Chapter 21
I used the data I hacked from the call with Ellington and tracked it to an address. Even after seeing Connall in the video footage, I never expected to be sitting in his living room.
Connall was working with Ellington.
I hadn't breathed fully since he taunted us. Beck massaged my shoulders before slipping to the opposite side of the room. He moved like a wraith, even in someone else's house.
A key turned in the lock, and Connall pushed the door open, his phone pressed against his ear. He dropped it on the kitchen bench and put it on speaker.
"When will you be home?" A sweet voice filled the dark apartment. There were other noises too, like the soft suckle of a baby.
I tensed in his armchair, waiting for Connall to realize he wasn't alone, but he didn't. He needed to open a few windows and air out the thick, musty scent that choked his apartment and my lungs.
Connall didn't do undercover missions as often as I did. He was a tech guy, a brilliant one, but still. What was he doing in Greenich Bay? Why was he working for Ellington? I needed to know before my pounding heart fell out of my chest.
"I don't know. Keep sending me pictures of the twins, though, and of you too, please." Connall smiled down at his phone.
His caller made a noise, a mix between a click of her tongue and a squawk.
"I haven't slept a full night since they were born. You should see the bags under my eyes. Connall, I'm hideous." Connall sank down until his forehead rested on the countertop.
His knuckles turned white as he held on to it like a lifeline.
I breathed shallow, taking in his heavy shoulders and lean body. I'd considered him a friend, but now I wasn't sure who he was. We'd chosen each other as partners on the first training day after being recruited. There had been a shyness in him I didn't find intimidating.
"Send them. I need something to help me get through the long days."
"Have you relaxed at all? What about a date?" There was a warble in the caller's velvet voice.
An ex-lover? Connall gulped, and it echoed in the room.
Yeah, buddy. Tell me what you've been doing here this whole time.
I met Beck's gaze from across the room. His glinting eyes were the only thing I could see from the shadow he hid in.
He belonged there.
"I've been too busy."
"Oh, well, don't become a workaholic like my dad. Make sure you take time to look after yourself and call me whenever you need someone. I miss you."
"I miss you all. Please be safe." Connall thumped his head on the counter with a grimace.
"What was that?"
"Nothing. Look, I better go, Tessa…" He trailed off, like he was soaking up the sound of her breathing.
"Oh, of course." Her voice was falsely bright. "I love and miss you."
Connall ended the call and slammed his hand against his head with a frustrated groan. His red hair hung over the bench.
Tessa? I'd done my research on my former friend and was interested by what I found.
Connall came from the ruthless Antler family. Tessa was his sweet stepsister, who had been married off to the rival family in Carnel City over a year ago. She'd fallen pregnant almost immediately and had twins.
"I love you, Tessa." Desperation churned in his low whisper.
But I didn't want to feel compassion for a traitor, so I flicked on the lamp beside me. Connall's head whipped up, and he paled. My face was half cast in shadows, and his gaze filled with uncertainty as he rounded the counter.
"Sitting in the dark. Tad cliché, no?"
I was tall, but Connall loomed over me still. I crossed my legs and rocked my boot up and down. Connall knew better than to judge my strength by size.
He knew me well enough not to underestimate me.
"Hello, Connall. Sorry to interrupt your call. An ex?" Tension strung my tendons tight.
They could have snapped from the rush of adrenaline.
"Sister, stepsister," he said through gritted teeth.
There was no point in lying. I could find out the truth in moments if I went digging. I appreciated he didn't try.
"She sounded sweet."
He clenched his hands at his sides. If he looked behind him, he'd notice the powerful form of Beck, but he didn't.
"You found me."
I fidgeted with the tasseled navy-blue blanket thrown over the armchair. Not how did you find me? The distinction felt pointed, and adrenaline burned through my veins in readiness.
"Tessa, my sister, bought that for me before I left on this mission. She wanted me to have something soft to remind me not to turn into a robot," Connall added when I didn't reply.
The tension on his face remained, but his gaze held a glimmer of warmth.
"Your dad runs a tight ship in Carnel City."
"Stepdad. You checking up on me?" He rolled his shoulders and walked into the kitchen. "Tea?"
I dipped my head, and Connall busied himself with the mugs and tea bags while the kettle heated. His place wasn't anything to write home about. A studio apartment with a crappy air conditioner unit that rattled like it was on its last breath. The only personal touch was the blanket.
The Unseen did that to us. Carved out all the personality and warmth until we were husks for them to modify.
"Wanted to work out when you started working for Ellington," I asked, tired of the niceties.
Connall dunked the tea bag and surveyed the room for any sign of someone else.
My pulse was a persistent flutter, but it only heightened my senses.
It wasn't the first time I'd been in a sticky situation, and I'm sure it wouldn't be the last. Beck had slipped out of the room, under the cover of shadows, for now.
"Is that what you think I'm doing?" A flicker of irritation jumped on his neck.
I stared as he wandered over and held out the mug. It was green tea, which he knew I favored. I nestled it in my lap, thumb tracing the lip of the mug. My chest ached with a strange betrayal. I considered Connall a friend, and those were rare in my life.
"Were you working with him when we planted those cameras?"
How long had you been lying to me? The real question squatted on my tongue, but I didn't trust myself to ask it and be able to mask my hurt.
Beck crept forward with a glint in his devil-dark eyes.
"It's complicated." Connall took a sip from his mug.
