Chapter 12 Declan
Declan
Iroll my eyes as I look through the bottles of girly shit that Akio is currently adding to a bag that already has clothes in it for Fallon. After her comments the other day, he went through her phone and purchase history to make a list that he then gave to Ms. T so she could buy this… junk.
“Retinol Serum” I read off the glass bottle before Akio snatches it from my hand. “Since when do we make targets this fucking comfortable?”
“She isn’t a target asshole.” He doesn’t look up from his work as he grumbles at me. I pick up the hairbrush that is on the table. My eyes bug out at the price. Twenty fucking bucks for a brush. I have never been more thankful to be a guy.
I start flipping it into the air and catching it, just so I have something to do with all of this restless energy.
I have got to get into headquarters today and spar with some unlucky soul or I am going to go insane.
The truth is, Fallon is what has me so damn stirred up.
The way she refuses to break, the fierce determination, showing no fear, and getting a hit on Teo not once but twice.
I‘m beginning to enjoy having her around and it’s getting under my skin.
“Give me that.” Akio grabs the brush from midair, jarring me from my thoughts on ways to keep Fallon Helix here longer.
“Why keep her this comfortable if you want to let her go so bad?” I see his jaw tic and I know I have him there.
“Human decency. You should try it sometime.” I scoff in response but he continues. “If we think bigger than just the information she can provide currently, we might realize that she could be the key to all of it.”
I tilt my head to the side, my interest piqued. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know man, what if we could get her to work with us? Let her go back to her life since she hasn’t seen our faces, but with just enough knowledge and curiosity to start digging. Then she is close to them and we can monitor her and get exactly what we need. ”
I find myself nodding as I follow the conversation. It’s not a bad idea, but what I find most confusing is the fucking panic that is vibrating through me at the thought of her leaving. With a slight shake of my head, I chalk the feelings up to not wanting to miss out on this challenge.
“I don’t know man. I don't think Teo will go for it.”
“I won't go for what?” The person in question strides into the room. He has his shirt sleeves rolled up, which tells me he has been up and working on his mad little inventions that make us a ridiculous amount of money.
“Letting Fallon go and seeing what she digs up on her own.” I give Akio a pointed look as I speak to Teo.
“Absolutely not.” Teo crosses his arms.
Akio zips up the bag of bullshit he got for Poison before looking up and grinning. “Well, maybe if the two of you would have listened to me before, then you wouldn’t have gotten nailed by her. Twice.”
I snort in amusement because watching the footage of Teo taking those shots had me laughing my ass off.
He flips us both off before grabbing a water bottle from the refrigerator and heading back upstairs.
“Alright, masks on,” Akio says, already sliding his into place. And that’s when it hits me. I know exactly how to keep Fallon here longer.
I grab my mask from the table and pull it on, and we head down the stairs to the lowest level of the house.
Akio approaches her door, puts his face to the scanner and enters when the locks clang open.
I stride in behind him to see Poison with most of her body on the bed but her head hanging upside down facing the door.
“Oh, thank god.” She flips over, swaying a little when she stands. “Look, maybe I was a little rash beating up your friend. I promise to behave.” She gives an innocent smile that does nothing to convince me she is either sorry or going to behave.
Akio brings the bag over to the bed, saying, “We brought you some things to make you more comfortable.” I see her deflate when she looks in the bag.
She knows that this means she’s going to be here for a long time.
I feel this tug of some unknown emotion that pulls me over to half sit on the bed on her other side.
She melts onto the mattress between my brother and I, staring at the ceiling.
Akio mirrors her position, and seeing her allow this without tensing up has me doing the same on her other side. Two masked men and a captive lay side by side on a bed in a basement. There has to be a joke in there somewhere.
“How ya doing, Siren?” his voice floats across the room.
“Clearly I have been better.” I don’t like the hollow sound of her voice.
“Want me to get…” I pause before I fuck up and think of something to say other than Matteo’s name. “The other one? Let you get in a few more shots?”
She laughs softly. “I wouldn’t be opposed.”
“Want to look in that bag a little closer?” Akio chimes in. “You might find something you like.” He’s clearly trying to tempt her. She turns her head to him and I miss whatever expression is on her face, but she sits up with a shrug and turns to the bag that she had pushed to the foot of the bed.
We sit up with her, and for the first time in several weeks, there is no tension between us. I don't know what made it drop, but it feels… Nice.
