25. Theo
25
Theo
T he living room at Selene’s place is thick with tension and quiet, but not in a peaceful way. It’s the silence that comes before a storm. The last time we were here was game night a few days ago when we got the worst confirmation of our lives.
Valkyrie paces restlessly, sniffing at shoes and nudging hands for attention, oblivious to the storm brewing in the room. She’s always been good at reading a room, sensing moods before anyone speaks a word.
I sit on the couch, elbows on my knees, staring at the floor. The weight of what we’re about to do presses against my chest like a stone. Across the room, Orion stands near the window, arms crossed, jaw tight. Mo leans against the dining table, unreadable. Bennett twirls a pen between his fingers, deceptively casual. Next to me, Celeste absently scratches behind Valkyrie’s ears, her gaze flickering toward the newcomer.
The guy Orion brought with him, he just introduced him as a part of his team. He stands near the door, taking everything in with an almost lazy posture. But I know better. There’s a sharpness to his eyes, a quiet calculation behind the easy smirk. He’s built like a man who’s seen his fair share of fights and walked away from all of them. His dark hair is long and pulled back in a tight braid, and there’s the shadow of stubble across his jaw. I don’t know his real name yet, only what Orion introduced him as, but I do know one thing—he hates being called Lucy.
I glance at Celeste just as she shifts slightly, her gaze flicking over him like she’s sizing him up. Or appreciating the view. She’s subtle about it, but not subtle enough for me to miss. And I’m not the only one.
He catches her looking. One corner of his mouth lifts, slow and deliberate. Celeste, unbothered, just raises a brow like she’s daring him to speak. Instead, he just chuckles under his breath, shaking his head slightly before looking away.
Well. That’s interesting.
The late afternoon sun filters through the windows, casting long shadows across the wooden floor. The scent of our coffee from breakfast lingers in the air, but it does nothing to settle my stomach. The weight of what we’re about to do sits heavy on all of us.
“So, we’re doing this on their anniversary?” Selene asks, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.
“It’ll be the best chance we’ve got,” Orion says. “She’s going to be at Gabriel’s grave for sure. She won’t be expecting anyone else to be there, let alone all of us.”
I exhale sharply, dragging a hand down my face. “I don’t know if I’m ready for this.”
Mo’s voice is gentle but firm. “You don’t have to be. But we do have to do it.”
Bennett finally speaks up. “She’s not going to react well. The moment we bring up Gabriel, my existence, or your father, she’s going to deflect or try to spin it.”
“She’s spent her whole life manipulating people,” I mutter. “She turned an entire town against Cassie because she needed a scapegoat. She’s not going to crumble the second we confront her.”
Valkyrie huffs dramatically and flops onto the floor, making Celeste chuckle. “Even the dog’s exhausted just thinking about it,” she murmurs.
The giant watches the exchange, one brow raised. “Cassie,” he muses, his voice low and even. “That’s the woman she framed?”
I nod.
“She still in town?”
“Yeah,” I answer. “She almost lost her job, but she has a house up near the mountain.”
Goliath hums in acknowledgment, tucking his hands into his pockets. “Convenient for Aubrey. She’s going to test you. If she’s as good as you say, she’ll sniff out any uncertainty and use it.” His eyes flick to Orion. “This operation requires control. Are we sure everyone here can handle that?”
I look up at him, meeting his gaze. “We don’t have a choice.”
He studies me for a beat before nodding slightly. “Good answer.”
“Yeah, yeah, Lucy, we get it. Control is key,” Orion says, smirking slightly.
The guy’s entire body tenses. His jaw tightens, and he shifts just slightly like he’s debating whether it’s worth it to react.
“Don’t call me that,” he mutters.
Orion just grins. “It’s a term of endearment.”
“No, it’s not, it’s demeaning.” His voice is low, warning.
Selene tilts her head. “So why do you get away with it?”
Orion shrugs. “Because I’m me.”
I shake my head, exhaling sharply. “And people think I have issues.”
That earns a few chuckles, but the laughter fades fast, the reality of what we’re about to do settling back in. It’s like standing on the edge of a cliff, knowing we have to jump but not knowing how hard we’re going to hit the ground.
Selene shakes her head. “She doesn’t need to crumble. She just needs to slip up. Give us an angle we can use.”
