Chapter Eleven
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CYRIL WAS ALREADY GETTING used to having everyone around the apartment.
It was going to be sad when they all went back to their normal lives, but Cyril would rather have that than have to deal with the Organization any longer than necessary.
Hopefully, they’d all make it out alive, but there was a real chance that some of them would get hurt, and he didn’t know how to deal with that.
He didn’t want to lose any of his friends, and the fact that Robbie still hadn’t arrived made Cyril feel slightly nauseous, though.
Cyril glanced at the group gathered in the living room.
He was especially worried about Robbie since he was the only one who didn’t have training.
Well, neither he nor Cyril had training, but at least Cyril could use his ability, even though it would be complicated in a fight situation.
He could manage, or at least, he hoped so.
Robbie, on the other hand, didn’t have anything to help him.
That wasn’t something Cyril could focus on.
Robbie was here to stay, and nothing Cyril would say would change his mind.
Hopefully, his friend would agree to stay behind when they finally faced the Organization.
Cyril would already be worried enough about everyone else without having to wonder if Robbie was still standing.
Which meant that his absence today was a problem.
He’d promised he’d help, and he had until today.
He was supposed to be here, but he hadn’t shown up, and he hadn’t answered his phone when Cyril had called.
Cyril had tried not to be too obsessive and had only called three times, but he was getting worried, or rather, he was getting more worried.
He looked down at the phone in his hand.
Should he call again? Should he send a message?
Would Robbie even answer? Maybe he was taking a nap.
If that was the case, he’d kick himself when he realized he’d missed this meeting.
He wanted to be involved, even though he was at a disadvantage.
Cyril understood. If things were different and he wasn’t one of the two people at the center of this mess, he’d want to help his friends, too.
“You can try calling again if you’re anxious,” Vale said, gently knocking his shoulder against Cyril’s.
Cyril looked up and smiled. “That obvious?”
“Very much so, but it’s one of the reasons everyone here loves you. You care.”
“It’s just weird that he’s not here, isn’t it? He insisted that he wanted to be involved, and now he’s not coming?”
“I’m sure he’s fine, but like I said, if you’re worried, you should call him again.”
“What if he doesn’t answer?”
“We’ll deal with it.”
Before Cyril could even unlock his phone, Vale’s phone started vibrating on the coffee table.
Everyone fell silent and stared at it. Vale did the same for a few seconds before huffing and snatching it up.
He didn’t look at the screen to see who it was.
He swiped his finger on the screen and raised the phone to his ear. “Yes?”
He listened for a second, then lowered his phone and placed it on the coffee table. He hit the screen, and Helena’s voice filled the room.
“Oh, is Cyril there with you? I would love to talk to him,” she said.
Cyril would actually hate to talk to Helena, but it didn’t look like he’d have a choice. “What do you want?” he asked.
“I wanted to ask what you and Vale have decided. Are you coming out here to meet me? I don’t have much time left, so I need to finish my business here.”
“We already told you that we’re not doing it,” Cyril snapped. “I don’t care what you want. Vale is not handing himself over to be killed, and I’ll never work for you.”
“Well, that’s a pity. What am I going to do with your mother and your friend now?”
The bottom of Cyril’s stomach dropped. “What do you mean?” Cyril’s mother was supposed to have left town already, and Robbie, well...Cyril didn’t want to think about that. He couldn’t even consider the possibility that Helena had him.
“They’re here with me. I think they miss you, but I had to gag them because Robbie wouldn’t keep his mouth shut. I got bored after a few threats.”
“If you hurt them—” Cyril started, but he didn’t know how to finish that sentence. He probably shouldn’t threaten the woman who held his mother and his best friend prisoner.
“I won’t hurt them if you and Vale hand yourselves over, Cyril. Honestly, I don’t know what the problem is. I’m offering you a lot of money to do the same work you currently do.”
Cyril chuckled darkly. “We both know it wouldn’t be the same work. I never wanted to work for anyone because I know how easy it would be to misuse my ability. I’ve already had to deal with some of that in the past, and I don’t want to have to go through that again.”
“Unfortunately, you’re going to have to. Either you come here and work for me, or I kill your mother and your friend. Is that something you’re willing to let happen?”
