Soar (The Empire Chronicles #1) Page 16

  “You’re not stereotyping at all, Case, huh?” Toby put his arm around her again.

  Case? That was his nickname for her?

  “Were y’all waiting on us?” Nelly tried to repress a smile.

  “Don’t go there, Nelly,” Toby warned. I held in a laugh. It wasn’t the first time a northerner tried to sound southern.

  “What? I can’t blend in?” She tried to look all innocent.

  “Allie said it for the first time last week.” Levi put a hand on her back.

  “Yeah…I’m going local.” Allie put her hands in the back pockets of her jeans.

  I laughed. “Don’t you mean loco?”

  Levi punched my arm. “You did not go there.”

  I shrugged. “It’s her fault.”

  Allie grinned. “Yes, I bring out his geeky side, and I’m proud of it.”

  “Jared has a geeky side?” Casey eyed me skeptically. “I can’t imagine that.”

  “It’s not so much geeky as it’s being a loser,” Levi taunted me.

  Allie pulled out her cell phone. “Change of plans. We need two cars.”

  “Hailey and Owen?” Levi asked before I could.

  “Yeah. She didn’t want to miss the fun.”

  I cleared my throat. “Fun? Only Hailey would find a prison fun.”

  “I think she meant meeting Casey.”

  “Who’s Hailey, and how does she know who I am?” Casey was funny. Sometimes she seemed so shy, but other times she’d speak her mind without a care.

  “Hailey’s my best friend and advisor. Her older brother, Owen, is Levi’s advisor.” Allie slipped her phone back in her purse. “And I told her about you.”

  Toby smiled. I wasn’t sure why it made him happy unless he assumed she’d told everyone Casey was with him.

  “Where are they?” I asked the obvious question. If they were together, they might as well just meet us at the prison. There was no point waiting for them to show up at the hotel.

  “Behind you.” Toby smiled like I’d said something stupid.

  “Hey!” Allie hugged Hailey. Girls were funny that way. If they went two days without seeing each other, they’d hug like it had been years.

  “Hey, long lost roommate.” Hailey had her long, red hair pulled back into some sort of braid. I’d known her since she was in diapers, and she’d never worn it that way.

  “I know! It’s been a long few days.”

  “You must be, Casey!” Hailey walked right on over and shook Casey’s hand.

  The expression on Casey’s face was priceless. “Uh, hi.”

  “Sorry. I’m just in a really good mood.”

  “Come on, Hailey. Casey was just attacked yesterday. Do you think she cares about your good mood?” I usually went into teasing older brother mode with Hailey. I guess it was a side effect of knowing her for so long.

  “I care.” Casey smiled. I wasn’t sure if it was genuine or if it was an act to seem tough.

  “I beat Owen at Foosball. I actually beat him!”

  I laughed. “Seriously? Wow, are you getting lazy, man?”

  “I don’t think so. She’s just that good now.”

  “That’s awesome, Hail!” Allie hugged her again.

  Casey looked at all of us questioningly. “Is Foosball a big deal for Pterons?”

  Hailey laughed. “Not really, but beating my older brother is always satisfying, and blowing him away? Priceless.”

  Casey laughed. “I bet.”

  I wished I knew what was going on in her head. How did she really feel about hanging out with us? If she was sleeping with Toby, she couldn’t be that freaked out, but maybe she’d freak out later. Allie had taken the revelation really well, but the girl Owen told flipped and moved across the country to get away from him. I was glad that, so far, Casey wasn’t running. Of course, I would have to do something about the bed she was sleeping in.

  After some discussion, I ended up in the backseat of Allie’s Land Rover with Toby and Casey. Hailey drove everyone else in her jeep. I was nice enough to take the middle seat, although Toby didn’t seem to appreciate the gesture.

  We’d been on the road for about twenty minutes when Casey started in on the questions. I couldn’t blame her, but man every question led to another.

  “Why are we sure that Bryant knows anything? Do you guys trust Marv that much?”

  “Ask Toby. He’s the one who says we should.”

