Chapter 73

Erin’s POV

Bane had the location of the Slayer organization. I stared at Henry from across the kitchen table with the small radio placed between us.

Gavin had done exactly what we wanted him to do without his knowledge that he was actually helping us. He was able to make Bane remember everything and now we had more than enough information.

“We should inform Theo of this information,” Henry suggested as he turned off the radio.

He had written down the coordinates of the organization and written some notes on what Bane was saying. I hoped that Gavin would be able to get out of there without getting hurt or being harmed in the process. As confused as Bane was, there was a part of me that still didn’t trust him.

Maybe it was because of the rumors I had heard about him, or maybe it was because of the way he was when I first encountered him.

Or perhaps it was an intuitive feeling.

Whatever it may be, I felt like there was something off with Bane. Like he wasn’t telling us the entire story and every he knew.

I decided to push the thought out of my mind.

Stressing about it wasn’t going to do us any good right now. I couldn’t waste any more time; we finally had the location of the Slayer organization. We needed to go right away.

“I’ll return to headquarters and talk to Theo,” Henry said, standing on his feet. “You should have Gavin lock down the hospital. I’m still thinking that the woman in the red cloak is a patient there.”

“You don’t think she escaped during the transfer?” I asked, raising my brows.

“She could have… or maybe she didn’t. But it’s still safer if we lock down the hospital,” Henry said in return.

“Gavin doesn’t want me to get involved in any of this. How am I supposed to ask him to lock down the hospital?”

“I’m sure you’ll think of something,” Henry said with a wink.

The thought of seeing Gavin after I hurt him by leaving worried me, but I didn’t let that known to Henry.

It would also be a good idea to make sure Gavin doesn’t run in the direction of the Slayers now that he knows where they are located.

…

Gavin’s POV

“Forget about this whole conversation,” Gavin said to Bane, releasing his hold on Bane’s mind.

Bane stumbled backward for a moment as his trance was broken. He looked around, wildly, trying to figure out what had happened and where he was. Gavin was out of sight of him, so to Bane, he was completely alone.

Gavin returned to his packhouse with dismay written all over his face. He now knew the location of the Slayer organization. Now he needed a team to raid the territory. But he needed to be smart about this.

By instinct, Gavin went to the room Erin had once stayed in.

A jab of disappointment ached in his chest as he stood in her empty room. He glanced around the room, feeling an overwhelming sense of defeat and then his eyes landed on a small notebook from across the room.

It was placed on the desk that she often sat at when she spent her days here. He frowned and went toward the notebook; flipping it open, the first thing he noticed was the name “Jessie” written on the inside cover.

It looked to be traced repeatedly with a pen; the blue ink oozing through and smearing onto the other pages.

The thought of Jessie left an unsettled feeling in the pit of Gavin’s stomach.

He knew how close Jessie and Erin were during their childhood and he never wanted Erin to feel bad about her friend. But he couldn’t stand Jessie when he knew her in high school.

At first, he didn’t mind her. She was incredibly close to Erin. They did everything together. But then, once he began getting more serious with Erin, it was like Jessie was feeling left out and envious of the relationship they shared.

He thought back to the day he and Erin decided to make things official. He was on top of the world excited and he spotted Jessie in her locker.

Jessie was known to be teased for her weight, but whenever Gavin was around, the teasing seemed to have ceased. He was very popular and a handsome jock, nobody would dare mess with Gavin Pierce.

Jessie was alone at the locker when Gavin was walking by on his way to practice.

A few of Jessie’s books fell out of her locker and scattered across the ground. She groaned miserably and bent to pick them up. Only to be hollered at and whistled at by another group of students. They were shouting unflattering and obscene things to her, making her face turn a bright shade of red.

He made himself known to the group of students, stepping in front of Jessie to shield her from the bullies. The color in their faces drained as they looked up at him. Each of them stammering over their words and shivering as Gavin poured his eyes into them.

They muttered their apologies before taking off.

He rolled his eyes and turned toward Jessie, helping her to her feet as she finished picking up the last of her books.

“Thanks, Gavin,” she said, slamming the locker door shut. “It seems you always show up at the perfect moments.”

“I was just passing by,” Gavin shrugged. “It’s no big deal.”

‘It’s a big deal to me…” she said, peering up at him. “You don’t know how much it means to me…”

He gave her a small smile.

“I’m glad I could help.”

“If you are looking for Erin, I think she was staying a little longer in class to finish some stuff up.”

“I see,” Gavin said. “No, I was actually on my way to practice. But can you tell her to meet me by the bleachers later?”

He began to walk past her, but she grabbed onto his arm, stopping him. He turned to her, surprised by the quick motion as she batted her long lashes up at him.

“Or I could meet you behind the bleachers instead?”

This was surprising for him to hear; she was Erin’s best friend. His heart fell into his stomach as soon as she bit onto her bottom lip and continued to peer up at him.

She was completely serious.

“I… uh…” his young mind stammered over his words.

“I won’t tell her… it could be our little secret…” she said, stepping closer to him.

“Jessie…” he said in a low tone; he was still in disbelief, but he managed to take an unsteady step away from her. “That’s not a good idea. You are her best friend. What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking that I’m sick of sitting on the back burner while Erin gets everything,” Jessie said, stepping closer to him. “I’m sick of watching her win all the time and I only lose.”

“You don’t always lose…” he began to say but then he paused and rephrased the sentence. “It’s not a competition.”

“It feels like one… and I’m in last place,” she murmured. She reached for his shoulder, placing her hand on his bicep, and squeezing it gently. “I want to win at least once… I want what I want, and Gavin… I want you.”

He looked around to see if anyone else was seeing this, but the halls had grown empty.

“You aren’t thinking clearly Jessie…” Gavin said he was beginning to grow a bit nervous.

She grabbed onto his other shoulder and pulled herself close to him. He knew better than to shove a lady away, despite how badly he wanted to.

“I’ve never thought clearer in my life,” she murmured.

And then, she kissed him!