Bennett nods. “She will. She’s been careful for years, but that doesn’t last forever. People like her, they think they’re invincible. That’s when they get reckless.”
Mo straightens up. “So what’s the approach? Just hit her with everything at once?”
“No,” Orion says immediately. “We lead her into it. Let her think she’s in control of the conversation. If we push too hard, too fast, she’ll shut down or turn it on us.”
I let out a slow breath. “So we let her talk. Let her think she has the upper hand.”
Bennett smirks slightly. “Then we take it from her.”
The Mountain leans against the doorframe, watching us carefully. “Have you ever done this before?”
“No,” I admit.
He snorts. “Figured.”
Celeste tilts her head, studying him. “And what exactly do you bring to the table, Lucy?”
The temperature in the room shifts.
The Behemoth’s smirk vanishes. His eyes cut to her, sharp as a knife, and for a second, I wonder if she’s about to regret that question.
“You get one warning,” he says coolly. “Don’t call me that.”
Celeste doesn’t blink. She just smiles—slow, knowing, challenging . “Noted.”
There’s a beat of silence. Then, to my absolute disbelief, Big Bird grins . It’s quick, there and gone, but I see it. So does Celeste.
She leans back against the couch, looking satisfied, and for some reason, The Skyscraper suddenly finds the floor interesting.
Mo tilts her head, thinking. “We need to go slow and start with a topic she won’t immediately shut down. An emotional one. Gabriel is the perfect entry point.”
“She’s mourning him publicly,” Celeste adds, finally looking away from Lurch. “So we acknowledge that. Make her feel safe like we’re just there to pay respects too.”
“And then?” I ask, shifting forward.
“Then we remind her of what he was looking into before he died,” Orion says. “We talk about how he confided in people. How he had concerns about certain cases—”
“No,” I cut in, my voice low. “About my dad.”
Bennett nods. “And then we bring up Cassie. The lies she spread. Why she needed to turn the town against her in the first place.”
Selene rubs her arms. “And when she starts getting defensive, we drop the bomb about Bennett.”
Valkyrie perks up at the sudden change in Selene’s tone, tail thumping against the floor. I reach down, running a hand over her fur absentmindedly. “She won’t be able to dodge all of it at once,” I say slowly. “She’ll slip up trying to juggle it all.”
Mo nods. “And when she does, we’ll be ready.”
Bigfoot exhales sharply through his nose, pushing off the doorframe. “It’s a solid plan,” he says, almost reluctantly. “But you’re underestimating her. She’s going to sniff out a setup the second you show up unannounced. She’ll be on edge from the start.”
Orion crosses his arms. “You got a better idea?”
Gigantor tilts his head, considering. His gaze flicks to Celeste for half a second before he says, “Give me a day. Let me see what I can dig up.”
Celeste smirks. “And here I thought you were just here to stand around and look intimidating.”
Chewbacca’s eyes gleam with an emotion I can’t quite place. “I’m very good at multitasking.”
Orion groans. “Oh, for fuck’s sake.”
I scrub a hand over my face. We do not have time for this.
I just hope it works.
A tense silence lingers in the living room, the weight of our conversation pressing down like a heavy fog. No one wants to be the first to move, to acknowledge that we just set a collision course for a reality none of us are ready for. But time doesn’t wait for readiness. It never has.
“Alright,” Selene finally says, clapping her hands together like she can break the tension with sheer force. “Sounds like a plan.”
“Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen,” I mutter, dragging a hand down my face.
“You say that like it’s not already a disaster,” Mo says, arching a brow. “We’re just trying to control the damage at this point.”
Bennett smirks, flipping his pen between his fingers. “Besides, we’re giving her the illusion of control. It’s what she’s always done to other people. Poetic, in a way.”
Orion snorts, pushing off the wall. “Poetic or not, I’d rather not get caught in the crossfire if she decides to go nuclear.” He glances at the time on his phone and sighs. “Speaking of, I need to go pick up the rest of the team.”
Celeste’s eyes spark with amusement pointing at BFG she asks, “You mean there are more of him?”
Orion levels her with a glare sharp enough to cut steel. “No. My team is off-limits. Don’t even think about it, Silly.”
Celeste groans, throwing her head back dramatically. “I grew out of that nickname when I was a child. It’s not funny anymore.”
“Then stop acting like a child and I will stop using a child’s nickname for you.”
