I leave her to her packing, noting her pulling the phone charger from the wall. I say nothing, though, as always, I have questions.
Dax and Aiden are now across the room from one another and pointedly ignoring the other’s presence.
“She says to go in,” I tell Dax as I hurry away.
“Jules…” he calls, but I ignore him and aim for Aiden’s side. Aiden lifts his head as soon as he hears my name and frowns back at Dax, shaking his head slightly before focusing on me.
“Everything okay?”
“No, but I think I’d rather talk about it later, okay?”
“Alright.”
“Is there somewhere I should go while you deal with this?” Not that I have the first clue of where to go if Dax doesn’t want me back at the compound.
“No, we’re leaving. The place will be swept. It’s best if we’re out of here before then. Dax will take Sylvie back to the compound, so we’ll leave them to it for tonight. Give Sylvie a chance to talk to the Victim Support Team without an audience.”
“That’s fine.”
“There’s that fictional word again.”
He’s right. It’s bullshit. I’m not fine. But for once this isn’t about me.
“It’s…whatever. I’m good with whatever.”
Chapter Twelve
Aiden pulls up at a derelict factory stationed directly between the Arts District and Central Harrison. The red brick exterior and black steel-framed windows are very different from the compound, the hotel, or even Olive Tower, and yet it fits neatly between them all with its unapologetic industrialism. Panes of glass are missing from the frames along the ground floor, and wind whistles through the building in an unending hiss.
“Don’t let first impressions deceive you. It’s not as sorry as it seems,” Aiden jokes as he closes the driver’s door and circles around to join me on the pavement.
“Why are we here?”
“I’m taking you on a date.”
“A date? Is today really the best idea for a date?”
“In my line of work, there’s never a best idea, or a good day. So, we take what happiness we can in all the moments gifted to us.”
“And we’re having it here?”
“Yeah. Just trust me, Tiger, you’ll like it.”
I bite my tongue and let Aiden direct me to a huge green door with a fancy panel beside it. It’s my first clue that all is not as it seems with this building and Aiden’s warning to reserve my judgement is sound. He taps in a door code in a slow, methodical way that tells me he’s unbothered by me knowing it, and the door swings open with a deep clunk and whirr of gears. It reminds me of the safe Charlie and Koko use at the store, but on a much larger scale.
It’s dark inside and not as cold as I expected, considering all the windows are shattered. I scan the space, adjusting to the darkness, and realise it’s not strictly connected to the ground floor at all. On the left is a large, old-style, double-gated elevator, and on the right is a staircase that leads straight up. We’re surrounded by enclosed walls all around and no doorways onto the main floor.
“The building is safer if people think it’s uninhabitable and has nothing worth stealing. So, I keep the downstairs cold, damp, and rubble-chic. The rest of the building, on the other hand, is in the first stage of conversion.”
“From what to what exactly?”
“From an old wallpaper printing factory to living and working accommodations for a permanent Harrison-based team.”
“I thought you said you didn’t know where the work would take you?”
“I didn’t. I don’t, but your question this morning got me thinking.”
“So, when you say the building is in the process of conversion—”
