DARK AND TWISTED

CHAPTER 68

My footsteps echoed, bouncing off the walls. The members swivelled their heads in my direction, eyes were on me. I went to the second floor so they could see me better.

"I call all of you here to inform we're going to have a special meeting with other eight gangs except," I took a deep breath. "The dragons. Why you ask me? Because the dragon is our target. They killed Christian Anderson, my father, your leader."

My statement caused them to murmur. Perhaps most of them didn't even know about this. My dad's death shouldn't be a secret to them. He was their former leader anyway.

One of them raised her hand, "where should we have the meeting?" Her hoarse voice echoed.

"Good question," I glanced at Quinn. "Sy Cove underground city. Nobody lives there, right Quinn?"

"Yes. It's empty so we can use it for the meeting,"

"Do any of you have a friend or family member from other gangs except dragons?" my question got some nasty reaction from the members.

"Hope," Quinn tugged my sleeve. "That's a controversial topic. The rule says we're not supposed to talk about it."

I raised my brows. I turned my attention to the member, taking a deep breath, "I'm the leader now so I change that rule. This topic is no longer controversial. Tell me the truth, I promise I won't punish you. Instead, you'll get a reward for being honest. You get to eat fancy dishes for three months."

A few of them raised their hands while a few hesitated. I told Quinn to get more info about their acquaintances later.

"Boss," a guy called. "If we're going to fight against the dragons, we have to defeat the leader. I heard he's a real definition of evil."

Other members around him nodded as they agree. Based on what I knew about that leader, I nodded too. But I'll deal with that bastard on my own.

"I'll deal with the leader and his lackeys. You guys just have to distract the members," I pulled Quinn closer to me. "You have to inform other gangs first about the meeting right? So, that means you have to go to their headquarters."

"Exactly. Most of them are cooperative but I think they prefer the leader to be with us. Gain their trust, Hope."

She was right. I should be there too.

I nodded, "of course." I licked my bottom lip, "but make sure the members who have acquaintances with other gangs to be there with us. Perhaps their presences will help us. We'll settle this today."

I dismissed them early so they could get ready. I went back into the office and got some rest before I met the other leaders. My heart thudded against my ribcage as I paced around the room. From the corner of my eyes, my dad was standing there, smiling. I smiled back even though I knew he wasn't real. I miss you, dad. I wish you were still alive. I hold back my tears because crying won't solve anything in this world. It made it worse.

In a few minutes, Quinn informed me that everyone was ready and waited for me downstairs. I shut my eyes while taking a few deep breaths. Dragging my feet next to her as I picked some dead skin on my fingers.

"Nervous?" She asked.

"A little. I hope they don't go nuts when see me."

We got inside the black Chevrolet outside with a built man already on the driver seat, starting the engine. There were other Chevrolets behind in different colors. Quinn told me other members couldn't be in the same vehicle with the leader unless the rank was high. After all of them were ready, I told the member to drive to each headquarter.

The nearest was the lion gang. It took us a few minutes on the road. Their headquarter was older but bigger than ours, surrounded by a forest. Why forest? God, I hated how the chattering sounds surrounded me.

Like at the tiger headquarter, a few members guard the outside. Most of the lion members were pretty big, bigger than the tiger members. Quinn and I exchanged glances before I got out. One of them called their leader. In a few seconds, he came out with a smile on his face.

He got a spiky hairstyle with fitted his sharp facial features. His glare was sharp as well as he could slice me in half. He lost his thumb on his left hand I assumed he lost on to some other gangs. He was extremely tall that he cast a shadow, perfect for a summer day if I needed a place to stay under the shade.

"You must be Hope Anderson, the new tiger gang leader," his deep voice echoed in my ears. "I heard about your father. My condolences."

"Thanks. I'm here to ask you to meet us with other gangs. For a special meeting," I tapped Quinn's arms before I said something offensive. We discussed on our way there that if I tapped her like that, I wanted her to lead the conversation.

"Our leader has a plan to get her revenge on dragons for killing her family."

He scoffed, "Why would my gang be a part of this?"

"Because," I stepped closer. "I'm sure they did something to you like they did to me."

He bit his lips, blinking a few times as he stared at the ground, "yes. They did. They sold my sister to a serial killer. Actually, I never forgave them. I want to get my revenge but it seems hopeless."

Quinn and I exchanged glances. I titled my head, "why?"

"Because they're stronger than us. That's why I'm surprised to see tiger gang asking for our help to deal with those lunatics. We all know you guys are the best among ten gangs in Sy Cove. Also, I didn't expect Christian to be killed."

"He did. His death was," I choked up. Quinn patted me from behind. "My family's death was devastating."

"That's harsh. I heard about his condition. Even for me, that's really brutal."

Staying strong in this kind of situation was almost impossible but my dad taught me to be tough. He kicked me because he knew the outside world would be worse.

My lips curled into a smile as I nodded, "So? You in?"

"Absolutely. We'll meet at underground at midnight," he signaled the lion members to move. "Oh, and Hope. The serpents might be a challenge because they know you killed two of their members. I suggest you play mind games with them because they appear weaker in terms of mind. That's all I got about them."

I thanked him for the tips and we settled the other gangs first before I dealt with the serpents. It took us hours to drive from a headquarter to another. Luckily, the other gangs agreed with my proposal because they all held grudge against the dragons. They said the same thing about my dad helping them despite being in a different gang so they would help me with it.

If my dad was a nice guy, why did he kill Angela? There must be a reason for that, right? Because he killed people for a certain reason. The dragon gang didn't tell me the details.