The conversation with Julian had been brief, partly because he had remembered little from his drunken state and because of his disoriented state of mind caused by being woken up at seven in the morning.
Despite this, he gave us some useful descriptions of a few of the men that had surrounded him at the bar a couple of days ago.
There seemed to have been five to six people involved, and there were two names Julian could remember from that night; Pete and Sam.
These had been two burly looking, hard-faced individuals, with seemingly the biggest presence in the crew. Pete was described to have ash brown hair with a short boxed beard covering his chin and jaw. Sam, on the other hand, had deep lines on his forehead and a buzz cut, standing at a little taller than Julian. My eyes traveled over to Zayden as Julian described their appearances, hoping to see a glint of recognition in his eyes at the words. However, his face was unreadable. I had no idea what he was thinking.
Julian's memory of the rest of the men in the crew was hazy, he said, though he remembered one member being slightly lankier with blonde hair tied in a low ponytail down the back of his neck.
He didn't get any other names, nor any mention of what they had planned to do next. There had been no sign that they would target Zayden the night after. Had their assault on these two brothers truly been a pure coincidence?
I was about to tell Julian what happened to Zayden when I felt a hand on my shoulder, stopping me short. Glancing over at Zayden, he responded by shaking his head. Either he didn't want Julian to know and worry, or he wanted to tell him himself. Regardless, it was apparently not in my place to deliver the news.
Rick returned from his trip just as Zayden and I finished our meal. Save for some blood splatter on the concrete and a steel pipe lying around, there were no traces of a fight having taken place there. There was also, unfortunately, no traces of Zayden's phone.
As we discussed Zayden's condition, Rick mentioned his phone call with Brock earlier.
«He suggested you come to Range Lake. That way you're not here recovering alone and you'll have the protection of the gang.»
To my surprise, Zayden seemed to think about it for a minute.
I found my voice. «Isn't that reckless?»
Rick turned to me in question.
«When avoiding a gang, surely you shouldn't go back to the gang scene. You should stay in hiding.»
I noticed Zayden's hesitation. «At least until you've recovered,» I continued.
«Stay here, where I can visit you whenever you need.»
And protect you, I mentally added. I knew that if I mentioned protecting him, he would feel compelled to get away for the sake of me not getting involved.
What he didn't seem to realise was that I had become involved the second I stepped into this apartment and found him half dead on the couch.
Zayden ended up agreeing to stay in Goldhaven and in this apartment for the time being, putting my mind at ease. Rick would also stay by his side as he recovered over the next few weeks. Whenever necessary, I would help in the apartment and assist with caring for the wounds. Though the situation was lousy, I had to admit that getting to spend time with Zayden every day was at least nice. I would need to spend as much time with him as I could before going back to school after the summer.
YOU ARE READING
The Mystery Fighter III
ActionAfter getting into college, Cassie has no intentions of going back to her old habit of street fighting- but as the streets of her hometown would have it, her combat days are far from over. ...
