I jerk my hand loose.
“No, wait, let me explain,” he says. He reaches for my hand, but I step back. I can’t handle his touch right now.
“Why are you doing this? How could you …” I say.
“They found out Jaret and I were looking for the boss. They put me in here as a punishment, so I could regain his trust.”
“Why would you agree to that?” I yell, tears welling up in my eyes. “You just beat people up in here, and you think that’s okay?”
“I need to do this. There’s no other way. Besides, I can’t get out, they locked me in here.”
“Why in the hell would you let them do this to you?”
His face grows dark, full of regret, but also like he just made a pledge or something.
“There’s no other way to save my brother. I need their trust, so I can finish this.” He leans forward, putting his head through the bars. “Listen to me. I never wanted you to see this, but you have to go, right now.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s fucking dangerous in here. And now I finally understand why they got you in here. They’re testing me by using you.”
I gasp.
“Where did you get the tickets?” he asks.
I frown. “What does that have to do with any of this?”
“It’s important. I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t. C’mon!”
“Jaret gave them to me. He said he got them from Brody.”
“Fuck!” Hunter slams his hand against the bars. “This is really bad.”
“Brody just helped me understand what the hell it is you’re doing here.”
“No! Don’t you see? He gave you those tickets so he could use you against me.”
“What? But he―”
“He’s not who you think he is!” Hunter yells. “He wants to have power over me, and he’s using you to do it. You have to get away from here as fast as you can. You’re in danger. I’m the one they’re after. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Jaret and I found out who the courier was.”
Sighing, I close my eyes and cross my arms. All I want is to leave here as fast as I can. I wanted to give him a chance to explain himself, but all he’s done is made it worse. He’s still talking about ‘finding the boss.’
“Listen!” he yells, because I’ve turned my head away from him. “The courier was Scarlet.”
My jaw drops. “What? Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure. She was diverting our attention every time. Her buying drugs from us was just a diversion to make us think nobody knew who the courier was.”
“But she’s dead!” I scream, unable to hold back the tears now.
“Time for the next round, bud. Stop chatting up your girlfriend,” the guy with the keys says, chewing some gum.
It’s all just a fucking show to them. Hunter is bleeding so they can have some fun. All for the money.
This is sick.
“Yes, she’s dead. That’s exactly why I’m telling you you’re in danger. You have to go. Now,” Hunter whispers, his eyes flicking back and forth between me and the guy with the keys.
“Time’s up,” the guy says, and he opens the cage doors and lets another fighter in.
I gulp.
“Go. Home. Now!” Hunter says, clinging to the bars for as long as he can before he’s dragged back into a fight.
Shaking my head, I back away from the cage slowly. I can’t believe this. This isn’t happening. Scarlet was the courier? She was the one delivering the drugs to the distributors? She was the one in direct contact with the boss?
She died.
“And whatever you do, do not go to Brody. Do you hear me? Don’t go to him!” Hunter yells. “Promise me! Do not go to him. I don’t want you to get hurt. I can’t get out of here. Please, don’t put yourself in danger.”
I’m not listening anymore. My brain feels like it’s going to explode.
Brody. He was a distributor. He said he was. Jaret said Brody gave him the tickets.
No, this can’t be.
Maybe Brody knew she was going to die. Maybe Brody is something more than he claims to be.
He will explain this.
I bolt through the dorm, racing up the flight of stairs until I reach Brody’s room. I don’t even bother to knock on his door.
“Brody, we need to talk.”
He’s sitting at his desk, and the moment I storm inside, he casually turns around. On his face is a relaxed smile, and he sways a pen back and forth between his fingers like everything’s normal. Well, this is anything but normal.
“Well, hi to you too. Did you enjoy the show?”