Chapter 23 Akio
Akio
The door swings shut behind Fallon’s retreating form with a click as loud as a gong. It might as well be a dagger to my chest.
Clay fucking Ensling.
He's a dead man walking for a long list of reasons. Seeing the wreckage he inflicted on Fallon, it’s a miracle we don’t hunt him down tonight.
But we can’t. Not yet, anyway. We have plans for Clay, plans that we will set in motion sooner than we’d planned now that we know he is Fallon’s attacker.
She’ll want her revenge too, there’s no doubt. And she’ll get it. But first…
A whine draws my attention back to Officer O'Brian, his head hanging as if he’s too exhausted to hold it up. The fucking prick.
Dec swipes a finger across the fresh cut on the cop’s forehead, tsking. “You’ve really dug your own grave here, Officer. I’m not sure you’re aware of how badly you’ve fucked up.” He crouches down and grabs O'Brian’s hair, forcing him to look into his eyes. “You don’t remember us, do you?”
“R-remember you?” The cop coughs, blood coating his lips.
“Maybe we should refresh your memory,” Matteo says, shoving a hand into his pocket and pulling out something dainty and shiny.
My heart clenches at the sight of Luna’s bracelet. I sometimes forget he keeps it with him as a reminder. Teo even went to the trouble of saving up his money the weeks after she went missing so that he could have the chain fixed for her when she returned to us.
Matteo pinches the bracelet by the chain between his forefinger and thumb, swinging it back and forth like a pendulum in front of the fucker’s face.
“You probably don’t recognize this. The last time you laid eyes on this bracelet it was broken and in the hands of three very worried teenagers who were looking for their foster sister.
” Matteo carefully curls the chain back into his palm before returning it to his pocket. “Her name was Luna.”
“I don’t… I don’t remem–”
“Of course you don’t!” Matteo shouts. Declan’s hold on O'Brian’s hair tightens as he moves around behind him, letting our brother take front and center, and giving the cop the perfect view of the silver gun in Teo’s other hand, resting at his side.
“Why would you remember a girl’s name from fifteen years ago when you didn’t bother filing the missing person’s report?
You were probably too busy counting the money in your head to write anything down when you came to our old, beat down house. ”
I step up to Teo’s side, drawing my knife. “One cut for every year she’s been missing.”
Declan releases his hold on the cop’s head and grabs the iron knuckles out of his bag. “One punch for every year we spent searching for her without answers.”
We get to work while Teo watches, never taking his eyes off O'Brian. No matter how much he screams, we don’t let up, taking our time with each slash and strike.
My knife digs in, dragging deep, but not deep enough that he bleeds out quickly.
Dec’s punches hit precisely, breaking bones in the most painful places on his body.
We go until the man is black and blue, swollen and barely recognizable.
Smelling salts stir him back to consciousness, and Matteo calls us off.
“Say her name.” The click of him racking the gun echoes through the cement room.
“L-Lu–” the man pants, barely able to form the word with his split lips and swollen tongue.
“Say. Her. Name.” Matteo places the muzzle of the gun against O'Brian’s forehead.
“L-Luna,” he slurs.
The sharp crack of the gun reverberates through the room. Blood and brain matter splatter the cement wall behind him.
“Akio,” Matteo mutters when nobody moves.
“Get what you need for filming. We’re doing this now.
The sooner we’re done with this guy, the sooner we can focus on the next target.
” He holds a hand up to Declan who has started to untie the cop.
“Leave him. Let’s keep him here while we film.
This can be a lesson to anyone else in the Axton Harbor Police Department who may be in Helix’s pocket. ”
Hours later, I’m showered and dressed for bed.
While I feel vindicated that we’ve dealt with at least one of the people involved in Luna’s kidnapping, it does little to settle the anxious knots in my stomach.
There’s no use in trying to sleep, so I slip out of my room, not really sure where I’m headed at this hour, not until I end up face to face with Fallon’s door.
I raise a fist, but hesitate, unsure if I should let her have her privacy or go in and hold her.
God, I want to hold her, soothe her, just fucking be with her.
The way she completely shut down before she left the basement, the blank look on her face – that’s going to stick with me forever.
I run a hand through my hair, torn on what to do.
A creak in the floorboard pulls my attention. “Hey,” Dec says as he approaches, hands in the pockets of his joggers and hair wet from his shower. “Couldn’t sleep either?”
“Nah.” I step back from the door.
“Same.” He sighs and leans against the opposite wall, tilting his head back. “Is she not answering?”
I shrug. “Haven’t had the balls to knock. Don’t really want to wake her if she’s sleeping. Did you and Teo take care of the body?”
“Yeah, we got it done.” He stares at Fallon’s door like he can see through the wood into the room where our girl is. “Fuck,” he breathes as he reaches up to mess with his eyebrow ring. “I don’t know how to help her. I feel so fucking useless right now.”
“Me too, brother.” I check the time on my phone and sink down to the floor, feet out in front of me. “Think I’m going to wait here until she’s up. I don’t want her to be alone.”
We don’t say any more as we wait, both of us wrapped up in our own minds about the girl just a wall away.
Not until the door cracks open hours later and Fallon steps out, eyes puffy, cheeks pale.
While she’s obviously spent the night crying, there’s no denying how beautiful she is.
