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The car ride home was slightly tense, but Lya didn’t bring it up at all. The moment we got back to the house, I headed straight to my room to avoid any awkward conversations.
Today was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. Being with Greyson makes me feel so alive. Kind of ironic, considering that even if he didn’t betray me, he’s still part of the reason I was caged for so long.
How is it that the man who let me live in a cage makes me feel the most free? Today I was able to see a different side of him. The pain and suffering he’s been through, I can’t even begin to describe. It’s clear his childhood wasn’t sunshine and rainbows like the outside world would think. Clearly his father was a monster, but I never knew how bad he was.
It definitely makes it harder to not fall for him—the more I get to know his secrets and the chaos that lurks inside, the more I’m drawn to him. My mind is racing, wondering how long we're going to be able to keep this secret, before I’m forced to tell Lya or before she finds out on her own. I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be able to look her in the eye and lie to her.
My pen just keeps gliding across the paper of my journal, getting all of my feelings out. Before I know it, my stomach grumbles, pulling me from my thoughts. I know I need to go downstairs, but this secret is eating me alive.
Deciding I’d be grumpy as hell and hate myself later if I don’t eat, I drag myself down to the kitchen.
“Ah, there she is. We didn’t think you would be joining us for dinner. Lya said you weren’t feeling well—something about egg salad?” Rian asks, curiosity in his eyes. This guy notices everything, so I’m sure he’s picked up on my tells.
“Yeah, my stomach was hurting pretty bad when she picked me up, but I’m feeling better now.” It’s not completely a lie. My stomach was in knots when Lya came to get me, but it was because I thought she’d figured out what I’d been doing behind her back.
“Well, glad you’re feeling better now. You want some? I’ll make you a plate while I’m at it.” He gestures to the Cajun chicken pasta in front of him.
“Yes, please. Thanks.” I walk over to the table to sit down. Lya, Zep, and Thiago are talking about something, and it seems pretty intense. “Hey guys, what juicy gossip are you all chatting about now?”
“We can talk about it after dinner,” Zep mutters under his breath, clearly not wanting to talk about it in front of me.
“No need to keep secrets. It’s not like I have anyone to tell them to.” I cut a glance his way, not liking that I’m being kept out of things. Not that I’m one to talk, considering my giant secret, but still, I want to know what has them hunched over, whispering.
“We’re just talking more about the plan for Sutton,” Thiago tells me, as Zep glares at him.
Furrowing my brow, confused as to why they’d want to keep me out of that, I just stare at Zep. “Why can’t you talk about that with me?” I narrow my eyes at him.
“Fine, let’s talk about it, but the moment you start to bullshit us, the conversation is over.”
Bullshit? What is he talking about?
“Just say what you mean, Zep. Don’t let those balls shrivel up now.” Probably uncalled for, but I’m over his hostility right now. He’s always gruff and straightforward so I figure the same attitude will work on him.
“Where were you today, Lainey? Lya told us you came back claiming you were running an errand for Ms. Mabel, but you looked like you saw a ghost when you noticed her there. She said everything just felt off.”
Tension grows in the room as Rian sits down to join us. Lya stares at me with her arms crossed over her chest, and Thiago’s eyes are filled with concern. Rian looks like the only thing he cares about is the food sitting in front of him.
“I didn’t realize I was back at Harvey’s place.” Fuck, I probably shouldn’t have said that, but it’s too late now. “So sorry that I ran an errand for Ms. Mabel today without calling you first to make sure it was okay for me to leave the building. I figured it wouldn’t be that big of a deal, since it wasn’t that far away and I’ve been on my own there for weeks without any problems.” My voice is sharp, rising with anger. The guilt from lying is causing me to lash out. My emotions are all over the place; it feels like a hurricane is forming inside of me.
“Lainey, you know we’re not trying to keep you prisoner. You were just acting weird after I picked you up.” Lya is trying to reason with me, but I’m not having it.
“You could’ve asked me about it on the ride home. I told you my stomach was hurting, but you didn’t really ask me anything the entire drive.” I scoff at her attempt to cover her tracks, but I’m not done. “If you want to know the details of my day, I went to run an errand for Ms. Mabel because she’s having a harder time getting around the store, especially when it’s busy. She’s not as fast as us, so I told her I could get some fresh air and pick up the items for her. Before I left, I had my egg salad for lunch which didn’t sit well in my stomach. Now can we talk about something important—like, I don’t know, taking down Harvey and saving my friends?”
I have no reason to be this mad, considering I’m a damn liar, but their instant distrust really does hurt me. Clearly, they automatically didn’t trust that I would be running that errand for Ms. Mabel.Am I really justifying my terrible behavior?
“Okay, no need to be such a dick about it, Lane. We were worried, that’s all.” Lya’s glaring at me now. It doesn’t help that we’re both stubborn and bull-headed. This used to get us into big fights when we were kids. Sometimes we’d ignore each other for days, because we were both refusing to apologize.
“So what’s the plan?” Changing the conversation before it goes any further, I focus on Rian, since he’s the only one who didn’t have much to say about this issue. The only one I don’t want to yell at. Thiago didn’t really do anything either, but he also didn’t step in to help, like I thought he would.
“We’ve finalized an advertisement with the specifications that you gave us about what he’s into. We inline linked it to a website we created, and put it on the dark web where it’ll be extremely likely that he’ll find it,” Rian says, in between shoveling pasta into his mouth like a madman. The tension is slowly leaving the room, though I can tell they’re still concerned.
“Do you know what kind of websites he uses? How do you know he will find it?”
“When we set up the appointment to get you, we found your ad on a specific website that looked normal, but had hidden links. We mimicked that exact website and created a chat line between us and the customer. It’s basically the same specifications, same keywords and same geographical region, so it’s extremely likely that he’ll go for it.” It’s crazy how fast their attitudes change once we start talking about the plan. They all take this extremely seriously, and it’s clear they’ve thought things out in detail.
“Alright, say he does take the bait. Where are you going to meet up with him? He won’t show up alone. All of his men carry multiple weapons, and he never has less than three with him. What’s your plan there?” My voice is full of skepticism. These are things we need to talk about, to make sure we’re prepared.
“We’re extremely knowledgeable in using weapons and knowing how to fight, so I’m sure we can handle whoever he has working for him. We found an isolated old warehouse to use as a location for him to meet us.” Zep is the one who speaks now, acting like I’ve offended his fighting abilities by even asking that question.