She squeals and starts pulling books out of the bag. When did he put those in there? She holds up one that matches the others: Kings of Quarantine and Akio chuckles. “I didn't have a squid, but I thought this might work instead.” She barks out a laugh.
Irritation crawls up my spine as they share some kind of inside joke. I fight it back because this is the most cooperative we’ve seen her and it’s the perfect chance to get some answers. I reach up to fiddle with my eyebrow ring only to come up short. Gah, this fucking mask.
“I see you have good taste in reading material.” She throws him a smirk.
“It wasn’t difficult to figure out your favorite. You have only read the series fifteen times.”
“How the hell do you know that?”
An idea hits me, and I speak up before Akio can respond.
“Let's play a game, Poison.” She turns to look at me with an arched brow. “We take turns asking questions and giving answers. For every honest answer you give us, we’ll give you one in return.” I know this is a risk and she could completely shut down.
I wait for her answer, hoping I didn’t just fuck this up.
She glances between my brother and I before scooting back on the bed so she can see us both. “Okay, you have a deal. But I get to go first.”
“Go for it,” I tell her.
“Would you have truly dropped me from that roof?”
It isn’t the question that catches me off guard. It's the fact that she delivers it with a clear, confident voice and a face of curiosity rather than one filled with fear.
“Maybe.” She cuts me with a glare at the vague answer so I go on.
“I would have no issue dropping someone off of a roof, other than maybe the clean up. But we weren’t done with you at the time so I guess my answer is a two-for-one.
Am I capable, yes. Was I going to drop you at that specific moment?
No.” She nods while she gets more comfortable, crossing her legs under her.
“Why aren’t you afraid of us?” The question is out of my mouth before I can really think about it. I realize that this is exactly what has me so intrigued. Most people cave, crumble, break down at the reality of captivity and torture, but not this girl.
“I mean, I am.” She pauses, scrunching her eyebrows together in confusion.
“Or at least, I was. It started out intriguing and really fucking hot at the club. I felt scared at the office, pissed when you attacked me on my run, scared again with the whole waterboarding thing.” She pauses, giving us both an irritated look and pointing a finger at me followed by Akio.
“Which was bullshit by the way. But I guess I feel like if you were going to kill me you would have by now, so I don't know what to feel honestly.”
I nod, accepting her answer, but not any closer to understanding this enigma.
“How long have all of you been watching me?”
Akio saves me the trouble by responding, which is nice since he’s the one who did most of the stalking. I mean surveilling. “From a distance as part of Helix? Probably five years or so. As a specific person of interest, a little over six months.”
I struggle and fail to hold back the chuckle when I hear her mutter, “Fucking stalker,” under her breath.
“My turn.” Akio better make this question count. “Tell me about Quinn.”
Her head jerks up in response, eyes darting between us. The silence stretches until she finally speaks. “What do you want to know?” Her evasive response is to hide something from us or protect her friend. I am leaning toward the latter.
“Nope, it's your turn to answer. A deal is a deal.”
She cuts a glare at me. “Fine. Quinn is my best friend, as you well know, I’m sure.” She rolls her eyes and looks at Akio. “She was there for me through some really hard parts of my life, and I did the same for her.”
“What kinds of things?” I lean back against the headboard and cross my arms over my chest. To my surprise she actually responds, disregarding the game.
She huffs a laugh. “Things we might need Cerberus’ help with.”
“Like?” Akio already knew they had done some searches but we might get a reason for it now.
“None of your fucking business. If you thought that kidnapping and torturing me wouldn't change my mind about wanting your help, then you’re clearly delusional.” There is that fire. I don't bother fighting my grin since it remains hidden under the mask.
Akio nods to me and I know it is time to go. We stand as one, but her quiet voice stops us. “Will I ever get out of here?”
Something in my chest clenches at her question.
“We’re working on it,” Akio says at the same time I answer, “I dont know.”
My brother and I exchange glances. His answer was clearly intended to give more hope than mine.
She shakes her head and stands from the bed. “Well, fuck you. Both of you. I’m going to take a shower with actual fucking shampoo and conditioner.” She walks away and as we head for the door, her steps falter. “Thank you for the bag by the way.”
I nod as we leave the room with the strangest emotions churning inside of me.
I feel a weird sense of satisfaction at the idea of her being comfortable and the honest conversation we just had.
My reaction is foreign to me and needs to be dealt with at once; which is why I drag Akio to the gym with me when we exit the basement.