Dec barks out a laugh and bounds over to sit near me. “Bullshit. It was just a matter of time.” Pushing sweat-soaked hair from his forehead, he starts his cooldown stretches. Gray eyes now on me, he asks, “Are you sure we’re ready?”
“That slimy fuck is being extremely careful because of our last video. I think this might push him into a mistake that will help us nail him and finally cut off the head of the snake.”
Akio leans against the post in the corner and unwraps his hands. He shakes his head. “Fuck, I don’t know, Teo. This is entirely new territory, and I am still not convinced she’s involved. I have been in her computer and phone for weeks, and there is next to nothing.”
My eyes snap to him. “What isnext to nothing?”
He doesn’t flinch at my harsh tone. With a half-smile quirking his lips, he says, “Just some interesting reading material on her Kindle. There is not a single bit of evidence in connection to the shipments.”
I grunt, not doubting that he used every resource available to him through Lunar Securities technology to access every part of Fallon’s life, just as we have with every other person who’s found themselves in the unfortunate position of being on Cerberus’s radar.
Dec’s hand wraps smack our brother in the face as he unravels them from his wrist. “No shit. They won't keep things in direct connection to the fucking ‘company property’. I'm not a tech genius and even I know that.”
“Fuck you.”
“Fuck you.”
“Enough.” Pinching the bridge of my nose to relieve the tension, I count back from ten. My own instincts tell me she hasn't played a hand in the trafficking but I need more proof. Either way, she’ll be useful. “Regardless of how deep she’s in this, we move tomorrow. We’ll get the answers from her one way or another. If she is involved, we… extract… everything we can from her.” Dec is already grinning at the prospect.
“And if I am right and she doesn't know shit?” Akio’s jaw ticks and his dark eyes pierce me with an accusatory glare.
“Then she’s related to scum and that can be used to our advantage. A nice little bargaining chip if you will.”
Jumping over the ropes, Akio lands without a sound. Pointing a finger in my chest, he says, “This makes us just like them. You don't see it yet but once we cross that line, how are we any better?” Not bothering to wait for a response, he storms to the locker room.
Dec, having risen in case he needed to intervene, shrugs his massive shoulders. “I hate it when Mommy and Daddy fight.”Fucker. “Cool off. I’ll grab pizza and meet you both at home. We’ll map out our plan.”
Grinding my jaw, I don’t move. He claps a hand on my shoulder. “Hey, don’t let Akio get under your skin. We haven't come all this way to stop now. It’s not the same as what they did to Luna and we both know it. He will come around. Just give him a minute to think on it.” Moving off, he heads to the showers, too.
It’s in these moments, I force myself to remember why. To remember that night fifteen years ago. So why the fuck do I picture Fallon instead of Luna? A burst of heat runs through me at the thought of how her body felt grinding against mine at the club, the image of her fear in thestairwell, the rush of following her throughout this week, my fury over Clay hovering around her. I head home in favor of the locker room.
Refreshed after a scalding shower and coming hard enough to see stars, I walk down the curved stairs toward the living room of the home we share. No fucking way I’ll admit I got off to thoughts of Fallon not five minutes ago. Several boxes from Mazzio’s Pizzeria cover the coffee table. Not bothering with a plate, I snatch an entire box and flop into the oversized lounge chair. Glancing up, I take in my brothers, both sprawled on opposite sides of the black leather couch. NHL highlights run on the eighty-inch TV mounted on the far wall. A shirtless Dec has one leg propped up on the table. Ever since he finished his chest tattoo, he has avoided shirts like the plague.
Rolling my eyes, I start in on my pizza. Supreme with no onions,fuck yeah. I glance at Akio who seems calmer now. With both of our mouths full, he jerks his chin up. That is as close to an apology or truce as we’re going to get. Hades, our massive doberman, comes plodding in and goes straight for Akio, knowing he’s the biggest sucker for puppy eyes. Resting his chin on him and turning up the charm means he has his own slice of pizza in moments.Like I said. Sucker.
Determined steps enter the room just before Dec is popped in the back of the head with a magazine. I choke on the pizza, laughter and coughing spilling out in bursts. “I told you no feet on the furniture.” Our housekeeper and resident mother figure, Ms. Trudy, tucks her reading material into the pocket of her long jacket with a smirk playing acrossher face. “I’m headed home. Try not to destroy the place, hm?” We all nod and bid her good night as she heads out the back door and across the lawn to the smaller guest house we had built for her.
“Hey, did you hear they finally replaced the Chief of Police?” Akio asks.
“Yeah, with Wayne Riggley.”
“What do we know about him?” Akio takes another bite of pizza, knowing that I’ve already done the prelim work on this guy. He’ll handle the deeper dive.
“Seems clean cut. The Mayor endorsed him, and so far, I’ve found no connection to Helix. We will need you to look closer. The last Chief of Police was clean and shiny at a first glance too.”
Declan smirks. “He wasn’t when I was done with him. Ah, good times.” He gazes at his pizza fondly before devouring the rest of the slice.
I turn my attention back to Akio. “Listen, I heard you earlier, and you have a point.” Ignoring Dec’s scoff, I continue, “I don't completely agree with you but I will say this; if Fallon knows absolutely nothing about the Helix underbellyandhas had no role in covering it up…”
“Dude!”
Holding up my hand to Dec for silence, I never break eye contact with Akio. “Then we will figure out a way to let her go.”
He nods. “I’m with you on doing whatever it takes to make that fucker pay. She may have information that she doesn’t even realize is valuable, and she can definitely be used against Sebastian in some way. I’m just saying we should be cautious with this next step.”
We seem to be on the same page with how to handle Fallon Helix. I turn my attention to Declan for his input.
“You guys are fucking lame,” Dec grumbles. He’s always a little salty when he senses approaching limits to his part of things.
