Dark Passions

Chapter Twenty-Seven

"So, you tripped and fell while holding a knife, and that's how you got that huge scar on your chest?" I stared at Mrs. Hamilton as she casts a worried expression over my bandages. I couldn't tell her what actually happened because Drake was standing off in the corner. That day when Black had figured out I tempted Drake on purpose, he wasn't gentle in any means of the word. Not only did he slice open my chest (which had to have eight stitches) but he reminded me how utterly powerless I was. For now, I added in my head. I had figured out there was a secret room somewhere in Black's bedroom. Through my digging, I had found several interesting things about him, but what was frustrating is that I had yet to discover his identity. I erased these thoughts from my head. Sooner or later, I would have it figured out. We had gone to a few more therapy sessions, and slowly I would slip details to Mrs. Hamilton. She got in the habit of taking me into the kitchen after the sessions to give me cookies or brownies, and that is where I would quickly fill her in. Drake wouldn't follow because we gave nothing away, nothing suspicious enough for him to suspect us. I nodded my head at Mrs. Hamilton's question, and even though she gave a dissatisfied look, she dropped the topic.

At the end of the session, we left the office and Mrs. Hamilton smiled at me. "I have chocolate-chip cookies for you in the kitchen." I smiled warmly at her.

"Drake, wait for me!" I called out as I eagerly followed Mrs. Hamilton into the kitchen.

"There's no way I'd leave you," answered Drake. We walked into the kitchen and as Mrs. Hamilton started bagging the cookies, I talked in a low, rushed voice.

"I think I found the final piece Garrison is going to need," I spoke, and Mrs. Hamilton nodded her head as she listened. "If I'm caught, that's going to be the end of it. I'll make copies of the files I find so that I can bring them to Garrison as he requested."

"I don't like this," she whispered back. "What happens if you are caught?"

"Give me three days," I said as I accepted the bag of cookies. "If you do not hear from me in three days, tell Garrison it's time to move."

"Three days?" asked Mrs. Hamilton to confirm the date. I nodded my head.

"To keep it short, I'll tell you where I'll be held if I'm caught." Mrs. Hamilton gave me a serious expression as she listened intently. "In his office, there is a large bookshelf and a couch blocking off a corner. Slide this bookshelf over, and it'll reveal a door that leads to a separate compartment in the basement. That's where I'll be." Mrs. Hamilton nodded, and I could see she was close to tears. I gave her a hug as if to reassure her, but to tell the truth, I was terrified. We left the kitchen and found Drake leaning up against the wall. He eyed the giant bag of cookies and he chuckled.

"Ma'am, keep giving her this many sweets and she'll end up with cavities."

"I love to spoil her though," said Mrs. Hamilton as she ran her hand through my hair. She gave me a quick kiss on the top of my head. "See you at the next session."

"Yes ma'am," I answered with a smile. I followed Drake out of the house and into the car. I turned away from him as he started the ignition, watching what was going on outside. Drake pulled away from the house, but I still refused to look at him.

"Aw come on, Jess! Don't you think you've given me the silent treatment long enough now?" I didn't respond and I heard Drake huff. It was his fault my chest was throbbing in pain, among other places as well. "Well, Black isn't going to be in tonight." My ears perked up. "So I'm in charge of making dinner."

"I think I'd rather eat my own vomit," I snarled, still refusing to look at him.

"I'm not a bad cook," said Drake defensively. "Unless you'd rather go out to eat?" I cast a glare over my shoulder, and Drake laughed. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I couldn't help myself. How does pork chops sound?" I shrugged my shoulders, being as complicated as I could be. Drake muttered under his breath as we turned back into the driveway. I got out and headed straight in, Drake not too far behind me.

"I'd rather be left alone today," I said without looking at him. "I'll come eat with you though."

"Well, that's more than what I got yesterday," said Drake as he rubbed the back of his head. "Suit yourself. Are you going to be in your room?"

"Most likely," I answered as I headed up the stairs. I knew I had a few hours to kill before Drake would ask me to come eat, so in that time, I had to get my stuff accomplished. It was music to my ears to hear Black wasn't going to be in tonight, which meant I would be able to get into his office with ease. I stayed upstairs for a good thirty minutes before proceeding back down. I peeked around the corner, and saw Drake outside fixing up the grill. Rolling my eyes, I made a dash to the office. I opened the doors and took a seat in the chair. For safety, I pulled up a game of chess and played it a bit to make it look like the game was taking a while before minimizing it and proceeded to open Black's files.

Finding the files I needed from Black was easy—he didn't guard his computer at all. His arrogance was his downfall. He didn't expect me to try something this rash. Suicide was one thing, this was another. I found the irregularities in his finances, and set that aside to be printed. I found the underground businesses he owned, and set that aside. I had to get as much as I could so Garrison would have something to hold Black on. My word alone wasn't going to be enough. As I skimmed through various files and set them aside for me to print later, I came across a folder that was brand new. I raised an eyebrow at it, curious as to what it could be. I opened it up, and to my surprise, it was a large map of the world. It had pins in it, leading long red lines all around it. Is this where Black has been going? I wondered as I tried to follow some of the lines. They led everywhere: China, Russia, England, Spain, Canada, Ecuador—and those were just a few. Why is Black interested in all of these places? At first, I thought he would be expanding his business. If so, it would've appeared in his records. All of his businesses, however, where located around the U.S. So why travel to other countries? I stared at this map, blinking a few times as I tried to comprehend it. I went back into the folder and found a word document. I opened that up, and the names on it made my mouth go dry. Why does Black have—?

"What are you doing?" I jumped at Drake's voice and looked up. He was standing in the doorway of the office, his eyes narrowed. Keeping calm, I narrowed my eyes back at him.

"I'm playing a board game," I snapped. He raised an eyebrow.

"You looked extremely interested in it."

"Obviously if I'm about to win the game." Drake began to walk over, so I discreetly pulled up the chess game as I watched him. He walked over to the computer and looked at it, and his eyes widened when he saw it was a board game.

"You're playing chess?"

"Of course," I answered as I stared back at the screen. "I was about to make a move that would end the game when you're obnoxious voice distracted me."

Drake laughed. "Whatever. I had to make sure you were telling the truth."

"And what else would I be doing?"

"Probably something that could land you in a lot of trouble again," smirked Drake as he walked out. "The food will be ready shortly, so finish up the game. And leave the game up so I can see how long you've been playing it." I felt my blood go cold. I would have to finish my searching now. Making sure he was out of sight, I minimized the game and went back to the new folder. Without hesitating, I printed the whole thing out, as well as the other documents I needed. With them printed out, I folded them neatly and then bound them with a rubber band while grabbing an extra. Placing the documents in my shirt, I exited out of the chess game and started a brand new one. I finished the game in less than thirty minutes, and left it up for Drake to see. I made sure the snooping I did on the computer looked as if it never happened. I went up to my room and walked over to my bed. I removed the documents from my shirt and, with the extra rubber band, tied it to the bed springs. Content, I went back downstairs in time to see Drake leaving the room, a satisfied smile on his face. He didn't speak, but he gestured to me to grab my plate and begin.

As I sat at the table with Drake, I ignored his ramblings and thought about the new document I saw.The names on the document bothered me, especially a few of them. Mr. and Mrs.Hamilton were on the list, but so were Ms. Schwicker and Justin Freel. My stomach did a flip when I remembered the names marked out. Ally was one of them, and then my Grandma was another. I was terribly confused by this. But what bothered me the most were the last two names on the list, highlighted in red, which made me think they held the utmost importance to Black. My father's name was highlighted in red, along with a woman's name I did not recognize.