Manipulative Attraction

50. ⚛️ Facing The Fear

"What did my mother do?"

Demetri clapped his hands like it was the final curtain at a Broadway show. He seemed eager to tell Tatiana's sordid tale to her wide-eyed daughter. "Why. your mother killed his father and let his mother, Tatiana, go free."

"Oh!" Jeannie wailed. The shock at knowing her mother had killed her beloved's father sent ripples of anguish through her soul. She clutched a fistful of curls in each hand, pulling hard enough to make her scalp scream for mercy.

"Why did..." Jeannie's tongue felt double its size, and she tripped over words, "W-w-why did she d-d-do that?"

She watched how displeasure and anger came into Demetri's body. His hands balled into fists. The muscles under his pushed-up sleeves corded with pulsing veins.

"She let her go because she saw Tatiana was pregnant with that... that filth."

Jeannie recoiled at hearing Thorne mentioned so vehemently. But she couldn't retaliate. Demetri's eyes had gone wild again, and Jeannie knew he wouldn't recover his sanity this time.

"When I questioned Valeria after her failed mission to kill both of Thorne's parents, your mother told me Tatiana had heard the shots that killed Aleksei and went out the back way. But I knew better." Demetri said, his lips curling under to make his mouth a thin line of annoyance. "Valeria was too smart, too good an agent to let her prey escape." He shrugged his shoulders, the gesture making his body cave inward. "I bided my time, waiting for your mother to confess." His eyes reverted to the ground, and he clasped his hands around his middle like he was holding himself together. "She-she never did. So, when I grew tired of her games, I lured her to Romania and there I tortured the truth out of her."

Tears fell from Jeannie's grief stricken eyes. All along her godfather had been manipulating her family for years. He had pretended to be their savior when in reality he was their destructor. Jeannie felt sick inside. Her head throbbed and her heart hurt. She was so tired of all the evil machinations. Her only shining spot was the belief that Thorne would come for her. She couldn't give up hope. If she did, she would succumb to sorrow so strong, she wouldn't be able to go on.

Demetri howled a bitter cry—like a child wailing about their snatched toy. "I loved her, I cared for her, the only thing I ever..." Weeping uncontrollably, Demetri fell to his knees just as a shot rang out.

"We will take it from here, officer." 60242 an agent from The Source agent flashed his credentials at the police sergeant in charge.

"Be my guest," the sergeant said, scratching his head. "Those women are heroes in my book. Fending off a male intruder like that."

"I agree," The Source agent said, "but I need to take the dark-haired one in for questioning. You can attend to the rest."

The sergeant cast his eyes at the scene.

Bekka and Suelma flirted with the young officer taking their statements. A gray-haired detective looked ready to weep with frustration as he dealt with the judge and Ms. Cox. They talked over each other as they made wild hand gestures.

The sergeant rolled his eyes at the Source agent, his lips sitting in a heavy frown. "Thanks for nothing, buddy."

The coast was clear to take the hacker with him.

Two cops hauled the handcuffed assassin from the ground when 60242 went up to Carmen, grabbing her by the arm.

"Hey..." She stuttered off as she recognized whom she was up against.

"You need to come with me," said 60242.

"Wait! I need to get the dog."

60242 thinned his lips and gave her a brief nod, releasing her. Carmen bent and scooped a hopping Fifi up in her arms.

"That dog better not crap in the car, Carmen Quintana."

Fifi growled, baring her teeth.

"Oh, Drake," Carmen cooed, "I think she likes you."

The pantry was a long corridor filled with metal shelving containing enough can goods to feed a small army. At the end was a metal door with a blinking keypad on the outside.

Thorne snapped his fingers. Dalton came running. He took one look at the lock and shook his head.

"It will take some time, team leader. The other door that Joe... mean 53487 is working on is the same way."

Thorne growled in frustration. "They must have a way out of here. We need to find it." He pointed to Dalton. "Get someone to work on this door. The rest of you with me."

Dalton motioned for an agent to help him while Thorne and the others bounded up the stairs.

"What's that noise?" Shon asked, moving to the far corner of his enclosure.

Demetri's head jerked at the sound of the first cry. He sprang to his feet, taking his gun from his holster. He pressed a button and the doors in the glass cages opened.

"Try something and I will end you," Demetri said as calmly.

Shon and Jeannie walked with their hands up, palms out.

A yawning darkness opened in the rock. Anatoly burst through, waving his arms frantically like a mother trying to get her child's attention.

"They're here, Demetri. They've found us."

Jeannie nearly sank to her knees in relief. She willed Thorne to feel her presence. Hope of rescue flowed through her... until she remembered the awful thing her mother had done.

If she made it out alive, she'd tell Thorne what Valeria had done no matter the consequences. If Thorne walked away because of her mother's deeds... he walked away.

She hoped he'd walk toward her instead.

He reached the hallway where he kept the rounded-up gang of Demetri's guards. Too late, he realized, members of the Istochnik had overpowered the people he'd left to watch over the prisoners.

One of the Istochnik agents motioned Thorne and his men forward, red laser dots targeting their chests and heads. The Source agents, divested of their weapons, had their hands bound with zip ties.

Thorne's heart thudded dully in his chest. His team, under the heavy firepower of the enemy agents, marched outside. The worry for Jeannie and the fate of his men took over his troubled mind as one thought ran through it: Save them. Save them.

Thorne wouldn't let harm come to those around him. As he and his men lined up face forward against a broken-down wall, he devised a plan to keep them all safe.