A sinister whisper cut through the room as Beck slung a line of fishing wire around Connall's neck.
Connall's mug shattered on the ground as he slipped a few fingers underneath the wire.
The bite was immediate, choking pain and strangulation in one go.
Connall gasped for breath, and his eyes rolled.
Beck shoved his knee into Connall's back and forced him into an arch.
"Don't mess up my carpet. I want to get my deposit back," Connall wheezed.
"Sure that's going to be a problem for you?" Beck dragged him to the ground, wrenching back his neck until his spine twisted.
Death licked across Connall's burning neck. Hollow satisfaction warmed my gut.
"You've gone through my stuff already, I'm sure. I'm innocent." His heels kicked on the floor.
"Everything's encrypted, smart-ass."
Something like relief flickered over his terror-twisted features.
I'd tried everything to break into his system, but Connall was a genius at protecting his privacy.
If it were anyone else, I would have cracked it open like a walnut.
I gleaned no information about Ellington from his apartment, either.
"Can you just—" Connall tapped his neck with a wince. "Let up a little. You know physicality wasn't my strength in training."
My gaze drifted over his shoulder to Beck. At my nod, he loosened the wire. I didn't make many connections when I started training. The Unseen discouraged them. We worked alone and relied on ourselves.
But Connall had a bright laugh, and on the hard days, it was that sound or the snide remarks he whispered out the side of his mouth that gave me enough energy to keep going. When the weight of loving Beck and grueling training threatened to crush me, Connall had been there for me.
I kicked myself for trusting him.
Beck was coiled power behind Connall, ready to tear his head off if he didn't comply.
The moment I saw Beck, I knew he would consume me. Connall held a softer part of my heart. He became like the brother I never had, in a way. Mirth covered the chip on his shoulder. He wasn't smiling now.
"Why did you join The Unseen, Connall?"
His forehead, dotted with sweat, creased. I wanted to know how deep his deception went.
"My stepdad has an older son already. He made it obvious I was welcome to visit, but not to stay. The Unseen lets me do what I enjoy around the world."
"And you didn't have to watch your stepsister fall in love with someone else, right?" Beck hissed.
Pain made it impossible for Connall to mask the flash of shame. I took a sip of my tea while blood dripped down his neck. Beck breathed hot on Connall's neck, and he cowered.
"So what? That doesn't make me a traitor."
"When did you decide to work with Ellington?"
His fingers scrabbled at his stomach, and Connall let out a choked cry. I tracked his reaction with a tilt of my head. My insides were settled, cold. I wanted the truth, and I'd bleed him to get it.
"Calm down," Beck growled in his ear.
"I'm not fucking working for him. Do you really think I'd be so sloppy as to plant a camera and have myself caught in full view? Come on, I'm the tech guy." Connall threw his hands up and winced when Beck tightened the wire for a beat.
"So you wanted to be found." I tapped my boot.
It had been a consideration. But like with Ellington, I couldn't trust a word he said.
"What you said before? About my sister? It's fucking true, alright.
I joined this organization to get away from her, so I wouldn't have to watch her perfect life with her husband and her new babies.
The only thing in this world I care about is Tessa, and if something happens to her because of you, I will—.
" Beck yanked the wire back into the soft flesh and curbed the fight that boiled under Connall's skin.
"I wouldn't threaten her if I were you," Beck warned.
The heat and tension poured off him, but I only took another sip of tea. I'd be turned on if I weren't so disturbed.
"So he threatened your family. Protocol means you should have alerted the council as soon as he contacted you."
"You don't get it." Connall's bitter smile was tinged red.
I sniffed and put the cup aside. Whatever Ellington had on him kept his tongue in knots and his body wired with tension.
It was going to take more time to fully break him.
A trill sound interrupted the tension. Beck cursed and shoved Connall onto the ground.
He sprawled onto his back, clutching his torn neck.
I unfolded from my chair as Beck answered his phone.
"Chief Goldman."
I stood over Connall with my arms crossed. I wanted to land a barb in his skin, tear him up a little more. My veins were hot with fury laced betrayal.
"It's not too deep. You'll get away with some super glue."
He glared at me.
"L-eave?" Why not just leave?
I chewed on my lip and lifted one shoulder.
"I'm not going anywhere until I destroy that man. If he's threatened you, imagine what he'll do to the people I love who live here."
His eyes widened, and I cursed my adrenaline-fueled loose tongue. Was I in love with Ray? Jonah?
Heat bubbled under my skin at an uncomfortable temperature. I'd do anything to keep them safe. Anything. Beck let out a string of curses as he ended the call.
"We need to go. There's been an explosion at the Orazio house." Beck stepped over Connall and tugged my elbow. His grip bit into me as my mouth dropped open. My stomach fell to the floor.
"What?"
"Right now, we need to get there before the actual officers do." Beck's hand skimmed over my lower back. Even in the urgency of his voice, his touch was tender.
"W-what about me?" Connall spat out.
"Don't leave Greenich Bay, or your sis really will have to watch her back." Beck slid a sharp look at Connall before jamming his phone to his ear.
My ears buzzed, and I struggled to fill my lungs. What had happened at Adelaide's house?
"Talk soon," I said to Connall, uncaring of the state we were leaving him in.
He'd live. As for the three others who held my heart? My throat was on fire, swallowing panic. A sense of foreboding crept through me.
What if Adelaide, Ray, and Jonah were hurt, and it was all my fault?