The Leverage

Chapter Twelve

"The world was on fire, no one could save me but you. Strange what desire will make foolish people do." — Chris Isaak

***

A proposal, an escape, and a raid, oh my.

These three things sit heavily on my chest as I lean my forehead against the window of the truck, the world spinning by quickly in a whirlwind. My fiancé is driving slowly, almost dreadfully, through the back roads of Reno. It's as though he's wasting time as he leads the trail of Company trucks through the city so he can push back the thought of raiding the prostitution building if he continues driving endless circles. I don't mind the extra time to sit and think about what we've gotten ourselves into and what we're up against, but I also feel as though my mind can't handle any more stressful worries.

I can still more than understand Trevor's hesitation, since I feel sick at the thought of breaking into the building to risk the boys that I call family their lives by being hurt in a fight or being blown up in the explosion that will surely happen once enough time has passed after we've attacked the building. I have the weirdest feeling of dread building in me, yet at the same time, an adrenalized excitement is fighting its way to be apparent and dominant through my thoughts. Emotional conflictions overwhelm my being as my heart rips into every which direction about the task in front of us. Indecision sits heavily on my shoulders as well as I glance out the other window, wanting a new scene.

Trevor stops at a random side road, as a tired breath falls from his frowning lips. I twist the engagement ring around on my finger from nervousness, the anxiety piling high, though a growing buzz of dull readiness sweeps through me in contrast.

I still haven't found the moment to share with Unit One or Two about my engagement to Trevor. The distraction it would cause isn't a burden I'd wish to bear, though keeping this a secret is almost too much for me. Really, I'm not exactly hiding the proposal from anyone, it's just happened that those boys aren't observant enough to notice that the beautiful rock on my hand isn't just there for decoration.

"We ready?" Trevor questions, his voice evenly calm, eerily almost to pull me from my thoughts that somehow managed to drift to Trevor despite the daunting raid only moments away.

It's as though Trevor isn't about to kill over ten guards to save innocent victims with only the time span of three minutes before the building goes up in engulfing flames as he speaks so calmly in that controlled voice of his. It settles my nerves. It's familiar.

"I was born ready," Jake answers predictably, since those words are probably the most common response. He pulls it off, though, even if his tough exterior only hardly hides the fact that he's a few stages beyond tipsy at this point.

The rest of the Company trucks following Trevor pull to a stop behind us, the headlights flicking off. I intake a sharp breath. This is real. Inevitable at this point. No going back now. Hesitation past this moment will only end up killing someone, and that person will not be one of the guards.

"That's the building there," Trevor tells me in a softer tone, with his deep but gentle voice that he reserves for me. His hand points to the tall abandoned building down the street, one that looks as though it's been empty and abused for years. It's a structure that would have gone unnoticed if Trevor hadn't have pointed it out or if I hadn't been here once before, since its chipped bricks are bland and the walls have aged dramatically. No one would ever guess what was going on inside, that life existed.