  “He’s telling the truth.” Toby leaned over me toward Casey. “Bryant knows something.”

  “And why do we think he’s going to talk to us?” She looked away from me, like maybe she was afraid I didn’t want to talk about my brother.

  I took care of that concern. “My brother will talk if he’s pissed off enough. He can’t shut his mouth when he’s mad.”

  Allie turned around from the passenger seat. “I’ll second that, and he’s scary when he’s mad.”

  Levi put a hand on her leg. He still felt guilty that she’d been kidnapped by Bryant a few months earlier. I felt guilty too. It sucks having your flesh and blood turn out to be a traitor to your best friends.

  I hoped Casey wouldn’t follow up on Allie’s comment. Hearing it again would just upset Levi, which would make the day that much worse. Levi was a royal pain—pun intended—when he was in a bad mood.

  “Is Angola a state prison? Why do they let you keep your prisoners there? I mean, do they get the same trials and everything?”

  “They don’t let us keep our prisoners there, we let them keep theirs.” Levi looked at her in the rearview mirror. She seemed nervous around him. Luckily, I didn’t have that effect on her. Too bad I couldn’t get another effect out of her.

  “Oh. Do we need special clearance to get in?”

  Toby reached over me to take her hand. “Don’t worry. It’s all taken care of.”

  What the hell was wrong with him? Did she want someone babying her like that?

  “Angola Prison Rodeo?” Casey pointed at a sign. “It that for real?”

  Allie turned in her seat again. “Uh huh. I’ve never been though.”

  “Do Pteron’s participate?” Casey asked.

  Levi turned off toward the first gate. “No, it wouldn’t be a competition if they did. It’s for humans only.”

  With such a large group, I expected we’d have to go through the normal security line, but luckily the guy running the check recognized Levi. He probably earned himself a fat raise by quickly ushering us through once we assured him none of us had weapons. We had no need for them. We were stronger using our own hands, and guns just seemed stupid. Where was the fun or skill in that?

  We went down the stairwell that led us underground to The Society section of the prison. Instead of the regular prison guards, we used our own, and even I felt a little intimidated by the size of the men greeting us.

  “Your majesty, we are honored to have you visit.” The largest of the guards bowed his head slightly.

  “Thank you. As we told you, we are here to see one prisoner in particular.”

  He nodded. “Yes. We have Mr. Florence ready.”

  My skin prickled. It was just another reminder that my brother had made such a stupid decision of where to put his loyalty. I hated hearing our family name associated with a prisoner.

  Levi noticed my reaction and cast me the closest thing to an understanding look he had in his repertoire. I nodded and he turned back to the guard. “Let’s see him then.”

  Toby pulled Casey off to the side and I listened in. “I don’t think they’re going to let you in the actual interrogation room.”

  Casey nodded nervously. “Okay. So I just wait outside?”

  “I’m not going in either.” Allie stopped, causing Levi to stop moving as well. “You can wait with me.”

  “Okay.” Casey nodded again. I wouldn’t have voiced it, but I was glad Toby wasn’t even giving her a choice. Talking to Bryant would be hard enough without worrying about the stupid things he’d say to a couple of human gi
rls.

  In the end, only Levi, Marv, Toby and I went in. Owen wanted to, but Levi suggested he look out for the others, in other words, Allie.

  Bryant was seated at a large rectangular table. With his hands and feet tied to the chair, he shouldn’t have looked intimidating, but he did. There was just something about the set of my brother’s jaw that made him appear as a force to be reckoned with.

  “Oh, look at this. All my friends came over to play.” His icy glare landed on me.

  “Hello, brother.” Two could play at that game.

  “To what do I owe the honor of this visit?”

  “Don’t play dumb.” Levi stepped closer to the table.

  “I’m not playing at anything. They don’t even give me toys here.” He didn’t need to say what toys he was referring to. I was glad the girls weren’t in the room.

  Bryant liked to brag about his sexual exploits, especially after Dad sent him to Europe because he fell for a Pteron. Dad’s plan to get him away from the Pteron worked, but it also created a monster. Bryant had always been arrogant, but he came back something much worse.

