“And you only saw me and him that night?” Ben presses; some of his fire quenching with my answers. “No one else outside? No one else hanging around?”
“No” I shake my head. “Just you and Tom.”
“None of this makes any sense!” Ben slams his hand against the wall. I don’t even flinch.
“Glad you worked that out. Mind leaving now?”
He doesn’t hear me, or at least he pretends not to. He presses his forehead to the back of the door he’s blocking and mumbles under his breath. After a long moment, he whispers something like ‘okay’ and then spins to face me. “I need you to find out what happened. Or at least let me know if he tells you about it.”
Is he kidding? Maybe he’s stupid? He thinks he can stalk me, threaten me, and then recruit me into his madness? I’m going with stupid because this isn’t even funny.
“Why the hell would I tell you anything?” I hiss at him. His eyes widen, clearly not expecting me to stand up for myself. “You’re untrustworthy. A liar. A stalker punk. Probably a spy. Not to mention, this is the second time you’ve trapped me in a room andthreatened me.”
Tension lifts from his shoulders as he laughs at me. “Oh, Honey Bee,” he drawls. “I haven’tthreatenedyou. I’vewarnedyou.” He leans in and places a kiss on my forehead. I’m too damn stunned to react, but he doesn’t require a reaction. He’s so sure he has my compliance, he’s already ditching me. The lock clicks and he slips into my bedroom, only looking back to whisper his expectations.
“Just get the information I need. And tell no one I was here.” He pulls the hood of his black sweatshirt over his head and drifts into the corridor with his head tucked low to his chest, avoiding the cameras.
There’s no way I’m going to let him sneak around under Dax’s nose. No way will I’ll let him bully me into getting what he wants.
I storm into the corridor behind him, wave my hands at the cameras and scream at the top of my lungs. “Dax!”
Ben stumbles at the top step, turning to glare at me with teeth bared. “You stupid fucking fool! You’ve no idea what you’ve done.”
I fight the chill that creeps up my spine and shout again. It isn’t necessary. I can hear Dax’s feet charging up the steps below and my shouts even pull Sylvie from her room to see what the commotion is about.
Defeated, Ben slumps onto the top step and removes the hood from his face. “You’re going to regret this,” he warns as Dax rounds the landing and starts shouting.
“Where have you been? What are you doing up here? Do you know I’ve had people looking for you? Why the fuck was Jules shouting? Move!” Ben shifts his butt to the wall and allows Dax to pass him.
“I wouldn’t let him out of your sight,” I caution. “He’s known for running away.”
Ben snorts. “Don’t worry about it. I’m not going anywhere. There are at least five guys at the bottom of the stairs waiting for me, right?”
“Three,” Dax corrects. “But three is enough for you, Mouse.”
“It’s been a long time since you called me that,” Ben mumbles. I can’t tell if he’s upset that Dax calls him by the nickname or if he’s nostalgic.
“It’s been a long time since you behaved this way.” Dax’s rebuttal drips disappointment like acid. Ben flinches at the burn.
Reaching me, Dax places a hand on each side of my face and scans me thoroughly before asking, “Why were you shouting? Are you okay?”
“She’s fine,” Ben huffs. “You know me better than that, Dax.”
Dax doesn’t even turn his head. He continues to scrutinise me, speaking over his shoulder all the while. “I thought I did, Ben, but I’m not fucking asking you, so sit there and shut up until I’m ready to speak to you.” Once again, he addresses me. “Are you okay?” he reiterates gently.
“Yes. He was in my room. He snuck in while I was getting changed.” Dax glances down at the pyjamas and pulls a face. I try not to laugh.
“Is this practical enough for you?” I whisper conspiratorially.
He grins but loses the smile fast. “What did he want?”
“Information,” I answer honestly. “He wants to know what Tom said to me when we were at the hospital.”
Dax’s eyes widen. “He does, huh? Did he threaten you?”
“Sort of, and not really.” I can’t honestly say whether he was threatening or warning me, but he wasn’t exactly intimidating. He simply expected me to work with him. Still, his methodology was plain rude and suspicious as hell. “It’s not the first time he cornered me while I was alone.”
“The laundry room.” Dax nods, remembering my message earlier. He releases me and faces Ben, chilling on the step. “Who’s working with you?” he asks.
