"There are friends, there is family, and then there are friends that become family." — Unknown

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Chapter 65
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Luke

With low expectations, I watched Levi fail to attempt the shuffling of his cards for the millionth time, tonight.

"Is it ready, yet?" I asked, annoyed.

Levi shot a glare to me. "Does it look ready?"

Kade rolled his eyes, picking up his beer. "It looks like you bullshitted us."

I nodded in agreement, propping my head on my shut fist. "Again."

Levi cursed under his breath as he attempted to fold the cards under the other. They all flew around our table, some even hitting him in the face before finally falling into his lap.

Kade and I snickered, earning a glare in return. It wasn't a shock, though; Levi sucked at anything card related.

He gathered the ones that were on top of the table, jerking a look of determination over us. "Ready?"

Kade lifted a brow at our friend. "I've already told you I'm not going going over there..." He paused to motion to the crowded table full of gamblers with cards, predictions, and bets. "Just to lose my money because of you."

I chuckled around the opening of my beer. "Yeah, count me out of that shit. You've lost us enough."

Levi shoved a hand through his locks of hair, a frown drooping his lips. "When?"

Kade spoke first, "Four years ago, Wayne's kickback, eight-hundred dollars."

I picked up on it, then, "Three years ago, that red-headed chick's pool party, a thousand dollars and we had to practically fight an entire fucking room of people to stop them from kidnapping your drunk ass—"

"Okay, okay, damn, enough living in the past." Levi shared us both in an agitated scowl. "Ever heard of a character development? Give a guy a break." His hands clasped together, a big grin following up. "Now, I'm ready for anything. Let's go."

"Levi," I drawled out around a sigh. The fucker wasn't planning on stopping until I pulled this card.

He flipped one of the cards over, dark brows drawn in close on the other. "Mhm?"

"If you don't get the fuck out of my face before I finish this beer," I said, tilting my bottle at him. "I'm forcing you into the car, throwing you into a duck pond, and leaving you at the park."

At this, his sharp, green eyes swept up to me. "What was that?"

Kade chuckled down at his inked knuckles, immediately catching on. "That, or the aquarium. Remember what happened at the penguin exhibit?"

"Had to call the ambulance on the poor fucker, didn't they?"

The story nearly felt like a fever dream when I thought it over, sometimes. During our sophomore year, the school took our grade to the aquarium. The moment we had the chance, Kade, Levi, and I snuck off to smoke a blunt and crack a couple of beers just for the hell of it.

Levi, as strange as the shit is, has always had a fear of flightless birds. As if that weren't weird on its own, it wasn't just individually, but more of the entire spectrum. That, mixed with being high off god knows what and buzzed from the beer, was the perfect antidote for disaster.

Since we had to pass the penguin exhibit in order to get back to our class unnoticed, Levi had planned on sprinting right by it as he did on the way there. Kade and I offered to give him our jackets to cover his face in order to keep him calm, but the cocky fucker let his pride get to him, and claimed that he could do it on his own.

So, we let him.

As soon as we passed the penguin exhibit, though, it all went to shit. Levi had thought that he was running, when in reality, he was just standing and trembling like a little bitch in front of a baby penguin, who was the closest to the glass.

As soon as the baby penguin even twitched, Levi passed out.

Kade and I tried to catch him, but the fucker was so distraught, he ended up going in whichever direction, then hitting his head. The ambulance was called, and we weren't allowed on or near school trips from then on out. It was a story Ryder and I never stopped using against him.

An uneasy laugh came from Levi as he glanced over our serious expressions. His eyes fell to our drinks, then returned to us with means of escape. It was stupid since we had two left, but he was willing to do anything to avoid us, right now.

"Next rounds on me. Sound good?" he offered, well more stated. "Actually, you know what? For the rest of the night, I've got it."

Without waiting for a response, Levi grabbed our empty bottles from the table, then stood up so quickly, some of the cards fell to the floor. In a matter of seconds, he had crossed the space in order to get away from us.