  “I already told them you’re involved.” Marv spoke for the first time since we’d arrived at the prison. His whole body was tense, and I could almost see the fear rolling off him.

  “Did you? How thoughtful.” Bryant sneered.

  “They were going to find out anyway.” Marv sounded a little more confident this time.

  “Maybe, maybe not.” Bryant turned his head to look at Levi. “The new king isn’t exactly known for his brains.”

  Levi laughed. “And you are?”

  “Even my idiot brother is smarter than you, Laurent.”

  “Is he?” Levi tried to hide a smile. He wasn’t getting angry, and that in itself was impressive. Maybe Allie was rubbing off on him.

  “Have you figured out why you needed an Enchantress yet?” Bryant referred to the title of what Allie was. An Enchantress was a human who had the power to pick the next Pteron king. Allie was the first one in several hundred years.

  “Don’t even think about Allie.” Levi crossed his arms.

  “I think about her a lot. She was the last girl I saw before getting thrown in here after all. Who else would I think about having wrapped around my dick?”

  The table flew across the room and Levi had Bryant, still attached to the chair up against the wall. “Think you’re funny, huh? Think you can talk about my queen that way? I have news for you, your life just got much shorter.”

  Toby inched toward Bryant too. I guess he did still care about Allie in his own way.

  Levi dropped the chair. It fell backwards in the process and left Bryant sprawled on the floor.

  “Is there a problem in here?” The guard tentatively stepped inside.

  The girls all peeked in. Not smart.

  “So you did bring me toys. Excellent. I’ll take the taller one since Allie’s already taken. She definitely looks like she’ll provide some good entertainment.” He licked his lips and Toby punched him in the face. I wanted to do the same thing, but Levi restrained me.

  “No. No problem at all. We were just leaving.” Levi kicked the remnants of the table as we turned our backs to Bryant.

  “Leaving?” I gave Levi a disbelieving look. “We can’t leave yet. We need answers.”

  “We’ll get them. I know an expert at extracting information.”

  “Let me do it.” I caught Levi’s arm before he could leave the room.

  “No. I can’t expect you to torture your own brother.”

  “Levi, I can handle this.”

  “No. You can’t. End of story.” He stepped through the doorway.

  Levi was wrong. Bryant was my brother. It was my job to get him to talk.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Casey

  Toby left me alone in our hotel suite while he went to some meeting with Levi and a few others. I understood that I couldn’t be included in everything, but I was antsy and refused to just sit around my hotel room while in a completely new city. I was willing to wait a while before venturing out, but I wasn’t going to do it in my room. I’d noticed a bar in the lobby. It couldn’t hurt to go down and order a drink or something.

  I put on my boots and slipped my phone, room key, and a credit card in my pocket. After double checking that the door to our suite was locked, I took the elevator to the lobby.

  There were a few people sitting at the bar, but I found an empty stool.

  “Can I get you something?” a male bartender with dark hair asked.

  “Just a Coke, please.” I could use the caffeine and sugar.

  “Sure. Coming right up.” He filled a glass with ice and Coke then set it down in front of me.

  I gave him my room number. Toby wouldn’t mind me adding it to our room tab. I took a sip.

  “Casey, hey!” Nelly smiled before taking the stool next to mine.

  “Hey.” Talk about good timing. I was glad to see a familiar face and a reminder that I wasn’t the only one being left out.

  “Enjoying your stay so far?” she asked before turning to the bartender. “Scotch on the rocks.”

  He nodded and got her the drink.

  “Sure. So far, I’ve seen a prison and the inside of the hotel.” I used my cocktail napkin to wipe some condensation from the bar top.

  She laughed. “Very exciting. What are you up to now?”

  “I’m just killing time. When do you think they’ll be done?”

  “Why? Looking for Toby?” She gave me a knowing look.

  “Maybe.” I hid my smile in my drink.

  “He’s definitely an attractive guy. It’s too bad he’s unavailable,” she mumbled.

