Hate or Love?

Chapter Eighteen

"I'm not bringing Lucas." Jayce declared as they sat in the large restaurant, full of people talking and laughing. Lucas looked at him in disbelief, and Quinn sighed softly.

"You're joking! Where am I going to go?!" Lucas exclaimed, and Jayce leaned back in his seat, taking a sip of his water.

"This is ridiculous, we should stick together, Jayce. You know that." she glared at him, and he shook his head.

"Lucas is still my client, Quinn, and my job is to protect him. My boss isn't involved in this shit, so if I don't do what I'm supposed to do it's my ass on the line." Jayce reminded her, and she went quiet.

"As much as I'd love for you to join me on our little adventure, I will not let you risk your life. It makes sense for Quinn to do it but I do not want you to risk your life for Andreas. Let's all be reminded that he was trying to kill you not even 24 hours ago." Jayce looked at the duo, and Lucas slumped in his seat.

"That's ridiculous, give me a gun and I'll be fine." Lucas insisted, and Jayce looked at Quinn for help. But, Quinn didn't offer any, she simply shrugged, a shit-eating grin on her face, and Jayce knew he'd lost this battle.

"You are not coming. I'm not bringing you to Peru, but you're going to stay with my friend for now, the one that was going to bring us to Peru. I'll explain the whole situation to him, you'll be safe." Jayce pulled out a wad of cash, peeling a few bills off and setting them on the table.

"What about me?" Quinn questioned, and Jayce could hear the teasing tone in her voice. He was ready to strangle her, in truth.

"You're coming with me." Jayce retorted, and she smiled as she got up, draining the rest of her drink. Jayce and Lucas did the same, and they walked out of the restaurant.

"Quinn, I need you to figure out how we're going to get to Peru. Boat, car, plane, whatever you need to do. We're going to meet at a halfway point, in Ecuador. I'm going to take Lucas to Brazil, that's where my friend is." Jayce explained as they stood on the curb.

"We're going to Brazil?!" Lucas exclaimed, and Jayce looked at him.

"You're going to Brazil." Jayce corrected, and Quinn sighed softly.

"Stay safe, stay in touch. No fucking around." Jayce instructed, looking at Quinn. She was quiet, but she nodded in agreement, hailing a cab.

"You two take the car. I'll meet you in Quito." she responded, getting in and shutting the door. Jayce went to their car, getting in the driver's seat. Lucas got in reluctantly, silent as Jayce pulled onto the street and started driving.

"The drive is about 34 hours, get comfortable." Jayce debated on stopping on the way for the night or just going all the way through.

"We're going to stop to sleep for a night?" Lucas questioned, and Jayce felt a sudden surge of rage towards Arthur and Lucas' father for killing Andreas. He didn't like Andreas, he just thought that he was the one that should have killed him.

"We might. There's no real... rush... to get there..." Jayce's voice faltered as he thought of Andreas. He wondered what had happened to him, how much pain he'd been in when he died. If they'd made his death quick and easy or if they'd dragged it out. He wondered if Andreas thought that Jayce would come for him, or Quinn. How disappointed he must have been when he was at death's doorstep and nobody came for him. After the anger came the guilt. The horrible, thought consuming guilt that made him want to jump out of the car. But, he kept his head on, he couldn't let this get the best of him.

"You got a text." Lucas broke him out of his thoughts, and Jayce glanced down, looking at the phone. He grabbed it, opening the notification, finding it was a blocked number.

"Weird." Jayce muttered, looking at the message itself. It was a file, and he sighed, pulling to the side of the road. He clicked on the file, waiting for it to load. It was a video, and he frowned a little, glancing at Lucas hesitantly.

"I'll be right back." Jayce got out of the car, refusing to give Lucas a chance to protest as he went to the hood of the car and pulled a pair of tangled headphones from his pocket. He plugged his headphones in, letting out a breath and clicking play.

"Alright, say your name please." Arthur was on screen, and he looked behind him, at the person tied to a chair. Jayce squinted, trying to figure out who it was. Arthur looked at him, waiting for him to speak.

"Andreas Kagios." Andreas mumbled, his eyes on the floor. Jayce's breath caught, and he found he couldn't stop himself from watching. Andreas looked like shit. He was bleeding, he looked and sounded exhausted.

"Louder please!" Arthur called, and Andreas leaned his head back.

"Andreas Kagios!" he repeated, and to Jayce that was his confirmation that it was Andreas. Despite how exhausted he sounded, it was 100% Andreas.

"This message is for Jayce Leuth, Quinn Giles and Lucas Ryder. If you're watching, listen closely." Arthur stepped back into frame, blocking Jayce's view of Andreas, much to Jayce's disappointment.

"You have 48 hours to get here, to the safe house Jayce was supposed to deliver Lucas to. I want all three of you here, on the doorstep. Every twelve hours that you don't show up, we hurt Andreas in another way." Arthur continued, and stepped back, nodding at the man at Andreas' shoulder. Barrett Ryder, that must be him. He pulled out a knife, and Jayce held his breath, watching Andreas now. In one quick motion, he stabbed Andreas' leg, the same leg that Jayce had stabbed before, and Jayce felt a wave of guilt as Andreas bit his lip hard. Barrett got up, leaving the knife in there and returning to his spot behind Andreas.

"I can't wait to see you. I'm sure Andreas can't either." Arthur spoke again, ending the video. Jayce let out a breath, staring at the screen. Andreas was alive, and Jayce wasn't sure if he was relieved or furious. He fumbled for the note, unfolding it and rereading it. Andreas admitting he loved Jayce, admitting everything, it hurt a lot more than Jayce had let himself admit. Running a hand over his face, Jayce folded the note back up, texting Quinn.

He's alive.

He stared at the text, waiting for her to answer and glancing back at Lucas. Lucas was watching him curiously, head cocked, and Jayce forced a weak smile as his phone buzzed.

What?

How do you know?

Two texts from Quinn, and he debated sending her the file, then decided against it. He didn't want her to have to watch that.

I got a video from Arthur I assume. Andreas spoke, he's alive, he's okay. They said they'd hurt him every 12 hours we aren't there, I can't bring Lucas. I can't put him in harm's way.

Jayce let out a shaky breath, closing his eyes and pulling out his earbuds, unplugging them and shoving them into his pocket.

I'll go on the first 12 hour mark. Buy us some time, by the time you get there you'll have had time to get Lucas where you need to go. You're on your own now, Jayce. Don't fuck this up.

Jayce bit his lip, deciding not to reply and shoving his phone in his pocket with the earbuds, getting back in the car.

"What's going on?" Lucas questioned, and Jayce sighed, pulling out his phone and texting his friend.

Need you to meet me in Boa Vista. I'll explain when I see you.

Jayce sent the text, looking at Lucas. Should he tell him, let him in on everything? Jayce started the car again, pulling back onto the road.

"Nothing. We're fine." Jayce lied, and Lucas was quiet, and Jayce could tell he hadn't bought the lie at all.