All three of us had been here all day. The 'Stomp,' as it was called, was basically a chill-out spot for the participants of the cages. We usually came here after our matches.

This place was much more closer to home than the cages, though, but was more of an exclusive for members, in particular. There were drinks, drugs, girls, gambling, and basically everything from the cages, but with a lesser obvious display of violence.

Even though we weren't directly involved in the life anymore, the higher-up bosses knew and respected all three of us. The money and reputations we had racked up here couldn't be easily forgotten. We still had the same privileges and respect, no matter of our status.

I hadn't been here in months, though. As much money, enemies, and skills accumulated over the years from it all, I didn't care. It was strange as shit, since I never thought I'd feel so unfamiliar in a space like this, but I'd found out one of many things over these past couple of months: if Maggie wasn't with me, then I was never home.

Her, Kimberly, and Raven were all at the mall. They had been there since noon, and forced us to go elsewhere. I guessed they wanted their girl time, or shit like that.

I could respect it, but shit...

I missed the fuck out of my girl.

These two crybaby fuckers of mine did, too. It was honestly a miracle we hadn't swung on each other, yet.

Levi used humor to cope with it, and Kade was just sending death glares to anyone and everything who wasn't Kimberly.

The only thing that was sustaining me through the day was the fact that I'd get to see her in a moment or two. It was making me all giddy and shit, honestly. Even without the date we had planned, being around her was honestly my second most favorite thing in the world.

The first was her, obviously.

I had texted her about thirty minutes ago, though. It was a bit strange that she hadn't answered, especially after viewing the message.

I knew Maggie better than I knew myself. Even when we weren't together, I had noted a number of things about her that I never managed to forget, even when we despised each other.

She usually didn't answer messages for a long period of time, despite seeing them. She wouldn't click it or anything like that in order to stop the sender from realizing that she saw their message. Instead, she would leave it alone, then respond with a lie that she fell asleep or some shit.

She didn't do that to me, though. She hadn't done it when we were enemies, so I knew she wouldn't start now. Besides, even if she did, she still wouldn't have viewed it first. It was weird.

Jesus.

I sounded like a private investigator or some shit.

Chuckling at myself, I zeroed back in on Kade, who was glaring down at his phone. I could see glimpses of a picture of him and Kimberly on his wallpaper from here. I chuckled at his frown, despite how badly it made me want to check my own phone, again.

I lifted the beer to my lips. "Think Levi's ever gonna get over that soft shit?"

Kade scoffed, placing his phone down. "I don't know if you're the one who should be talking about soft shit."

"The fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"I'm just saying: I'm glad I finally know what to bring up in order to shut you up." Chuckling, he reached for his phone, again, before adding in a snicker, "I've seen you stomp a fucker's face in a million times over, and you're scared of kangaroos."

My skin began to itch with agitation; of course he knew. "And, how do you know that?"

"Our girls are best friends," he shrugged it off, remaining casual. "Maggie told Kimberly and Raven, and Kimberly told me."

I scowled. That smartass of mine.

That was fine, though. I knew something, too.

My beer clinked with his in order to gain his attention. His brown eyes darted up to mine with annoyance.

I started it off with a smirk. "If I took you to an animal shelter, right now, what would happen?"

Kade balanced his arms over his chest, a bored expression settling over his face. "Not a thing because it's an animal shelter. What the fuck would be so scary about it?"

"Even with bunnies there?"

I saw his lips fall by the smallest bit before he recovered, but that was enough. Got him.

With a subtle shake of the head, he waved it off, recovering his nonchalance. "Again, what the fuck would be so scary about it? Because I don't see it."

I tilted my head at him. "Really?"

"Really."

Fine. My palm pressed against the table to help myself up. "Let's go to a shelter, then."

His eyes squinted at me. "Why?"

"I just wanna go and see one for myself." I continued on until I was practically hanging off the cushion seat. When he didn't move, I shot a look at him. "You coming?"

His head fell, gaze set in a glare over his hands. "I'm not going."

I heard him, but I loved fucking with the son of a bitch.

