CHAPTER XIII - Boiling Point

Back at the ballroom of the Windgrad Hotel, the poker game continued and things were finally coming to a head, with just Zack, Mick Fisher, and another player, an older man, still in contention. Hannah’s chips had come to an end a few hands ago and she decided to go sit away from the table, fuming a bit that Zack had been the one to outsmart her with a well-placed bluff. It made her feel a little bit proud, though, but that the older blonde would only admit later. Ashley had opted to follow her older sister and sit with her, Peter, and Chloe, the latter just standing next to their table as she was still awkwardly posing as a bunny. Seeing as no one had made the connection between the two sisters so far, Ashley figured it should probably be safe to sit close to each other, or rather, with Peter in the middle.

“Told you he got better,” Peter remarked with a very amused look on his face. He secretly enjoyed seeing his cocky ex-girlfriend and best friend learning a lesson every now and then.

“Zack’s been playing a lot of poker lately,” Ashley supplied, a chuckle escaping her lips.

“Yeah, yeah, rub it in,” Hannah mocked the other two before stubbornly crossing her arms in front of her massive chest. “Thought you liked little ol’ me.”

“We do, Han,” Ashley smiled at her big sister. “That’s why we love seeing you not getting your way for once.”

“How does he do it?” Chloe quietly inquired. “He looks nothing like the Zack I know.” Having interacted with the boy both at school and when she visited Paris at the Ravers Manor, the redhead was quite baffled at how well Zachary was playing his cover at the poker table. It was kind of exciting, if she could be honest with herself.

“Well, that’s Zacky for you,” Hannah snickered, momentarily forgetting all about her anger. “It’s a Ravers thing. All Ravers men have this… swagger,” she explained. “Zack just hasn’t quite mastered his yet.”

Imagine it when he does, Chloe thought as she coughed. Their school definitely wasn’t ready for both Logan and Zack Ravers unleashed at them, and she was sure Lisa wouldn’t like that.

“So,” Ashley leaned over to whisper at Peter, so her sister wouldn’t hear it. “She hasn’t been abusing this cover thing to lord you around too much, has she?”

The college guy quietly chuckled in response. “Don’t worry, Sparky, it’s nothing I’m not used to. What you saw is pretty much the norm back in Mistwood.”

Ashley smiled, a faint blush covering her cheeks. He, and sometimes Zack, were the only ones she didn’t mind calling her by that ridiculous nickname. Peter was just so nice that she hated how Hannah treated him sometimes, both when the two of them had dated and during their friendship phases.

“You’re looking real nice tonight,” he absentmindedly told her. “You all really pulled no stops for this cover thing.”

This time the blush deepened on the younger blonde’s face for reasons she couldn’t exactly fathom yet. “Thanks,” she whispered, awkwardly nodding at him. True, she might have harbored a tiny crush on the smart older guy back when he and her sister were high school seniors and she was just a freshman, but she thought those silly feelings had fizzled away by now. It made the petite cheerleader a bit mad, even.

“Stop rizzing up my sister, butler!” Hannah barked with a smirk on her lips. Ashley’s cheeks looked like a pair of tomatoes by now.

“I wasn’t…, do you listen to yourself before you talk, Ha… Lady von Zluten?” Peter spluttered, completely dazed by the topic his ex-girlfriend had brought up.

“Why do you always feel the need to be so fucking gross?!” Ashley challenged her older sister, who just winked at her in response, causing the younger one to throw her hands up in exasperation.

An older gentleman stared at his cards in consternation and let out a huff of indignation at the situation he found himself in. “It seems my time has come, gentlemen,” he announced, neatly putting his cards face-down on the poker table, the last of his chips already in the pot. “I wish both of you luck for the rest of this game.”

“It was great playing against you, Mr. Montclair,” Zack nodded at the man with a respectful smile, under his persona of Connor Harper.

Mick Fisher just snorted as the older man walked away before throwing his own cards in disgust. “Luck is something you seem to have in endless supply, Connor,” he said. “Aren’t you gonna show me your cards?”

“And kill the mystery? I’d never, Mick,” Zack laughed, pulling the pot of chips towards his own stack. “It looks like there’s just the two of us, now.”

Mick nodded, a serious expression on his face that hadn’t been there for the entire night. Gone was the jovial, happy-go-luck mobster son, and that chilled Zachary to the bone. “Yeah, that’s what it looks like,” he barked before an enigmatic grin scared Zack even more. “Before we… battle it out to decide who’s the champion, though, can I talk to you and your girls?”

