“What are you doing?” I ask and spin my chair around to watch as he unrolls the bag on the coffee table, revealing blades and saws of all shapes and sizes.
“Just preparing,” he answers while unsheathing a particularly sharp knife I’d last seen him use to pluck off a man’s fingernails. “Gonna need to get those answers from her somehow.” Knots form in my stomach at the thought of him using any of those “toys” on Fallon.
“Put that shit away. We’re not going to cut her up to get the information out of her. We can just have a conversation.”
Dec tosses a glare over his shoulder at me. “Why are you always trying to take away my fun? God, I’m so fucking bored.”
I roll my eyes. “Stop being so dramatic. There are plenty of other people you canplaywith. Let’s deal with Fallon first and then we’ll get you someone to interrogate.”
To some, okay, most, Dec probably seems unstable. But I don’t judge him. Each of us has our own demons. He just needs a little blood to sate his.
“Time to feed our new pet,” Teo says, appearing with a plate and a bag of clothes. He shoves them into my arms. “You’re up.”
“Me? You’re the one who went to the trouble to make this.” Shit, is this his homemade lasagna? I fucking love his homemade lasagna.
Matteo refuses to hire a personal chef, even though we can afford it. He loves cooking too much to allow anyone else to take over his kitchen, which is just as well. Other than our housekeeper, Ms. Trudy, the fewer people around to suspect who we really are, the better.
“Just take it,” he grumbles. “This is your one chance to get answers your way, or we’ll start putting the pressure on her.”
Declan makes a sound of protest behind him, but I take the opportunity that’s given to me, slipping on my mask and heading down to the basement.
A retina scan has the door unlocking and swinging open for me. I slink in as quietly as I can, but the click of the lock has her scrambling to sit up on the bed, her eyes wide and glassy as if she’d been asleep. A mix of fear and anger spreads across her face as she takes in my mask, but then her eyes dip to the plate of food in my hand and her tongue darts out to lick her chapped lips.
I glance at the untouched water bottle lying among the debris from her fit earlier. “You didn’t drink your water.”
Her eyes shutter. “So?”
A smirk pulls at my lips, and I’m thankful for the mask. “You think we’re going to go to the trouble of kidnapping you just to poison you, Siren?” When she doesn’t respond, I chuckle, stepping closer. “We wouldn’t get any use out of you if we did that. Here.” I hand her the bag of clothes which she reluctantly takes and tosses on the bed like it’s diseased.
“Why do you keep calling me that?”
I set the plate down on her nightstand and take a step back. “What? Siren?” I shrug. “Let’s just say, some interesting reading material inspired me.”
Her eyes widen. “You went through my Kindle library?”
“Among other things.” I pick up the water bottle and wiggle it at her. “Drink. Eat. And then we’ll talk.”
There’s a moment of stubborn hesitation, but she gives in, snatching the water and gulping it down in one go. It’s probably been over twenty-four hours since she’s had anything to eat or drink, and I make a mental note to bring her more water later.
“Before you destroyed the place, did you happen to take a look around?” I nod toward the stall in the corner. “Bathroom’s over there. It used to be out in the open but we installed the walls when we knew you’d be coming to stay.”
“Oh, gee,” she says with false cheer. “Thank you for the show of consideration. I can tell privacy means so much to you.”
The sarcasm is strong with this one.
Fallon picks up the plate and fork and digs into the lasagna. On her first bite, she slows her chewing, and I can tell she’s trying not to show how much she loves it. I find myself tracking every bite she takes, watching those luscious lips close around her fork. Fuck, what is it with this girl that makes my dick think it needs to stand at attention whenever she’s in my line of sight?
When she’s eaten at least half of what’s on the plate, I take it as my cue to get to why I’m really here, but she beats me to it.
“Can you at least tell me what it is you think I’ve done?” she asks.
I stare at her, trying to get a read on if she’s playing dumb. If she is, then she’s got a hell of a poker face. So I fish, “Helix Enterprises. You’re pretty involved in the company.”
“No shit. I’m head of the Public Relations and Communication department. It’s kind of my job to be in the know.”
“And are you?”
“Am I what?”