"Oh, come on, Ryder," I pressed, tilting my head at the exit. "I've been thinking about getting my girl a bunny for a while—"

Kade grumbled another curse, leaning back into his seat with his arms crossed. His glare bounced over me. "Who told you I was scared of them?"

"My girl isn't the only one who betrayed me," I mused, earning an eye roll from him. I settled back into my seat, letting one leg hang out the side for comfort. "Kimberly told Maggie, and of course, she told me."

Kade's black strands moved back with him as he groaned, shaking his head. Despite the glare he wore, I could see the amusement rising just as well, too.

Downing the last of my beer, it thumped against the table once I placed it back down. The only solution I could find was the only one he'd probably accept.

I shrugged at him. "I say that we never bring this shit up to each other, again."

Kade nodded, then lifted his body from his chair just enough. As soon as I realized his intention, I repeated the action, pulling out my wallet.

We both slapped a hundred on the table, sliding them over to each other. This was our idea of sealing shit.

His honest eyes flickered over mine. "We never bring it up again, then." His tatted fingers, which were lined with the date of his and Kimberly's dating anniversary, tapped against the bill.

My own did the same, sliding his hundred over. We both tucked them away after the exchange. "And, we sure as hell never bring it up around Levi."

"Where is he with our drinks, anyway?" Kade inquired, eyes roaming the large room for our friend.

I turned in my seat to try aiding in the search. It was difficult to find sight behind the groups of staring girls, who were only a couple of feet away, attention locked on us and each other, too. I already knew why. They were attempting to find the courage to come to our table to talk to us, but I skipped right past them as if they were ghosts.

Before everything, Kade, Levi, and I would have had a different girl on either arm, a drink in hand, and a couple of approaching fucks on the horizon. The very thought made my stomach twist now, though.

I didn't miss a single ounce of it or them, honestly. I would change it all for Maggie time and time again, but in all honesty, it wasn't really an exchange for me. No other girl, or any form of betrayal like that existed for me when it came to her. I had every single thing I wanted, things that I didn't even know I wanted in her, and her alone.

Everyone in this town knew who we were, so they knew our girls and that they were ours just as much as we were theirs for a reason, too. Attempts that ignored that fact were nothing, but a failing, risky game.

"I can't believe Kimberly told all of you," Kade murmured around a sigh. "I swear, I've never had this many chest pains until she came into my life, man."

I swung around from my search, my eyes widening at his confession. "You have them about your girl, too?" I thought it was just me, but apparently not.

"You kidding me? I had to down some heartburn pills just the other day. Levi had some, too. Those girls of ours never fail to keep us on our shit, that's for sure."

I chuckled, turning around to find Levi, again in a crowd that was only thickening. "Nice to know I'm not alone, then."

"Yeah," he sighed out, the sound dazed and light. I could practically hear the smile through his words. "I wouldn't have it any other way, though."

I nodded in agreement. I'd keep and take anything as long as it involved Maggie.

When I felt Kade's eyes digging in the back of my head, I glanced back. As expected, he was staring right at me.

"What?" I questioned.

He raised a brow at me before they both shot up. "You aren't going to talk shit on what I said, or anything?"

"No." I shrugged. "Why would I?"

Kade rolled his lips under the other to stop from laughing. I could understand why he had the assumption. I had done it many, many times before, but that was before I saw where he was coming from.

"How have you and your girl been doing, though?" he asked this time.

Just the mention of her had my lips stretching into a grin, and my emotions spinning in the palm of her hand. I didn't even try to fight it.

"Jesus." Humor shone in his brown eyes. "You should have seen your face when I asked you that shit. Grinning like it's Christmas morning or some shit."

I rolled my eyes, sinking back into the cushion. "Shut up, man." I tried to reel my grin back in, but at the thought of my baby, it wasn't going anywhere. "We've been good, though. I'm taking her out as soon as we get home."

"You wanna double it?" he questioned. At my look of surprise, he shrugged. "Don't think I'm trying to be nice. I'm only asking because I know Kimberly wants to have a movie night with her friends at the lake house, but doesn't want to ask me because she thinks I'll say no."