“Sure, anytime, Mick,” Zack nodded, wondering what this was about.

“In private,” Mick added in a chilling, almost whispering tone.

Zachary’s heart beat faster at that moment, and he turned around to look at Lisa and Madison, sitting behind him. The three teens were obviously scared, but a quick, silent exchange was what it took to decide. “Uhn…, sure, lead the way,” he answered after turning back to the mobster and briefly reaching inside the jacket of his suit.

“Excellent,” Mick grinned once again and stood up, gesturing for the teens to follow him. The dealer didn’t question it, knowing his father was the one organizing the tournament before the auction took place. “This way.”

Logan Ravers charged into the hotel, sneaking through one of the backdoors, with Donna Morrison hot on his heels. He wasn’t dressed for it like the other guys were, as he didn’t expect to leave the van that night, so it was considerably harder to sneak around and find openings amidst all the security guards patrolling the hallways. Having Donna with him made things a bit more difficult, but nothing that he couldn’t handle.

Wearing just a blue polo shirt, jeans, and sneakers, he stood behind a corner, waiting for one of the guards to pass and clear the way. He only hoped it wouldn’t be too late to save Sharon from the thug he saw dragging her through Grace’s screens.

“Okay, now you’re gonna tell me where the hell we are going!” Donna whispered, yet her tone was of pure exasperation. “You couldn’t have known just from looking at the camera feed!”

“And yet, I’ve got a pretty good guess. Besides, Grace’s in the comms and can guide me,” he replied, in an even lower volume. Motioning for her to follow him once the guard was out of sight, Logan continued on his way. “Keep quiet, by the way. I can’t be seen here, they’d recognize me just as fast as they’d spot Uncle Robert.”

“Well, are you gonna tell me or not?” An annoyed Donna copied his tone and continued to follow the handsome boy, trying to prevent her heels from clacking too loudly on the pristine floors.

“My guess is that they’re taking her to the conference room they’re using for the auction. We’ve looked at the blueprints and there’s an office in each one. Problem is, we’re gonna have to take an elevator or the stairs to get there,” Logan explained before reaching toward his ear with a finger. “Grace, can you hear me?”

It took a few moments for the breathless blonde to answer. “W-what?!”

He raised a confused eyebrow. “The heck is going on there? You sound like you just ran a marathon.”

“Never mind that, what do you want?”

“Alright,” Logan nodded, knowing they didn’t have much time to discuss specifics. “Can you tell me where they’re taking Sharon? It’s one of the conference rooms, isn’t it?”

”G-give me a sec…,” Grace replied and he could actually hear the rattling noise of her keyboard. ”Right, conference room number 8, and Ravers…,” she made a pause. ”Be careful, okay? There’s a few thugs with her, I’m counting at least five. Jones is being held there too.”

“Tanya? Shit!” He cursed and then turned to Donna. “Tanya’s there as well.”

“Fuck…,” the black-haired girl muttered. Her fellow cheerleader was another dear friend that she didn’t want to see harmed.

“Okay, Grace, I’m heading there as we speak, please keep me posted about any possible roadblocks. I’m out,” the Ravers boy cut the communication, fear creeping up his body as he wondered how the hell he was going to beat five thugs to rescue the two girls. He had just his basketball body and a few martial arts classes to count on, but he was only one black belt against five big henchmen who quite possibly were using guns. This is not a freaking movie, dammit!

Pausing at the last corner before the elevator, Logan motioned for Donna to stay still behind him while he peered to check if the coast was clear. Upon catching sight of the group hanging out near the elevator, a big grin got plastered on his face. It seemed the cavalry had arrived without him even calling for it.

“Please, come in,” Mick Fisher led Zack, Lisa, and Madison toward a room hidden after a few hallways.

The first thing they noticed was that it was like a lounge. A few couches and armchairs scattered around a coffee table, with a few bookshelves and a mini-fridge by one of the corners. All those details were forgotten the moment they laid eyes on the people who were in that room.

“Zack!” Heather exclaimed from the couch where she and Victoria were sitting, and apparently waiting for something.

“I’ll let you all catch up for a while,” Mick said in a serious tone and then closed the door after he stepped out of the lounge.

