“Enough,” I grumble. “Get in. We’re going to be late meeting our new client.” I raise a brow and Akio sobers, his smile falling away. We haven’t told Fallon we’re meeting with her father today. Keeping secrets from her shouldn’t bother me, and yet here I am with a knot in my stomach.
“Right.” He tosses a wink at Fallon. “See ya, Siren. Be good.”
She chews on her bottom lip and gives him a wave. Then her eyes flick to me and she flips her hand around, giving me the middle finger.
As soon as Akio hops in the car, I spin out of the driveway. “Jesus, Teo. What’s your problem?”
“Nothing.” The leather steering wheel creaks with how tightly my fingers are clenching it. “Just ready to get this over with.”
I can feel him studying me. “Are you sure about that?”
“Just do your thing and get us ready,” I tell him without taking my eyes off the road. Thankfully, he lets it go and pulls up his screen setup so that he can start doing whatever the fuck he does with his systems. Honestly, it’s all gibberish to me, but Akio is the best in the industry so I have no complaints. When we pull into the city, I can’t help but comment, “Looks like you and Dec are getting pretty attached to the Helix woman. You two need to be careful.”
Akio halts his typing. “First of all,the Helix woman? Dude, just say her name, you sound like a fucking Bond villain. And second, yeah, I guess we are. You know as well as I do that she’s not involved in any of this Helix shit, you’re just too fucking stubborn to say it.”
“Doesn’t change anything. If you get attached, she’s going to end up hurting the two of you when she has to choose.” It’s what I tell myself, too.
He’s quiet. “Doesn’t have to be that way.”
Always the sucker.
“You know, eventually we will need to tell her,” he says after a beat of silence. “Now that we’re working with her, it doesn’t feel right hiding what we know.”
“No,” I say with a finality that brooks no argument. “It's a need-to-know basis. Besides, the deal is still fresh. We need to make sure she holds to her side of the bargain before we go showing her all of our cards.”
“Yeah,” he agrees reluctantly. “I guess you’re right.”
I look over at him. “Just remember our mission. That’s all I’m saying.”
His brows draw together. “I haven’t forgotten.”
I grip his shoulder, nodding. “Good.”
We push our way through a crowd of cameras and reporters and walk into Helix Enterprises with exactly five minutes to spare. A woman, a little younger than Fallon, crosses the lobby to greet us. Her eyes are glassy and her nose red as if she’s been crying recently. “Good morning, Mr. Moretti, Mr. Savage. I’m Cami. If you follow me, I’ll show you to your meeting with Mr. Helix.”
We follow her onto the elevator, and now is when my showman personality kicks in. This outgoing persona was essential back in foster care when I needed to get what I wanted. Now I’ve honed it into the weapon it is.
I flash Cami a charming grin. “We appreciate you coming down to meet us in the lobby, Cami. So far, I’m very impressed with thehospitality of Helix Enterprises. Gives me hope that we can work out a partnership here.”
My kindness seems to draw out whatever she’s been holding back, because her lip quivers. “I’m just glad to be doing something. I’m Miss Helix’s assistant. I’m so eager for Mr. Helix to hire someone to help find her since the investigators haven’t found any answers yet.”
Akio extends a handkerchief to her, and she takes it, dabbing at her teary eyes. I catch his gaze over the top of her head.Since when does he carry a handkerchief?
He gives me a shrug and then puts a hand on her shoulder. “We hope we’re what Mr. Helix is looking for. I’m so sorry for the pain you’re feeling right now. I know you’re quite close with Fallon.” I widen my eyes at him, but Akio catches his slip up. “We’ve been studying this case in great detail, so it feels like I know her.”
Fucking dumbass.
The elevator dings and we step out, following behind her as she leads us past the glass office doors and conference rooms. I do my best not to look too closely as we pass Fallon’s office, empty and dark.
“Fallon is the best. I’ve been assisting her interim replacement for now, but I can’t imagine working for anyone else long-term.” She stops just outside a closed door markedChief Executive Officer: Sebastian Helix. Go time.
I don’t fail to notice the way Cami seems to brace herself before she gives two sharp raps on the door. A gruff, impatient voice answers, “Enter for God’s sake.”
Cami looks over her shoulder at us with a closed lipped smile, then swings open the door for us to enter.
The first thing I notice about this room is that it’s pretentious as fuck. With a glass-topped desk in the center and steel fixtures, I’m sure the architectural idea was modern and sleek, but it only comes off as cold and sterile. They embedded the Helix logo into the carpet – custom made carpeting. Who does that? And don’t even get me started on Sebastian’s view of Axton Harbor. He probably gets off on looking out over the city like he’s king of the world.
The man in question is on the far side of the room, lounging in one of the four leather armchairs. He stands when Akio and I enter, adjusting his suit jacket with one hand and holding a glass tumbler of amber liquid in the other. It’s 7:30 in the morning…