I chuckled. "Won't you?"

"In my head, yeah..." Shrugging, he clasped his hands together, a defeated expression whizzing through his expression as he sighed. "In her face, though, I'm honestly too chicken-shit to ever tell her no."

I really wanted Maggie to myself for the night, but I couldn't be selfish. Kimberly and Raven were like sisters to her, and I knew how much she wanted to catch up on lost time. I was more than proud of her for doing so, too, so I could suck it up for a couple of hours.

I looked to Kade. "I'm in. We'll ask them about it as soon as we see them." Once he nodded, I turned to the rowdy crowd, again. "Are Levi and Raven gonna be busy or something?"

"Mhm, something about them having to go to her mom's banquet or some shit; I didn't care enough to remember."

I nodded, scrunching my eyes to try finding Levi in the mix of people. That was one slippery motherfucker.

"I'm glad you and your girl are on track, though," I heard Kade add from behind me.

I turned to face him, again. For some reason, he was persistent on bringing Maggie and I up. For what, though, I had no idea.

I figured there was something else he wanted to say, but then again, Kade was never really afraid of anything, especially confrontation. If he had something to say, then he'd say it, no matter what it may be or who it hurt.

I went right for it. "You got something to say, Ryder?"

"Did I say I did?"

I shrugged, flicking my head back at him. "Nah, but anytime that shit changes, clear your throat and speak the fuck up if you need to. Don't keep up with whatever the fuck you're doing."

He chuckled, tilting his empty bottle at me. "I'm not doing anything. I just wanted to tell you to be careful. Basically, to not be an idiot, and to not fuck it or her up."

My lips parted for a response, but nothing came out. Kade took it with a casual expression to the others, but a serious one to me.

Sighing, he drummed his fingers against the wooden table before sitting up.

He waved a hand over me. "You know that we don't do this deep, sensitive shit, but you're my brother. I only want the best for you, and ever since I saw Maggie come in your life, that's what I've seen from you," he began. "I want more of that for you, and I don't want you to lose it or even risk losing it. I wish I had someone tell me all of this shit when it came to Kimberly, but I figured it out on the way. I'm not in the very least perfect, but I guess I'm doing something right if she's still here, so I'm going to go ahead and tell you, too."

I didn't move, but I knew he knew I was listening.

Raking a hand over his jaw, it locked shut for a moment as he considered his words. Once he had it, he met my gaze.

"It's cool for the shit to be scary," he shrugged. "It just means that you're afraid of losing them, or fucking it up. So, don't. I know the shit sounds obvious, but trust me, there's always a solution to whatever the fuck goes on. You're either going to have one, or you're going to make one." His eyes ran me over. "Either way, don't be an idiot. I know that's your default choice out of very, very limited options, but it can't and shouldn't be this time."

"What the fuck kind of motivation is that last part?"

"A good kind," he responded casually, shrugging. "I'm just saying: you know me, you, and Levi are the poster boys for not knowing a damn thing about love, or any of that sweet shit. The exact opposite, really. We're all mean, selfish assholes with daddy issues who used our fists or tempers as solutions before anything else. We've never had shit but that, a lengthy line of fuck-ups, and each other."

That was more than true. Despite its crudeness, it was definitely put in more simple terms. In the fucked question we called life and in the wretched excuses of families we had all been born into, we had found each other and our first real family in it, too. As fucked and as violent as it was, it was still ours.

Kade nodded me over. "But, that shit was before our girls came in, and it's gonna stay that way. So don't ruin something that's already good by resorting to your old shit, and don't ever fuck with your girl or her head in doing that or anything else," he continued, his face stilled with seriousness. "Just think about the aftermath if you think you're about to fuck up or some shit. Always think about if an argument or something so little and temporary is worth losing your whole world. If you really love and care about her, you don't purposefully try to hurt her. Instead, you do the opposite, and you do everything in your power to keep her. Even when you have her, you never stop loving and supporting the shit out of her, too."

