Chapter 14 Fallon #3
“Good.” Matteo sets down his drink and all three men give me their undivided attention. “Now, tell us. What had you searching for Cerberus?”
“Uh-uh.” I shake my head. “I’m not spilling my secrets without getting some of yours in return.”
“I’m not sure you’re in a position to negotiate.” Matteo’s eyes sear into me.
I shrug. “Too bad. You want my deep dark secret, then I want something from you. Something real.”
“What do you want to know?” Akio asks, earning him a glare from Matteo. “What? She’s got a point. There needs to be some level of trust established here. She deserves that after what we’ve put her through.”
Matteo takes another long swig of his drink, then grumbles reluctantly, “What exactly do you want to know?”
I glance between the three of them. These men are a mystery to me, and I want to know what makes them tick.
“Why did you start Cerberus? And don’t give me the vague answer you would spout during your monologues you film for the city talking about justice and taking down evil.
I want to know what happened to make you three… the way you are.”
They go still, each of them looking decidedly uncomfortable. Guess they weren’t expecting that question. Too bad, I’m sticking with it. What I have to share is personal. Beyond personal. The least they can do is open up too.
Akio visibility swallows, looking to the other two. “Well, we can start with how we all met.”
“She doesn’t need the nitty gritty details,” Matteo tells him. “Just the summary.”
Akio jerks his head in understanding then takes a deep breath. “Not many people know this about us, but we all met when we were fostered together in a rundown house on the outskirts of Axton Harbor. For all intents and purposes, we consider ourselves brothers.”
“But it wasn’t always just the three of us,” Declan adds. “We had a sister too.”
Had. My heart sinks, knowing this story is going to end in tragedy.
“Her name was Luna,” Akio says. “The four of us were all we had in the world, so we were close.” He shakes his head, a fond smile touching his lips as if lost in memory.
“Luna was always taking care of the three of us, getting us out of binds, patching up our wounds from fights, lying for us to our foster father so we could avoid his beatings when he drank too much.”
I can’t help but smile. “She sounds like a good sister.”
“She was,” Akio agrees somberly. “Anyway, one day she went out on a date and never came back home. We knew she wouldn’t just leave, not without taking us with her or letting us know.”
“What happened to her?”
“We don’t know exactly.” Akio shakes his head.
“We’ve spent every day for the last fifteen years trying to find answers, and during our digging we ran across all the shit that’s been happening in Axton Harbor.
The drugs, the corruption, the trafficking; we think it connects to what may have happened to Luna, but we don’t have any solid evidence for us to be able to track where she went. ”
“Luna.” My eyes widen. “Lunar Security. You named your business after her.”
“We did,” Matteo answers. “And while Lunar Security gives us the funds and access to technology we need, it’s when we’re acting as Cerberus that we can honor Luna and victims like her by taking down the corrupt people in our city. Since we weren’t able to find her, it’s the least that we can do.”
The least that they could do? They’ve basically devoted their entire lives to avenging their sister and ensuring the safety of Axton Harbor. That’s a hell of a lot, if you ask me.
Not for the first time, admiration for Cerberus swells inside me.
“So that’s how Cerberus came to fruition,” Matteo says quickly, effectively closing the door on that conversation. “Now,” he aims his intense stare at me, and I know it’s time. “It’s your turn. Why were you looking for Cerberus?”
This moment feels a little surreal. For the past months, hell, years, Quinn and I were scouring Axton Harbor in search of these three so that I could ask for their help.
And not only did they find me, but now they’re willing to help me.
I take a shaky breath, concern a knot in my stomach as I wonder if they’ll believe me or if they’ll brush my story aside like my father, or run into dead ends like the detectives.
But this is Cerberus. This is what they do.
“Three years ago I went to this big charity ball that Helix Enterprises throws every year. All of my dad’s contacts were there, so I was expected to make an appearance.
Halfway through the night I started feeling…
I don't know… dizzy. But not drunk. So I decided to go home. I remember getting to the back hall and someone having a hand on my arm… but then nothing. There are images in my mind, like I know we somehow ended up back at my apartment, and I know I was… I was attacked.” I swallow hard, meeting each of their merciless gazes.
“That’s why I don’t like being pinned. It gives me flashbacks to that night.
I may not remember much, but I remember being pinned beneath someone, not able to move or talk.
And every time I feel like I’m close to recalling something important, a face or a voice, it all slips away again. ”
I take a steadying breath. Talking about that night is never easy. It’s haunted me every day since, and I’m tired, so fucking tired of looking over my shoulder for the culprit and wondering who took that peace away from me. And that’s why I need Cerberus.
The guys are silent, each stewing in their own form of anger.
Akio stares back at me across the flames, holding my gaze and telling me with that stare just how sorry he is that I had to go through what I did.
Declan is looking off in the other direction, but I notice his white-knuckle grip on the arms of his chair.
And Matteo… Shadows dance across the sharp lines of his features, across the white scar on his brow.
He’s leaning forward with a haunted look in his eyes, staring into the flames like he may jump straight into them.
“I want your help,” I finally tell them, my voice growing steadier with each word. “Help me track down who attacked me that night. And then help me kill them for what they took from me.”