Chapter 9 Matteo
Matteo
After the rooftop escapade, I open the double French doors that lead to my office on the third floor, and well away from Fallon, so nothing can be overheard. Standing at the window, I pinch the bridge of my nose in a failed attempt to ward off a growing headache.
“He crossed a fucking line!” Akio slams the doors shut behind him. Declan leans against my desk, looking casual with his arms crossed, but tension lines every muscle as he prepares for the attack.
“I did what needed to be done. She was closer to talking on that roof than with anything else we have tried.”
Ripping his mask off, Akio storms toward our brother.
I haven’t seen his monsters this close to the surface in years.
While we come to blows frequently enough, it is the glint of silver in his hand that has me jumping to intervene.
Snatching his arm mid swing, I full body slam him into the wall, immobilizing any further attack toward our brother.
Throwing a glance over my shoulder, with his mask abandoned on the desk, I see the shock on Declan’s face. He knows he finally pushed too far.
Breathing heavily, Akio is no longer straining to get past me. “Breathe, brother. Turning on each other over a girl is not the answer.”
“This started because of a girl. Or did you both forget the fucking reason for everything we have built?” Venom spews with his words, his chest heaving.
“We promised we would do anything to find answers. This is anything.” Though he’s not backing down, Declan is being more cautious with his tone.
The silence stretches as I meet Akio’s gaze. “I’m going to let you go. Put the blade away and let's just talk.” It's a command, but we all know there is a question lurking in there too. No one is safe if he truly loses control. He responds with a single nod.
I move back a few steps as he puts away his weapon. Declan doesn't move, but this leaves us able to see each other clearly.
“It is not too late to let her go. If she didn't talk after getting nearly thrown from a roof, then she doesn’t know anything.” He cuts a look at Declan.
“She hasn't seen our faces. We can drop her off somewhere and I can make an anonymous report for the authorities to pick her up. Better yet, her little friend Quinn can pick her up.”
“She doesn't leave.” Declan’s voice sounds…
possessive? “You remember the agreement. If she isn't involved in any way, right? Ultimately she cleaned up the Councilman bullshit, so she’s involved whether or not she knows it. We can get information from her even if she doesn’t realize it's useful.” Declan doubles down with his argument. These two will be the death of me.
I step between them again. I need some fucking Excedrine.
“Enough!” I stop them both in their tracks with a stare.
There is a reason they listen to me most of the time.
No matter what, I have always put our family first. That isn’t about to change.
“She stays for now but we try a softer approach. Maybe find some middle ground with her. I am starting to agree with Akio.” The image of her on that roof creates a pit in my stomach.
“Maybe she isn’t involved and can help us navigate Helix. ”
Declan’s jaw clenches, but he doesn’t argue. Which means he knows that's the truth, and he has some other reason for wanting to keep her around. The thought of using her as a pawn or bait to get to her father leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Akio looks from me to Declan. “This isn’t us and you know it. She could be useful, but I don't think we are going to get anywhere with the current approach.”
Declan swipes his hand down his face. “Alright. What do you suggest?”
“Let’s let her rest,” I respond before Akio can speak up. “We can work out the logistics of making her more comfortable. If she’s as appalled by the Helix dealings as she let on, then maybe we can get her to help us.” My mind is already swirling with how to do this and keep the situation contained.
“Fine.”
“Fine.”
I glance between them, both still frowning and brooding. “Okay, boys. Now kiss and make up.”
“Fuck you.”
“Fuck off.”
My chuckle follows them out of my office as I dig out something for this headache and pour a glass of scotch from the bar in my office.
Their footsteps echo down the hall as I sink into my chair and boot up the computer.
Swallowing the pills and amber liquid in one fiery go, my thoughts drift away.
More of my failures shine through each day.
I failed fifteen years ago to keep our family whole and safe, and the further this gets, the more I am being pulled in every direction.
We could walk away from it all, but that would destroy the brotherhood that we carved out of the trauma that came from losing Luna.