I nodded along, adding all of this shit to a mental checklist. It was helpful, considering his experience. Now, a part of me wished I had talked to him or Levi when I was attempting to figure all of this shit out with Maggie. It probably would have helped, but with my denial during that time, I doubted it.

My head bobbed once I was sure I had it all down pact. "I'll remember it."

"Good," he murmured before raising his voice to be heard, "And, watch that rude ass mouth of yours too, because if I find out that you fucked up and used it to hurt your girl, again, I'll personally smack you in the shit myself. I'm not dealing with your drunk ass at three in the morning ever again." The humor in his tone made me smirk.

I crossed my arms, amused. "Throw the punch then, bitch."

Kade smirked. "If you want a round with me, you know all you have to do is ask, Vaudest."

I chuckled, flicking my head at the exit; I'd been wanting a fight with the cocky bastard all day. "Let's go, then—"

"Ryder! Vaudest!"

Both of our heads raised at the call.

Levi was surrounded by three other men, hands raised in surrender, and a cocky grin on that made me want to punch him. His eyes darted over to us for help, despite him being able to take all three without help. He just wanted our attention, though.

"We could ditch him," I suggested.

"Fuck that," Kade dismissed, balancing his hand on his fist, and pointing at Levi. "Let's see the fucker pretend to struggle for a minute. It's always my favorite part."

I chuckled, nodding in agreement. On cue, our bartender came by to drop off another round of shots for our table. This was going to be entertaining.

"Ugly fuckers of mine in the corner!" Levi shouted, stepping back into a wide open space to give him more leverage in his fight. His eyes squinted at us from his spot, nearly looking offended at our nonchalance. "Did you not hear my 'avengers assemble' war cry or some shit?"

Kade and I raised our glasses to him in a far toast. We earned a scowl in return.

I chuckled at him. "Good luck!"

The three men edged upon Levi, cracking their knuckles and popping the bones that weren't meant to be popped, but were being used just for intimidation. Levi pretended to mirror a picture of fear, all nervous and shaky, despite how the next couple of minutes would transpire.

Levi was the only one of us who could keep his temper under wraps for the longest amount of time. People usually took his humor, and expected him to be the nicest out of us, when that shit was far from true. Kade and I chuckled at the theory every time we heard it.

It took a lot more to get him riled up, but that was for a good, safe reason. When his rage came out, it was a strenuous task in getting it back into place. Kade and I had to knock him out a couple of times to stop him from catching a murder charge in fights that had gone too far. The fucker was out for blood the moment the situation arose. He just kept it hidden behind humor and smiles.

Kade sighed, downing his first shot, but it was water. I was pretty sure I'd read a few years ago that an overconsumption of alcohol could influence his pills and him, so I didn't try throwing more drinks on him. "Think he gambled the wrong people, then tried to get out of it in all of the wrong ways?"

"You know he did." I threw mine back, bracing the burn of the tequila down my throat. Once I had it down, I sighed. "Should we help him?"

Just as the question left my lips, we saw Levi get started. He threw a punch that sent one of the poor fuckers over the pool table until he rolled to the ground with a groan. The room rattled with cries of both fear and excitement, but it all doubled the moment Levi started to box the other.

Kade rolled his eyes, waving him off. "Nah. This is one of those 'think about the consequences' lessons I was telling you about."

I cocked my head. "What do you mean?"

"The thinking part is that Kimberly's gonna find out I've been fighting and I don't want to upset or worry her. The consequence is that she'll have my ass in the guest room for the night, because of it."

I chuckled. "You serious?"

"I wish I was kidding," he scoffed, rolling his eyes, again. He attempted to hide a smile, but it broke free, anyway.

I nodded, staring down at the top of my beer. "Maggie, too." She had warned me earlier this morning to stay out of trouble, and I found myself agreeing to it the moment she turned those green eyes to me. The girl had more influence on me than she knew.

I tipped my head at Kade with a sigh. I knew he was thinking the same thing. "What the fuck happened to us, man?"

