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“Having the doors open creates the illusion of being free. He knows that he has us all on chains, so he’s not worried about us taking off or escaping,” Simone added.
“Why don’t you guys just refuse to drink the wine?”
They all shared a pained look.
“The last man that tried that ended up with a bullet between the eyes,” Simone explained.
“He makes sure that we drink the wine before he lets us out of our cages,” Chris added.
Levi glared at Peabody. He was starting to wonder if all that shyness in the past was just a ruse. Peabody appeared to be a chameleon, a talented actor capable of adapting his personality to his environment.
They continued to mingle over the next few hours, indulging in Peabody’s fantasies and playing along with every scenario the demented man created. The man was clearly mentally unstable, choosing to live in a fantasy, than actually trying to make friends.
The one thing that concerned Levi was Peabody’s ability to change personalities on a whim. He could go from a stumbling, shy man to an angry control freak in an instant. Was he a talented actor, or was he just mentally unstable?
One such glimpse occurred when one of the captives accidentally used an incorrect piece of information from one of their back stories. Apparently, Chris was supposed to have two brothers instead of three—an easy mistake to make, considering Chris didn’t actually have any brothers in real life. But not sticking to the backstory that Peabody fabricated in his mind was unacceptable, and Chris got thrown back in his cell without any food.
Knowing that their captor was so unpredictable gave Levi cause for concern. This meant that anything was possible, including being murdered by the unhinged man.
Focusing, he tried to concentrate on the conversations being had, the stories people told. He didn’t want to do or say anything that might upset the host of their cocktail party.
29
CHASE
The plan was simple. Jared would dress up as a delivery man and pretend to deliver a package to Mr. Peabody. When Peabody opens the front door, Chase and team would rush in and torture the guy until he finally spills the beans as to where he is keeping Levi. Simple enough.
Marc, of course, didn’t like the plan one bit. He thought they were rushing and shouldn’t be making any moves until he had a chance to do some recon and gather more information. The guy was such a planner.
Chase, of course, wasn’t hearing any of it. He told Marc that he could fire him if he wanted to, but there was no fucking way he was going to wait any longer. If he couldn’t find out where Peabody was keeping Levi on his own, Chase would force the information out of Peabody.
Sensing Chase’s unwillingness to compromise, Marc finally gave in and began working on Plan B: Save Chase’s ass once he gets caught by Peabody and taken as well. Chase didn’t appreciate the sarcasm but figured it was always good to have a backup plan… just in case.
While the professional side of Matteo wasn’t too keen on torturing someone without actual proof that he had abducted his son, the darker side of Matteo knew that, more likely than not, Peabody was their guy, and like hell was he going to let the man hurt someone he loved. Matteo agreed to let Chase do things his way while he tried to run down a few other leads that might assist them.
“Where the hell did you get that outfit?” Isaac asked, whispering from behind the bushes.
“I had a guest who was into deliveryman fantasies,” Jared answered, shrugging his muscular shoulders.
“Like, fuck. I can totally see your dick imprint through those tight-as-fuck shorts, man,” Isaac gushed.
Jared smirked. “Think Peabody will like it?”
“Judging by that bulge in your shorts, I think you’re gonna give the old man a heart attack.”
They both chuckled silently.
“Will you both shut up?” Chase growled from the bush on the other side of the front steps.
“Sorry, man. But seriously, look at that bulge! The sight of that thing is going to scramble Grandpa’s brain, and then we won’t be able to ask him any questions,” Isaac added.
Chase gave a huff. How the fuck did he get stuck with these two idiots? Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Oh yeah, he asked them for help.
“Get that pincushion under control before I tranq him,” Marc’s voice came through the earpiece pressed in Chase’s ear.
“Marc says shut up, or he’ll shoot you,” Chase warned as a tiny red dot appeared on Isaac’s chest.
“What the—” Isaac began before trying to cover the dot with his hands.
