24. A “Jail” Break
24
A “Jail” Break
Matt
“It was fucking Lilith, wasn’t it?” Tony asks for at least the tenth time.
I give him the same bored look I’ve given him every other time he has asked and respond, “Probably.”
“Where the fuck is Darius?”
“Still don’t know.”
“This is fucking ridiculous,” Tony snarls, his fist pounding on the refrigerator door. “Who buys a goddamn walk-in fridge that doesn’t have a safety mechanism preventing this?”
“This one has a safety mechanism. It just doesn’t matter because somehow, they managed to rig it from the outside, so it won’t work.”
“How the fuck did they manage to do that?”
“For fuck’s sake, Tony. I know as much as you do at this point.”
He scowls at me, staring intently, so after a moment, I add, “If I had to guess, I’d say some kind of pin-like object inserted on the outside will prevent the door from opening from the inside. And likely Darius was stuffed in a closet or one of the many hidey holes Declan keeps around here to fuck with him.”
He snorts, turns, and pounds on the door a few more times before turning back to me. “At least they didn’t lock us in the freezer.”
I laugh and nod, my attention going to the door behind him as a faint tapping comes through. Tony whirls around, both fists now hitting the door as he shouts, “Hey, let us out!”
I grab Tony’s arm, yanking him back from the door. A scraping indicates someone is out there, then the latch disengages, and the door swings open, revealing Camilla. She smiles brightly, “Well, there you two are.”
“Thank fuck someone finally showed up,” Tony mutters as he exits the cold space. “My poor balls couldn’t take much more.”
“Tony,” I chastise, punching him in the arm. “You could at least thank the lady for saving us.”
Tony almost looks sheepish but does manage to say, “Yes, Chameleon. Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it,” she answers easily, obviously not at all bothered by Tony’s bad mood. “I was on my way here when Agatha called anyway.”
“Aggie called you?” I ask as I make my way out of the kitchen, headed to find Darius.
Camilla follows close behind as she replies, “Yes. Seems like Antonio spoke to Lilith, who admitted to making some questionable choices that you all did not seem to be a part of. So, Agatha had some concerns.”
I laugh humorlessly, hurrying up the stairs and down the hallway toward the room typically designated for Darius and Antoinette.
“Darius,” I shout as I enter the bedroom, stopping short in the doorway. The room appears empty, so I rush over to the bathroom, finding it also empty. Camilla and I stand in the middle of the room, both of us looking around, listening intently, and then I hear it, a faint tapping coming from the closet.
I attempt to open the door, but it doesn’t budge. And then Camilla points to the keypad on the wall. “Someone engaged the panic room feature. Gonna need a code to disengage it from the outside.”
“I don’t have the code,” I reply testily, annoyed by all the dumbshit technology interfering with my day. “I probably can crack it, but it’ll take a bit.”
“Do you think Antoinette knows it?” Tony asks from the doorway.
“Most likely. But she’s not gonna give it to us.”
Tony pulls his phone from his pocket, tapping out a message as he replies, “No, but she’ll probably give it to my wife.”
We only have to wait a few minutes before his phone pings, confirming his assumption was correct when he walks to the keypad and types a number in. The light immediately turns green, and then a bunch of locking mechanisms click over.
Camilla and Tony step back, and I slowly push the door open, peeking inside. “Darius?”
The room remains quiet, so I flip the light switch on. Blinking against the glare, I spot Darius at the far end of the closet, seated on the floor, his back leaning against the wall. “Are you alright, man?”
He peeks an eye open, then closes it as he mutters, “I’m going to fucking kill her.”
I smile, this not being the first time I’ve heard these words. “Did she fucking deck you?”
He gives me an impatient look. “It would appear so.”
I laugh, and Tony quickly joins me, always one to enjoy witnessing Darius’s embarrassing moments. Then Camilla asks from the doorway. “What the fuck did you do to earn that?”
“I tried to tell her she couldn’t take the prisoner out of the basement and jet off with Lilith to take care of shit.”
“I can see why that might upset her. But what did you say to make her actually deck you?”
Darius scowls, then mutters, “I may have threatened to physically restrain her if she refused to do as she was told.”
Camilla cackles. “Well, that was dumb.”
“Obviously, I could have worded it better,” Darius concedes. “Regardless, I’m sure they took that piece of shit out of the basement, and now they’re in the wind.”
“She did what?” Tony’s humor vanishes, and his words come out cold and angry. He moves closer to Darius, frowning down at him as if he was the assaulted party and not Darius.
“Oh, so she didn’t bother even telling you two?” Darius responds with a sour laugh. Tony extends his hand toward him, and he takes it, allowing Tony to assist him to his feet.
I shake my head. “Lilith caught us in the walk-in fridge and locked us in without any comment at all.”
“So that copycat prick isn’t even here?” Camilla asks sullenly, her glare directed at Darius.
Sighing, Darius looks to Camilla and then to Tony, his hands coming up in front of him as he sputters, “I don’t know why you two are glaring at me. I have nothing to do with their insane plan.”
“I need to talk to that fucker.” Camilla’s words are defensive, and Darius snorts in a decidedly un-Darius-like fashion as he retorts, “Yeah. Me, too. But I guess we’re gonna have to go to the back of the queue because fuck only knows where they are now.”
Camilla turns to me. “Come on, Matt. Find them.”
They’re all staring at me now, and I roll my eyes as I turn and walk out of the closet, then out of the room and down the hallway to my own room.