We could keep going, but that means using Fallon and fuck if that doesn’t make me twist with some foreign feeling. Disgust, guilt... Fear?
Lost in thought, I glance up to see that not only has an hour passed, but I’m viewing the cameras in Fallon’s room.
She lies curled beneath the blankets, looking so small and delicate it makes my heart clench.
All of that rage drains from her face as she sleeps.
The urge to protect her hits me harder than any punch to the gut.
I can't take my eyes off of her. Suddenly I see her body tense, and a whimper of fear comes through the audio feed, followed by her begging, “Please… get off me… stop…”
I’m running out of the room. I find myself in the basement, hand on her door before I realize what I’m doing.
Fuck, I don’t have my mask. How comforting is that scary ass mask to a girl having a nightmare?
I know enough about panic attacks and the murmurs in her sleep to know something happened.
Inside, I twist with the need to hold her, but I know I can't. I have to keep my family safe. Instead, I put my back to the door, and slide down until I’m sitting, offering the only comfort that I can give: my guarding presence that she can't ever know about.
Akio
After getting Fallon back downstairs, I don’t mention to the guys that I gave her a chance to shower before getting her settled in her original room.
That was the longest twenty minutes of my life, standing in the bathroom, knowing she was dripping wet behind that thin curtain.
Apparently being told that I am a god among men is too much to ask for, but I did at least get a thank you from her, so here is to progress.
I head down the hall to my computer cave after exiting my brother’s office.
I can't believe that I nearly lost control on Declan.
I feel sick over what just took place. The need to defend Fallon brought out another side of me.
A side that I vowed long ago to never let loose on my brothers.
I head to the room I have claimed as my own, which I keep dark.
Monitors are spread across one corner of the room.
Neon lighting beams from the equipment while I collapse in my gaming chair.
Tossing my mask onto the desk next to the main monitor I lean back, closing my eyes.
My mind goes back in time, picturing the dark, hateful eyes as well as the softer blue ones; both of which haunted my childhood.
Neither is innocent, neither gets to have a role in my life any longer.
It’s been years since I’ve thought about my parents.
Years since the last time I lost control and showed that I will never fully outrun my monster.
I will never forget the terror in the man’s eyes.
I may not have killed the target they chose for me, but I ended someone’s life.
The first death of what would become many. The night the monster was born.
I shake my head, forcing these thoughts back to the tiny corner of my mind that I keep them locked in.
Scrolling through the file I created earlier, I review Fallon’s friend, Quinn Cadieux.
She works in the IT department at Helix, graduated top of her class at MIT, sends money to her younger brother monthly and often takes trips to see him.
That is the easy stuff to find. What is more interesting is the amount of cyber protection she has on her system.
Unfortunately for her, nothing is impenetrable, and I managed to get a case file from her system that had no business being there.
It’s a police file on her dead uncle who had a reputation for bad news.
According to the lead detective, Quinn was the one who killed him but it was ruled self-defense and closed quickly.
I have my doubts, though considering the crime scene photos clearly show he was attacked in his sleep.
My mouse moves of its own accord, and I snap to attention. I immediately counteract whoever the fuck is hijacking my system. Code flies across my laptop as I try to make the connection through a back door. The file on Quinn disappears before my eyes.
I fight for control of the system and end up in a dance of bypassing firewalls and countering encryption.
My fingers fly over the keyboard but for every access point that I gain, I lose another.
Every time I get close to removing this son of a bitch from my system, they slip away, deploying scripts and keeping me from taking full control.
It's not too late to completely restart the system, but that would leave me blind and us defenseless.
Fuck. Just before I pull the trigger, the mouse pulls up the app with video monitoring and opens the visual feed on Fallon. A chat appears on my screen.
Gotcha.
I kill the system. Fuck. Fallon was right about her little friend. There is no other person who could have pulled this off. I have to tell the guys. We were already on the clock since taking Fallon and people will start looking for her soon.
But if Quinn knows who we are, that clock just sped up.