That was an understatement. There were a million things I had sworn I would never do, but that had went to shit in a matter of weeks.

Out of everything else, though, I never thought I'd be letting someone put clothes on my dog, but the moment I let Maggie order a bow-tie, a pink raincoat, and matching booties for Fang, I knew how fucked I truly was.

Kade chuckled, shaking his head as he glanced back in Levi's direction. "Is Maggie texting you back?"

I turned my phone over. Still no text.

When I shook my head, Kade's frown deepened.

It made my own grow. "What is it?"

"Kimberly isn't texting me back, either. She usually doesn't take this long," he pondered, glancing over his phone. A thoughtful expression swung over his expression before he shrugged. "Maybe they're in a bad part of the mall or some shit, though."

I nodded, glancing over my phone, again. Hopefully he was right. I didn't want to ruin Maggie's day with her friends, but we had an agreement about the communication part due to our distance.

To stop myself from overthinking it, I chuckled, "They're probably just trying to be funny or some shit."

Kade nodded in agreement, placing his phone back down. He went to say something else, but before he could, the crowd piped up from either side of us.

From the amount of fights the three of us had been and watched each other in, of course we knew the changes like the back of our hands.

Both of our heads turned in Levi's direction, again. As expected, he had gotten the three men down easily, but now, there were six standing and ready to fight in retaliation for their fallen friends.

It was funny that they'd even try jumping Levi, that was for sure. With Kade and I here with him, it definitely made it a comedic attempt.

Kade had the same standpoint. We both grabbed our shot glass, clinked, then threw them back before standing up from the table.

I placed my keys on the table, alongside Kade who just did his wallet. "You got my back when Maggie chews my ass out for fighting?" Kade chuckled, scooting his phone over the table. "As long as you do mine when Kimberly finds out."

I nodded in agreement, lifting my shirt by the hem. "The circumstances called for it, they'll understand." As soon as I pulled my gun out, I placed it down next to Kade's. "Just in case. You want the left or right side?"

"Come on, man," he chuckled, sighing as he stretched his arm over his shoulder. "You know I always go for the right first."

Once we finished our pockets, we both began our stride to the pool table. I sighed out a huff. "You're always leaving me with the easy knockouts, Ryder."

With an eye roll, he shoved a lingering group of people out of the way, not even bothering to listen to their curses. "And, you're always giving me the weepers. Works out every time, doesn't it?"

I started to push the crowd around for a clearer pathway. "We're still friends, so you tell me." We both chuckled, until we finally made it through the crowd.

Levi, who had already knocked out another man from the six, looked up at us. The other five were attempting to surround him, but this wasn't Levi's first time doing this, so he knew his positions and attacks to stop himself from getting jumped, while still toying with and ticking off his opponents, as well.

Kade crossed his arms to my side, observing. I already knew he didn't wanna break his promises to Kimberly, and I knew how much more dangerous the adrenaline of violence could be for him than the average person, so he was gonna stand on the sidelines for us.

I was proud of him for it, because once upon a time, he was the one to always jump headfirst into danger, not caring who he damaged, who was following, or who he dragged with him into the fire. But then there was his other half who came into the picture, and he'd done his best, honestly better than anything I'd ever seen from him. So I wasn't gonna drag him into the fight, because I didn't wanna put him in that darkness of a headspace, but I knew the fucker still had our backs and fronts from right here if shit went too left.

Levi's face lit up at us as he pounced to our side, knuckles already bloodied. "About time!" A big grin stretched his lips to the sky, the adrenaline gleaming in his eyes as he swept them over us. He realized Kade's position and nodded toward me. "Whoever gets the least knockouts has to pay the tab. Deal?"

All three of us glanced between each other with the same wicked grins. "Deal."

***

Kade and I swapped humored glances as Levi pulled out his wallet for the tab. He threw a cursed glare at us, handing his card over to the waitress.

"Jesus, Wallace," I chuckled, glancing over my knuckles; the shit was gonna bite me in the ass in the morning. "Don't tell me you've gone soft on us, already."