I attempt to let the door close behind me, but the group of them are right on my heels, and no sooner have I picked up a laptop than Darius is holding a tablet, poking at it as if he has the first clue what he’s doing. “Fuckin’ hell, Dare. Cut it out.”
He gives me a good side-eye, then continues to poke around my apps as if the answers are just going to jump out at him. I attempt to yank it from his grasp, but he jerks away at the last second, his expression turning smug as I curse loudly.
“Darius,” a voice shouts from the lower level, drawing my attention away from Darius and my poor, abused electronic device.
We all turn to the doorway, listening intently, and then we hear it again—louder this time—punctuated by heavy footfalls hitting the stairs, quickly growing closer as they sprint down the hallway.
Then Declan is there, rushing through the doorway, a look of panic on his face. He looks around the room wild-eyed until, finally, he spots his brother frozen in place with a tablet still in his hands.
Declan stops a few feet from Darius, staring at him with an expression that’s half-pained, half-relieved. Scanning him from head to toe and back again, Declan takes a halting step toward him before stopping again, eyes squeezed shut.
Darius deflates right in front of my eyes. His shoulders sag, his head hangs, and his breath catches. Then, without comment, he drops the tablet on the table, steps into Declan, and wraps his arms around him, yanking him close.
Declan doesn’t even pretend not to be moved by having his brother back. He’s not at all restricted by the need to keep his emotions in check or to put on an act of misplaced machismo. No, Declan hugs Darius tightly, pressing his face right into his neck and letting months and months of torture loose in a silent sob that has his shoulders shaking, his hands gripping Darius’s shirt.
I turn away, blinking back the sudden burning in my own eyes. I glance at Tony, noting he’s doing the same thing. Camilla sniffles beside me, then leans her shoulder against my arm as she watches them, unabashedly wiping tears from her cheeks.
Laughing, I shake my head, and Tony nudges me. “What the fuck is so funny?”
I motion to Darius and Declan, and then to Camilla, and finally to the two of us, both standing there obviously on the brink of our own emotional breakdowns. “What is not funny about a bunch of fucking criminals boohooing like crybabies?”
Camilla punches me in the arm, then whispers, “I’ll have you know there aren’t many things more attractive than a man who’s in touch with his emotions.”
“That may be so,” Tony responds. “But that doesn’t mean we won’t deny it around outsiders.”
I nod, happy for the distraction. “Exactly. Here, we can be crybabies. Out there, we’re nothing but cold-hearted, unrepentant killers.”
Camilla shakes her head as she grins, and I know she knows exactly what I’m talking about. If anyone understands the power of public persona, it’s the Chameleon.
Darius and Declan step back from each other, Darius’s hands now gripping Declan’s jacket, while Declan holds Darius’s head between his two hands, staring at him fiercely. Darius murmurs something incoherent, earning a laugh and a head shake from Declan.
“Don’t you ever fucking do that to us again,” Declan chokes out, his hands squeezing Darius’s head and giving him a small shake. “I’m fucking serious. We won’t survive it.”
My eyes burn again because he’s right—we won’t survive it.
With a few more pats on the back and reassuring words, Declan and Darius eventually step away from each other. Darius turns to me and asks, “Does Antoinette have a phone?”
“If she does, she didn’t get it from me.”
“The phone she had previously has not been active,” Camilla adds. “So, it’s safe to assume she doesn’t have one.”
“Why are you asking?” Tony interjects with a frown.
“Cause I really wanna send her a middle finger right now.”
Tony’s bark of laughter matches my own, both of us surprised by Darius’s random comment. Not that he hasn’t spent plenty of time pissed at Antoinette for one reason or another; he’s just not prone to voicing his displeasure in such a juvenile manner.
Declan, having no idea what’s gone on, frowns. “What happened?”
“This happened.” Darius points to the growing lump on his head, and after a moment, Declan chuckles, not bothering to hide his amusement. “You pissed her off already?”
Darius scowls, but then Camilla steps in front of him, phone in hand. “Go on then, Darius. Let’s see it.”
He hesitates for a moment, briefly torn on whether or not he wants to follow through on his impulsive statement. He touches the lump that appears to be getting bigger with every passing minute, his scowl deepening, and drops his hand from his head, moving it directly in front of him as he extends his middle finger with great feeling.
Camilla takes the photo and checks it before looking up at Darius again. “You sure about this?”
“Yup,” he replies without hesitation. “Send it.”
Camilla looks at me, eyebrows raised, and I shrug. “You heard the man.”
Camilla grins, mischief in her eyes as the telltale sound of the message sending drops around us. She doesn’t wait to see if there’s a response; she just pockets the phone and then turns to me and asks, “So, did you figure out where they’re going.”
“Yes,” I reply as I pack some of my equipment into a large bag, then hook it across my shoulders. “Aggie’s gonna send us an itinerary. We gotta get to the airport.”
I’m halfway to the door when Camilla catches up to me. “Do I get to come along?”
“Will Kaian let you?” I tease, knowing Camilla asks for permission even less than Antoinette.
She squints at me, keeping pace as I hurry down the hallway, but says nothing. Catching her devious smirk from the corner of my eye, I stop at the top of the stairs, motioning for her to go ahead.
She gives me a knowing look, raising a brow as she walks ahead of me, walking swiftly down the stairs, and I follow along behind, happily safe from retaliation.
For now.