16. Callahan
Chapter Sixteen
CALLAHAN
Gemini
Sometimes, even the best laid plans go awry.
Learn to move with the punches.
I didn’t think I’d like being called ‘Daddy’, as much as I did, but the sound of her calling me that did something primal to my brain. I lost all sense when I was around her. But the moment my cock had gone soft, she closed herself off to me like a door slamming in my face.
She had every reason to be pissed at me though, so I couldn’t fault her for rejecting me. But still. It hurt like hell.
Simon had assured me that the family would still think I was recovering from my injuries, which is the only reason I was able to leave, though I was skeptical of his assurances.
I didn’t tell him where I was headed or what I was up to and he didn’t ask.
That was fine by me. His trust card had been revoked for now, and I didn’t know if he’d get it back anytime soon.
Stella played with her phone while I continued to drive.
I don’t think either of us slept well last night because I could hear her tossing and turning right along with me.
We stopped for food and gas, barely saying two words to each other.
I didn’t know what was worse, this awkward tension that sat between us, or getting a taste of what we could have been had I not fucked things up with my lie.
Though, had I told her who I worked for in the first place, we probably wouldn’t have even made it to a first date.
“I was able to obtain three maps of the compound. The only problem is they’re all different,” Stella said, flipping through the printed papers using her phone light to see.
“How’d you get those?” I asked.
“A friend.”
I gritted my teeth together, hating how clipped she was being with me. I liked it better when she was throwing her sass around because then at least, I knew she still cared.
“Looking at these, it seems our best point of entry would be the loading dock. The records I had access to from the flash drive I stole indicate they get a shipment every day at ten in the morning from various items and businesses. We could pose as food delivery workers. I found the one they use online and searched their uniforms. Thankfully, they are pretty standard, so I was able to overnight some before we left.” She’d really thought this out and I was impressed. “I guessed you were a size large.”
I nodded, indicating I was still listening. We had less than a hundred miles to go, and it was getting late. We made record time due to our lack of stops.
“So, we go in at ten, pretend to be these workers, and then what?”
“It looks like there could be a row of rooms where they would keep people, over on the west side of the building. But it only shows up on one of the layouts. Since there are several, I’m betting they didn’t want anyone to know where they’ve been keeping these women, so they had it erased from the other more recent plans.
Very H.H. Holmes of them, if you ask me. ”
“Who’s that?”
“A famous serial killer from Chicago. He was alive around the time the city hosted the World’s Fair, and he would use the event to choose his victims. He built this house and used a bunch of different architects to do it so no one would know the true layout but him.
It was designed as his own personal murder house, with secret rooms and a large incinerator where he’d burn his victim’s bodies. ”
“That’s fucked up.”
“That’s saying a lot coming from someone who kills people for a living.”
“At least I got paid for it,” I quipped and for some reason that made her smile at me, before she looked away, clearing her throat like she was mad at herself for getting along with me.
That sobered me up quickly. It had me wondering if we’d ever get past this. If she’d ever actually forgive me. God, I hoped she would. I didn’t want to imagine what my life would be like without her. Not now that I knew what it felt like to know her. To have her.
“Well, anyway, we should be getting there soon, so if you want to grab some sleep, I’ll wake you when we get there,” I said.
“That’s okay. I want to study these layouts a little more. Just so I’m prepared if we’re able to get in.”
I nodded, focusing back on the dark road ahead. I just hoped her plan worked.
The outfits she bought were a beige jumpsuit that buttoned down the front and had pockets over the chest area.
Stella’s fit her curves perfectly, but for me, it was too short on my legs coming up above my ankle and fit awkwardly around my crotch.
In the back it rode up too tight digging uncomfortably into my crack.
The worst part about it was that it made me look like I was sporting a perpetual boner no matter which way I tucked my dick away.
Stella found it hilarious. “I’m sorry, it looks fine. Just maybe don’t stand straight up.”
“So, I’m supposed to walk in hunched over? That won’t be attracting attention at all.”
“Well, it’s that or look like you’re really excited to be there.”
I grumbled beneath my breath a string of nonsensical sounds as I pulled at the fabric around my crotch.
Underneath her jumpsuit, Stella had hidden an arsenal of knives and tucked a gun in her back.
With my uniform being so ill-fitting, I’d opted to forego any weapons for now and hoped if I needed one, that Stella could toss one my way.
Or I’d take it from a guard. It wouldn’t be the first time I was going into a job unarmed.
In order to blend in, we first had to get ourselves on the food delivery truck.
Which ended up being way easier than I thought.
Apparently, they’d been hit with a round of unfortunate food poisoning and were down several employees.
The guy who let us in thought we were their replacements and grabbed my arm hard, warning me away from the lettuce.
“Why are we still distributing it then if it’s contaminated?” I asked.
He shrugged his shoulders and said, “That’s capitalism.”
He wasn’t wrong.
Our job, according to the boss, William, was to load the food into the building. Then once we did that, we were to put on hairnets, wash our hands and then distribute the food from the boxes into serving trays.
On the ride to the compound, I sat in the back of the van next to Stella. She’d put on a blonde wig and wore her round glasses to disguise herself. Since her sister was her twin, she was afraid of being recognized.
We made it into the building without suspicion. Each of us carried several boxes of food. From the kitchen, we were able to slip out undetected and start down the long white corridor.
“Where to?” I asked.
“If the map is correct, the rooms should be down this way.”
We walked as fast as we could together, heads bent down and as casual as we could make ourselves seen.
So far, there wasn’t a soul milling around the place outside of the few guards stationed at the loading dock.
We’d have to deal with them later. Another turn and Stella stopped mid-step.
I nearly fell over walking straight into her.
“Ow!” She said, turning to glare at me.
“Why’d you stop walking?” I asked.
“I think I made a wrong turn. There should be a door here, maybe it’s back that way? Do you see any signs anywhere?”
“No. It’s been nothing but fluorescent lights and white painted walls.”
She bit down on her bottom lip like she always did when she was thinking. I could see the wheels in her head turning as she worked out which way to go.
“Wait a second. I think I hear something. It sounds like…”
“Like talking,” I said, following her as she ran off towards the sound.
Fuck. We had no idea what she was even running into. It could be the guards, or the men that frequented this place for their own twisted amusements.
“Ahah!” she exclaimed, finding a row of doors labeled ‘Quarantine’.
“Which one do you think she’s in?” I asked.
She placed a hand on her heart like she was searching inside herself for the answer. And maybe it was that twin thing people talked about sometimes. Like how they could read each other’s minds and guess what they were going to say next.
“This one,” she said with a certainty that I didn’t possess. But when she opened the door, standing right inside it was a mirror image of Stella.
I’ll be damned. We found her.