After we all cleared the other men, as well as a couple more that joined in with them, we did our total count. I got the most knockouts, because I stole one from Levi and because he was too busy taunting them first.

"Shut the fuck up," Levi hissed over his shoulder, grumbling a curse once he was given his card, again. "I don't know why you didn't let me have the last two."

"Simple," Kade shrugged, nodding at Tristan, an old acquaintance, who came to our table with ice packs. "Because we would have had to pay."

When Tristan offered an ice pack to me, I nodded as a thanks. My chuckle loosened into a string of silence before I asked, "How badly do you think our girls will react?"

Kade sighed, lifting his pack enough to catch sight of his tatted knuckles. "Probably going to swing on our asses, honestly. I've never regretted training Kimberly, but now the shit's got me thinking because she's going to be real upset that I was so close to it..." he paused, a worrisome gaze claiming him before he glanced between us. "Think we should throw in a girls night or something? Maybe even a trip?"

"It wouldn't hurt," I chuckled, placing my ice bag down. I wanted to check on Maggie.

I turned my phone over, feeling my heart skip at the sight of her on my wallpaper. My girl.

I typed in my password, fully expecting to have a snarky response from her line.

Except there was none.

I frowned, glaring down at the phone. It had been around an hour, now. She still hadn't texted back.

Why hadn't she texted back?

I could just be overdramatic, but I'd rather be that than wrong and risk it hurting her.

Just the thought of it left my body cold.

Quickly, I tapped at my phone until I got to her location. It wasn't updating, but it did tell me where her last location was. It was right on the highway by the mall the girls were supposed to be at. It hadn't moved in a while, either.

The fuck?

Kade was glaring down at his phone too, but I didn't think he was having the same suspicions. I know he wasn't, because he didn't think he had to.

When I called to him, his eyes raised to mine.

"Kimberly answer you, yet?" I asked, attempting to keep my voice free of restrain.

"No. Maggie?"

I shook my head, looking to Levi, who immediately shook his head.

His eyes flickered between us then the phone, all traces of humor leaving his face. "My texts aren't going through, either."

This shit was weird.

Something dreadful drained my blood the longer we all sat in the silence. It left my skin cold and clammy.

"Call them," I demanded. "Now."

While they did that, I hurried and dialed Maggie's contact. It went to voicemail, immediately.

My hand tightened around the metal of the phone to stop from throwing it. "Fuck," I hissed.

My eyes fell over the screen, but just as my gaze shifted into a glare, I heard Kade and Levi curse along with me.

My jaw ticked as I glanced between the two. "Voicemail?"

My fingers locked around the phone even tighter as I prayed for a 'no.' Please say no.

Kade said nothing, just dialed Kimberly's number, again. His face fell once he was immediately sent to voicemail, which meant that she didn't have a chance to decline it because the phone was already off. Just like Raven and Maggie's.

It didn't take much to make the retaliation.

Throwing my ice pack in whichever fucking direction, I yanked my phone from the bar stand, and turned to get the fuck away from here and to Maggie. I wasn't planning on listening to or seeing shit else unless it was her in my arms first.

My finger slammed at Maggie's contact to pull up her pinpoint, again. Once it loaded, I was heading for the exit. I had to shove a standing group out of the way, but paid no mind to their curses.

"I have Maggie's last location," I called out over my shoulder. Whether the guys caught it or not was their responsibility; I didn't care enough to check. "I'll drop the pin to you both."

"We'll be right behind you," Levi swore tightly, his footsteps matching up to mine.

Kade was already at my side, finding his keys and unlocking his car in a matter of seconds. We were all parked alongside the other at the front of the building.

My jaw nearly shattered from how hard I clenched it. I couldn't think right now, not with Maggie being out there and possibly in danger, or injured.

"The drive back is about half an hour," I started, yanking my door open so hard, I thought I broke a bone. As soon as I saw Kade and Levi's expressions, I knew we all agreed on one thing: "We'll cut that shit right in half."