“Dammit!” Zack said, and then rushed toward his twin sister. He had seen the bunny suits in Heather’s room the other day, but he hadn’t witnessed his sister and his former crush wearing it, and suffice to say, it made his dick stir despite the situation they were in. “What are you guys doing here?”

“Some guards found us snooping around upstairs,” Heather said in a dark tone after she and her brother exchanged a quick hug.

“I believe the man who brought you guys here is Cassius Fisher’s son,” Victoria added, trying to keep herself calm, but the way she was hugging herself betrayed the fear she was feeling at that moment.

“Yeah, his name is Mick. We’ve been playing poker and he wanted to talk to me,” Zachary explained. “No one did anything to you two, right?”

Heather shook her head. “I have no idea what the hell that guy’s planning with this!”

Lisa stepped forward. “I think he wants to intimidate Zack somehow by using you two,” she suggested before shrugging her shoulders. “Well, maybe all of us now.”

“But that means he knows Zack isn’t Connor Harper,” Madison piped in, glaring at the door as her right hand balled into a fist. “That fucker knew all along!”

“Yeah, he was just playing us,” Lisa agreed with a slow nod, a similar expression on her features.

Zack’s foot was tapping on the floor right now, his right index finger doing the same to his chin as he grew serious, his mind racing with possible scenarios and outcomes that could happen from now. He couldn’t help but let some fear inside, worrying for himself, his sister, his girlfriend, and their friends. He had a backup plan, but that was a huge bet that relied on too many variables.

Heather approached Lisa, hands on her hips. “Wait, so he was tricking you all?”

While the two black-haired girls started discussing the night, a worried Madison sidled up to Zack. “Hey, are you okay?”

Her question snapped him out of his deep thinking and he gave the tall girl a brief smile. “Yeah, I’m just wondering where things are going from here,” he told her. “How could I ever think we wouldn’t get found out, Maddie?”

Her heart fluttered at his use of her nickname, causing her to smile as she grabbed his arms. “It’s not your fault, okay? We had a solid plan,” she tried to reassure him while gathering up the courage for her next words. “Zack, whatever you need me for, I’m here. I want you to know that.”

Her words caused his lips to curl up into a grin, making him appreciate her beauty a lot more from up close, more than when the two of them had danced together back in the ballroom. “Thanks, it means a lot,” he replied. “You’re one hell of an actress, Madison, but I don’t think acting will save us from this situation.”

The dark-brown-haired girl giggled. “Oh, you never know when some pretending might save you, doofus.”

“You have no idea how right you are on that,” he said, enigmatically. I hope.

Heather and Lisa stood next to a quite afraid-looking Victoria in one of the couches. “Current clusterfuck aside,” the Ravers girl said and then gestured at her twin brother with a flick of her head. “How was he?”

“Oh, he was holding his own very nicely,” Lisa gushed proudly. “You should’ve seen him, I almost didn’t recognize Zack at times.”

Heather smirked. “We did suggest for him to try and act like our dad.”

“That’s what I assume he was doing,” Lisa commented. She hadn’t met her boyfriend’s father too many times to get a proper read on him. “Zack was killing it at poker too. There was just him and the Fisher guy standing when he brought us here.”

“Huh, probably afraid he was gonna lose to a teenager,” Heather scoffed before smirking again, this time directed at her brother’s girlfriend. “How were YOU holding up, though? I assume it wasn’t easy having your man paying attention to so many girls at once.”

“It was… an experience,” Lisa whispered, still unsure on how it all made her feel. She didn’t want to mention the advice Hannah gave her, if it could even be called that.

“Well, it comes with the last name, you’ll get used to it,” Heather replied a bit dismissively, unknowingly touching the same nerve.

Lisa clenched a fist, she had never gone along too well with her boyfriend’s twin sister. Completely opposite personalities and all that. It angered her that it seemed as if everyone had a formed opinion of how a Ravers should act and never bothered to ask Zack what HE wanted. Still, like she communicated to her boyfriend earlier while they were having some fun with each other, she was up to some new experiences, just to test the waters on how it made her feel. She was saved from having to think about it some more when the door of the lounge opened and Mick Fisher stepped back inside, closing it behind him. The look on his face told the teens he was far from amused, despite the chilling smile contorting his lips.

“Alright, let’s talk, shall we?” He said and then directed pointed looks at both Zack and Heather. “Zachary and Heather Ravers.”