That earns a few chuckles, but the laughter fades fast, the reality of what we’re about to do settling back in. It’s like standing on the edge of a cliff, knowing we have to jump but not knowing how hard we’re going to hit the ground.
The conversation shifts to logistics—who’s going where what time we’re leaving—but my mind is already elsewhere. It’s stuck in the past, in the memories that don’t make sense anymore.
Aubrey. The woman who raised me. The woman who killed my parents.
The thought makes my stomach turn. I can’t be in this room anymore.
I push off the couch, muttering, “I need some air.”
No one stops me.
The cold bites at my face the second I step outside, sharp enough to ground me for half a second before the weight of everything pulls me back under. I shove my hands into my jacket pockets, trying to steady myself, but it doesn’t work. My boots crunch against the gravel as I make my way toward the truck, my thoughts a relentless storm.
Valkyrie barks behind me, a curious, almost hesitant sound. I glance over my shoulder to find her standing beside Mo, both of them watching me.
Mo tilts her head, then sighs before stepping off the porch. “C’mon,” she says, pulling her jacket tighter around her. “You’re not leaving me with those lunatics.”
I huff out a laugh—barely there, barely real—but I don’t argue when she falls into step beside me.
We stop near the truck, the silence stretching between us, heavy but not uncomfortable. The wind picks up, rustling through the trees. It smells like winter and woodsmoke, like something that should feel safe.
But nothing feels safe anymore.
Mo’s voice is quiet when she finally speaks. “I hate that she fooled me.”
I swallow hard, nodding. “Yeah.”
“She was there,” Mo continues, her breath curling into the cold air. “She made sure I had food when Mom was working double shifts. She helped me with school stuff. She… She made me feel like I had a family here.” Her jaw clenches, and when she meets my eyes, there’s raw pain there. “I trusted her.”
My fingers tighten around the truck’s door handle. “I did too.” My voice is rough, barely holding together. “She was all I had left after my parents died. And now I find out she’s the reason they’re gone.”
Mo looks away, shaking her head. “It makes me sick.”
“Same.” I exhale sharply, staring at the frost-covered ground. “And the worst part? I don’t even know if she ever really cared. If any of it was real.”
Mo nods slowly, then steps forward, pulling me into a tight, grounding hug. I hesitate for a second before letting my arms wrap around her, closing my eyes. It’s not romantic, not even close—it’s a hug that says, I know. I feel it too. We’re in this together.
When we pull back, Mo clears her throat, sniffing once. “Alright, that’s enough emotional growth for today. Let’s get back inside before Celeste eats the new guy alive.”
I bark out a real laugh this time, shaking my head as we turn back toward the house. “You mean Stretch? Giant? Lanky McFed?”
Mo snorts. “I like Lanky McFed.”
“Of course you do.”
Inside, the mood has shifted—but not in the way I expect.
Celeste is lounging on the couch, one leg tucked beneath her, twirling a strand of hair around her finger as she smirks up at Stilts, who looks vaguely amused.
“So,” she purrs, tilting her head, “what do I get to call you?”
Stretch Armstrong’s lips twitch like he’s fighting a smile. “Agent.”
Celeste arches a brow. “That’s boring.”
“Special Agent,” he corrects, giving her a slow, deliberate once-over. “If you’re feeling formal.”
She blinks, momentarily caught off guard, then lets out a sharp laugh. “Oh, you’re good.”
“I know,” Talladega says, deadpan.
Selene, standing by the counter, claps her hands together loudly. “Alright, nope, I’m shutting this down before I have to bleach my eyes.”
Bennett gestures toward the coffee table. “Perfect! Then we’re playing Uno. I need a comeback after the last game got interrupted by the lab.”
Celeste tears her gaze away from The Human Ladder long enough to smirk at Bennett. “You mean the game where you were about to lose spectacularly?”
Bennett glares. “I thought we had an agreement on the last game . Now sit your ass down and shuffle. Does everyone have their socks on?”
I shake my head, letting the moment ground me. The weight of betrayal, of everything we’ve uncovered, is still there, but it’s easier to carry when I’m not doing it alone.
Mo’s right.
I’m not alone. Not anymore.
And if Aubrey thinks she can keep getting away with this?
She’s dead wrong.
This time, she’s the one who won’t see it coming.