"Good luck with that." Jeremy mocked.

I didn't bother listening to anything more, Trevor's words revealing a dose of reality to me that I would never forget and with that, and a dose of pain.

I was... a pawn?