“You already know it’s not.”
A gentle hand on his arm made Cyril look up. Vale managed to look both angry and worried at the same time. Cyril was sure that if he could, Vale would reach through the phone and grab Helena. Unfortunately, no one had the power to do that.
“I’ll text you my position,” Helena said. “I’ll see you soon.”
She hung up, and for a moment, no one said anything. When Vale’s phone vibrated with a text, though, everyone around Cyril started moving.
He couldn’t. His mother and his best friend were in the hands of an organization that wouldn’t hesitate to kill them. How was he supposed to accept that? How was he supposed to deal with it?
“We’ll get them back,” Vale promised.
“What if she hurts them?”
“She won’t. She wants to use them as bait, and she can’t do that if they’re hurt or dead. She wants you to cooperate. She’ll lose you if she hurts them, and she’s too smart to do something that stupid.”
“I hope you’re right,” Cyril murmured.
“They’re in a cemetery,” Rachel declared. “She couldn’t even be original.”
Cyril snorted out a laugh, then slapped his hand over his mouth. He shouldn’t be laughing. He should be focused on getting his family back.
“We can win this fight,” Vale said, looking around the room.
“But we’re going to have to be careful. We were planning on taking the fight to her, but she isn’t giving us the time to do that.
She chose this cemetery for a reason, which means we need to know everything we can find about the place. We need to be ready for anything.”
“I can help,” Cyril offered. There was no one here who knew cemeteries better than he did. He didn’t feel like he was contributing enough, but it was better than nothing, and it would give him a distraction. “How much time do we have?”
“She didn’t say when she’s expecting us, but she’ll know that we won’t confront her if we’re not ready. This isn’t going to be an easy fight, but we do have a chance to win.”
Cyril prayed that Vale was right, but he couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if he wasn’t.
* * * *
VALE WASN’T GOING TO let anyone hurt the people he cared about.
He certainly wasn’t going to let Helena hurt the people Cyril cared about.
He didn’t have a lot of them, and the fact that Helena had taken Cyril’s mother and his best friend made Vale feel enraged.
He hated the woman even more than he had when they’d worked together, which he hadn’t thought possible.
He couldn’t focus on his anger, though. He shouldn’t focus on anything but getting these people back and kicking Helena out of town. He wasn’t sure he’d manage to do both of those things, but he was willing to die trying.
He just hoped he wouldn’t have to.
He glanced in the direction of the passenger seat, where Cyril was sitting.
He kept bouncing his knee as he looked out the car window, and even though it was annoying, Vale hadn’t told him to stop.
He understood having too much nervous energy, and he wanted Cyril to feel as comfortable as possible, considering the circumstances.
Telling Cyril to stay at the apartment or even in the car wouldn’t work. Helena had made this personal, which meant that whether Vale liked it or not, Cyril would be at the center of the fight, and Vale would have to protect both himself and the man he loved.
There was also the unknown of the team Helena had put together to deal with.
Rachel hadn’t been able to find out much about these people, and while they knew that Helena’s team members had abilities, they didn’t know what those abilities were.
They were aware of the woman who could manipulate darkness, but what about the other two?
What could they do? How could Vale and his people prepare when they didn’t know?
“We should’ve known she’d grab them,” Cyril said suddenly. “She threatened to.”
“We thought your mother was out of town, and we were expecting Robbie to join us,” Vale pointed out.
“But you know what she’s capable of. We should’ve expected this.”
He wasn’t wrong, but it was too late to worry about that. The only thing they could do now was focus on getting the people they loved back and stopping Helena and her team.
Piece of cake.
The cemetery wasn’t far. It was late afternoon, so when they parked in the parking lot, it was mostly empty.
Vale couldn’t afford to worry about the people who might still be hanging around.
He hoped nothing would happen to them and that they would run as soon as they realized something was going on, but that would be on them, not on him.
He really had enough people to worry about.
Russell parked next to Vale, and before he even turned off the car, Rachel was out of the backseat, raising her computer. Vale frowned and hurried out of his car, eager to know what was happening.
“I found one of the other team members,” Rachel declared. “He sees the future.”
Vale frowned. “What does that mean?”