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“I only figured it out because there’s a look in your eyes you get when you talk about her to me. There’s worry, love, and something else. You mask your emotions very well otherwise, Derek,” Orion praises me.
I don’t know why, but I want to bathe in his praise. I have never thought I had a praise kink before, but I’m learning new things about myself. Especially with how Carrie ruined so much for me growing up. I can’t handle being called a good boy by a woman, but I have no issues with a man doing it.
Swallowing, I decide to unpack this later. Breathing deeply, I think about emptying myself of emotion. Meeting Orion’s eyes for a moment as he glances over, he nods. “Yup, now you look like you couldn’t give two shits about anything. Your father expected you to lose your shit today, I think, and was surprised when you didn’t. I haven’t spoken to him outside of texts, but I could tell he was impressed.”
“I am willing to do anything for Lennon,” I explain. “I don’t think I’ll be good enough for her after everything, but she’ll be safe.”
Orion shakes his head. “I don’t know the girl well, but she’d be weak to not appreciate a man willing to burn the world for her. The other men, Roark and Turner I think it is? How are they handling all of this?”
Staring at the dark fields as we drive, I ask myself how much I want to divulge. “Roark and Turner are trying to stay in the headlines so Lennon’s name is forgotten,” I begin. “My father wants to use Lennon as a Kentucky daughter who lost her way. She doesn’t deserve to have these lies sully her name, so the boys are partying and being ridiculous to pull away those headlines.”
“So Grant thinks he can use a beautiful rockstar to normalize getting help,” Orion muses. “Your father is working with the counties around us to begin a push for more affordable mental health. The platform is important, but Grant doesn’t have altruistic reasons for doing this. It’s a gateway for rich fucks to hide their wayward family members away.”
“Exactly. And give Xav a front for his experiments and sex trafficking,” I say bluntly.
“I didn't know your father was dabbling in the skin trade,” Orion says angrily. “I didn’t think to look at where the money was coming from, and that was a mistake. I am going to be up late tonight tracking it all.”
Biting my lip, I decide to tell him more. “We have a hacker who's been looking into it, and it’s all been a dead end. Xav’s a ghost and so is his money. In order to be able to fund the campaign, it has to all look squeaky clean.”
“Dammit,” Orion mutters. “I am officially on the wrong side of all of this. Tell me everything. I know I’m just a fucking soulless psychopath but—”
“No. Don’t do that,” I counter. “There’s nothing soulless about you if you’ve been drawn to Lennon too. That girl is fire, light, and everything good in the world. If anyone was going to make you feel something, it would be her.”
Orion is breathing slightly hard as he processes this. I don’t think he’s ever had this many feelings to sift through before and it’s got to be a mindfuck. I also don’t envy my father for being on the wrong side of Orion. The man is playing with fire.
Grunting, Orion turns down a back road as he thinks. “I want to collaborate, but I feel like I’m missing something. Did you really come here alone without any backup? It feels ballsy even for you.”
Chewing on my bottom lip, I curse inwardly.Do I trust him?It sounds like he’s moving towards our side, but as he said… Orion is only loyal to himself typically.
“Remember the guy I said who is our hacker? He and Xav go a long way back, and he’s watching my back from another location. It’s still very risky, because my father could decide he doesn’t need me anymore and kill me in my sleep.” I don’t know who my father is anymore, and while I don’t think he would kill me, there’s nothing I’ll put past him anymore.
Orion growls softly and shakes his head as if he’s thinking to himself. Leaving him to his thoughts, I look at the house he pulls into. It’s a long way off the main road and a two story farmhouse. He doesn’t have a neighbor for miles, which I expect suits him fine.
Waiting until he finishes parking in the garage, I step out of the car.
“Do you think I can talk to him while I talk with you?” Orion asks as he gets out of the car. “I am still processing a lot, but I want to find a way to help you get Lennon out. And then I want to burn everything my father and yours has been working on to the ground. I don’t care that they say they’re not trafficking humans themselves, the money is still dirty. I can find people to kill anywhere, it has been fun to unleash the beast on the assholes they bring me though,” he confesses.
I think about today, and funny enough, I’m not freaking out. Maybe I should worry about this, but my give a fuck button is broken too. Outside of my circle, the end justifies the means. I would kill hundreds of people to protect my people.
“Yeah, let’s go call Greg, and I’ll tell you about what I know,” I murmur.
Walking in the side door, I try not to gawk as I follow Orion through the house. It seems warm and airy, and very different from what I would think his home would look like. I expected dark colors and a man cave.
Flicking on lights as he walks through the house, he brings me into the living room. “Need anything? I’m going to grab my computers,” he mutters as he looks around the room as if asking himself what I’d see.
“A beer if you have it? If not, I’m good,” I tell him. “Why are you twitchy?” After a small glimpse of Orion, I’m hungry for more.
“I just… I don’t think I’ve ever had visitors before,” he says with a grimace at the admission. “This is weird for me. My father doesn’t even come over. I like my space, and I don’t completely trust my father. Anyone who employs their son to kill people and take care of their dirty laundry isn’t a great person.”
I watch as he leaves, thinking about what he said. Being ‘good’ is relative I think.Orion is helping me when he doesn’t have any reason to, and that puts him firmly against my father.
I wonder what’s happening to Lennon, what she’s doing, or thinking. Does she think we’ve forgotten about her? It’s been three weeks since she disappeared, and my only relief is knowing she’s still alive. I really want to find this damn hospital so I can break her out.
Trudging back in, Orion brings a laptop and me a beer. “Need a phone to contact Greg?” he asks me, handing me a cell phone. “This is a burner that can’t be traced. I want to video chat with him, see what we all know so we’re on the same page. If I can, I want to express interest to your father in the other aspects of his campaign to see if he’ll let me in further. Grant trusts me to a degree, but if I can work on getting more, it may lead to me finding her faster,” Orion explains.
“Yeah. I think you’re right,” I sigh. “I have his number memorized. We’re taking a huge leap of faith here…” I trail off, letting him see my desperation for a moment.
“I know,” he says, rocking back on his feet and crossing his arms. Orion is still a big fucker, and it’s clear he’s kept working out and training after playing football in school. “I’m in. I don’t know what loyalty is, never had to give it to anyone, but I know how to keep my mouth shut. I’m not saying shit to your father or anyone else about this.”