  “What do you mean?” I moved my straw around the glass.

  “He’s good at pretending he’s over her, but he’s not.”

  “By her you mean Allie?” I sure hoped there wasn’t another ex-girlfriend, but hearing he wasn’t over anyone didn’t feel great.

  “Yeah. He’s crazy in love with her still.”

  “Really?” I’m sure there was some iciness in my tone. He’d left me with a very different impression.

  “You know what’s funny?” She sipped her drink.

  “What?”

  “The first thing Toby mentioned to me about you was how much you reminded him of Allie.”

  “You don’t say.” I pushed away my glass. Suddenly finishing it didn’t sound so great.

  “Yeah. But I’d take that as a compliment. I mean, you’ve seen her right? She’s gorgeous. Who could compare to that?”

  My stomach dropped. “Yeah. Right.”

  “Oh, honey.” She put a hand on my arm. “I’m sorry. You really fell for him, huh?”

  I let out a deep breath. “Yeah. I did.”

  “Toby’s never going to settle down. No one can ever live up to Allie.”

  “You really think he’s going to spend his life alone?” I thought about the heartbroken expression on his face every day at the coffee shop. Was he really okay living like that?

  “He has work. I think that’s enough for him.” She took another long drink.

  “I guess so.”

  I forced myself to sit and chat with her a few minutes longer, but I needed some fresh air. After excusing myself, I headed outside and took a walk around the French Quarter. The loud music spilling out of the bars and clubs normally would have lured me in, but not that night. I was frustrated.

  It all made sense. Toby hadn’t tried anything even when I invited him into my bed. I’d written it off as him being a nice guy, but what if Nelly was right? What if he wasn’t over Allie? Was I really going to sit around waiting for a guy again? I’d been hurt that way once before, and I never wanted to experience it again.

  I walked around for at least an hour. I stopped at a few tourist shops, but I didn’t buy anything. There was something about buying souvenirs on this kind of trip that felt wrong.

  I kept thinking about Toby and Allie. I’d caught him look
ing at her several times over the past few days. I’d given him the benefit of the doubt and assumed it was curiosity, but what if it was more than that? What if he really was still in love with her? Nelly was right about one thing. I couldn’t compare to Allie.

  After circling around for a while, I made a decision. I wasn’t going to make an effort to chase Toby. If he wanted me, he’d let me know. If he wanted to sit around and pine for Allie, I’d let him do it alone. I couldn’t blame him completely. I’d known there was something wrong when I first met him. Jess had basically confirmed it, yet I’d pressed on. Sometimes it’s easier to turn a blind eye than to face the truth.

  I refused to feel sorry for myself as I walked back to the hotel on a mission. I was going to enjoy the rest of my time in New Orleans. Toby and I weren’t in a relationship or anything. If I didn’t move on, I’d be just as bad as him.

  I reached the hotel just in time to see Jared walking out. If there was ever a sign, this was one. Just the sight of him snapped me out of my daze. I followed him when he turned the corner. I had no idea what I was doing, but somehow that didn’t matter.

  “Where are you going?”

  He spun around. “Casey?”

  “Where are you going?” I repeated the words.

  “Nowhere that concerns you.”

  “Can I come?” I forced myself to sound confident.

  He shook his head. “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because it’s not safe.”

  For some reason, I started to cry. Maybe it was just the sting of rejection or a delayed reaction to all the craziness going on. “If it’s not safe, why are you going?”

  “Are you okay? You’re crying.”

  “Please just ignore it. Can you do that for me?” I didn’t want him worried about me. I wanted to have fun. I wanted to stop sitting around and actually live.

  A look of concern crossed his face, but then he nodded before continuing like he didn’t notice I was desperately trying to hold it together. “Because sometimes you have to take things into your own hands.”

  “You’re going back to Angola.” I knew it as plain as day.

  “Maybe.” His brow furrowed. If we ever played poker, I now knew his tell.

  “I’m coming.”

  “I’m not taking you. It’s dangerous and a long flight.”