My eyes scan over her make-up free face, over the long locks of black hair that curl over her shoulders and down her back.
Declan and I immediately scramble to our feet.
“Morning,” I say breathlessly.
“Hey,” Declan says.
She stares back at us in silence. There’s no smile, no quip about us waiting outside her door like loyal dogs. She just swallows, eyes darting away and murmurs, “Good morning.” Then she walks down the hall to the stairs without another word.
Declan and I follow at her heels, exchanging looks. What do we do? What do we say? How can we help? Neither of us knows how to handle this subdued version of Fallon. It doesn’t feel right. This isn’t her.
A delicious smell hits us before we round the corner to the kitchen. Fallon stumbles to a stop, staring at the man in the apron and the massive display of food covering nearly every inch of the countertops.
Teo wipes his hands along his apron nervously when he notices her arrival. “Menace,” he says gruffly. “I made breakfast.”
Fallon’s eyes rove over the pastries, donuts, eggs, bacon, fruit and casseroles. Fucking hell, he must have been at it all night, and not gone to bed after taking care of O'Brian’s body.
“I see,” she says, eyeing him strangely. She heads for the espresso machine, but Matteo is already a step ahead of her, grabbing her a cup and filling it just the way she likes.
Declan leads her to the breakfast bar to sit while I start piling things on a plate for her. Once we set the plate and coffee in front of her, she stares down at the food blankly, then glances back to the three of us who are watching her like she’s something precious.
“Do you need anything?” I ask, ready to give her my bleeding heart if that’s what she fucking needs.
“I’m fine,” she says thickly, then picks up her knife to cut into a raspberry cream danish.
Her eyes line with tears as she stares down at the knife.
Then it clatters to her plate, and she suddenly pushes to her feet.
“I-I’m not hungry.” Fallon flicks her tear-lined gaze up to Matteo.
“I’m sorry.” She flees from the room, but not before I see a tear tracking down her cheek.
None of us move. We all stare after her until her footsteps disappear up the stairs.
I huff a sigh, dragging a hand down my face. “She’s going to need some time—”
Glass shatters, interrupting me.
My eyes shoot to Matteo who has flung a casserole dish onto the floor, the jagged pieces scattered across the tile.
“The fuck was I thinking?” He rips off his apron with a growl and tosses it in the sink.
Then he reaches up on top of the cabinet, unhooking the Glock we keep hidden there in case of emergencies; one of the many hidden weapons throughout the house.
“What are you doing?” I ask, my brows drawing together in confusion.
He looks up at me, a wild, dangerous glint in his eyes. “I’m going to kill that motherfucker Clay Ensling before he causes any more harm.”
“Fuck yes!” Declan rubs his hands together while coming around the counter. “About fucking time.”
“Wait.” I move in front of the doorway to the garage, holding up my hands. “We have a plan in place for him, remember? Let’s talk about this, Teo.”
“Talk about what?” he shouts. “How we could have dealt with Clay years ago and didn’t?
How maybe because we waited, we’ve allowed him to hurt others, to hurt Fallon?
” He’s breathing hard, stepping around me and pushing into the garage to gather supplies from the storage cabinet before I can stop him.
Declan is right there with him, already opening the back of his Hummer.
“She doesn’t need breakfast.” Matteo laughs, the sound low and dangerous.
“She needs Clay’s fucking head on a spike.
” He hauls a coil of rope over his shoulder as he heads to the car.
“Clay’s been safe for too long,” Dec adds. “Let’s fucking end him. Today.”
“Stop!” I bark, and both of them reluctantly turn back to me. “You’re both running on emotions right now. I get it. Trust me. I want nothing more than to tear that piece of shit apart but we can’t.”
“Watch me,” Matteo spits out.
“What happened to the plan you’re always preaching to us about, Teo?
You know that if we get rid of Clay, it does nothing to help us in the long run.
We have evidence of his involvement, but we still have next to nothing on Sebastian.
If we get rid of Clay, then we lose all the work we’ve built these fifteen years tracking who is at the top of the operation in Axton Harbor.
He can still lead us to the answers we need. Are you willing to risk that?”
He grinds his teeth together, knowing my reasoning is sound. I know exactly what to say next that will convince him to stay, to make them both stay and not make a rash decision, no matter how good it would feel to end Clay.
“What about Fallon?” I ask, and that catches their attention.
“What about our part of the deal we made with her? You would deny her the right to her revenge? The deal was that we help find the man who attacked her and then put him in a position for her to kill him. You go after Clay now, kill him yourself, and our deal is void.”
Declan releases a growl of frustration before slamming the trunk shut, looking disappointed, but resigned. “He’s got a point, Teo. I’m not taking that away from Fallon.”
Matteo stares at me for a beat before sighing and dropping the supplies to the ground. “Yeah.” He pinches the bridge of his nose. “You’re right. I want nothing more than to feel that fucker die by my hands, but… You’re right.”
“So you’re staying?” I ask, the tension in my chest loosening slightly.
“Yeah.” He rolls his eyes. “I’m staying.”
“Good.” I grip his shoulders, making him look at me. “We’ll get him. It’s all a matter of time, but it will happen. We’re closer than we’ve ever been before.”
He glares back at me, but heads back inside without a fight. “I fucking hope you’re right.”