Capturing Them

Chapter Fifty One

Capturing Them
Chapter Fifty One
Sang

Victor holds my hand as we head downstairs and I can't help but feel like another piece of the puzzle that's been missing in my life, has fully slotted into place. My hand wrapped in his is the perfect fit.

He doesn't release my hand as we walk into the family room and my eyes dart to him, wide and panicked. He ignores my wide eyes and just leads me over to the sofa, sits down, and then pulls me into his lap. I look around the room, waiting for someone, anyone to say something but they don't; they just continue to listen to whatever Corey is saying.

Something I should be listening to, but I'm unable to do so. My feet are pulled up and I find Raven and North sitting next to each other on the other two seats of the three seat couch. North is in the middle and rests his hand on my knee while Raven wraps his around my sock covered feet.

"Relax, Princess," Victor whispers in my ear, his arm curling around my waist.

I nod my head and relax back into him. Letting out a soft sigh, I turn my head and focus my attention on Corey.

"Looking through all this, I can see that Sang collected a lot; any crimes that may be linked to him, anything to do with him in general. He is definitely more popular with the name 'Spider Man' than he is by his given name," Corey says.

"Is there anyway—anyway, at all—we can hack into his email and find out a schedule?" Nathan asks.

"Maybe, maybe not." Corey lifts his blue eyes to Nathan, giving him his attention. "He seems to travel a lot even with his home address being in Vegas. I could check flights, go back on his history."

"Hacking into his phone, email, and bank accounts could be dangerous," Victor says. "With how...secretive and well connected he is, he would have really good security. Maybe even an alert when someone even tries to hack into the things I just listed."

"That's true. Unless I can do it in another location that isn't Charleston, on a computer that I can dispose of straight away, that isn't something I want to risk," Corey agrees.

"So what the fuck are we going to do?" Gabriel asks.

Axel sighs and sits back in the chair he was sitting in before we went upstairs. "We might have to call in some favors with some other Academy teams across America. We need to find out his current location, because Charleston isn't it. But, he does however have men here—that much we do know."

"So what do we do in the meantime?" Luke asks.

It's Dr Green who answers. "In the meantime, we keep to our routines with our eyes wide open. We don't go anywhere alone, and when we're not at the school, we stay in large groups."

"So it's agreed? We're all willing to obey the rules that have been put in place, and any others that may be put in place at a later date?" Axel asks, looking from one person to the other.

"I am willing and will obey." They all reply at the same time and I startle, looking at them with wide eyes.

When fourteen sets of eyes start weighing on me heavily I ask, "You want me to say that also?"

Mr Blackbourne's lips tilts up into his signature millimetre smile, as smiles and grins spread across everyone else's face. "You don't have to say those exact words, Miss Sorensen, but I would like to know if you are willing to follow the rules."

"Oh, okay. Well, I am willing and I will obey."

"Once again, spoken like a true Academy girl," Corey says with a grin.

xXx

I stand in the kitchen with my hand on my hip as I stare into the fridge, wondering what to cook us all for dinner. The last three nights we've had take out, and if I see another pizza box or a box of noodles again this week, I might have to kick these guys out.

I'm cooking. For all fifteen of us. This could be interesting.

Sighing, I close the door to the fridge and go back into the family room. "Can someone take me to the store, please?" I ask.

The only ones in the family room now are Corey, Victor, Kota, Luke, and Mr Blackbourne. The others have gone upstairs to finish the attic and to put my room back together again. I wasn't allowed to go up and help.

"What for?" Luke asks.

"Food," I reply. "I don't have enough for feed all fifteen of us."

"Don't worry, Cupcake, we'll just order—"

I cut him off with a shake of my head. "Nope. I am not eating takeout again tonight. I want to eat steak, with fries, mushrooms, and garden peas."

"Actually, that sounds really good," Kota says.

"I agree," Corey says with a grin. He stands up and pulls some keys from his pocket. "I'll take you. Who's coming?"

"I will, Mr Henshaw," Mr Blackbourne says, standing up from the couch.

"Here," Victor says, handing Corey a black credit card. "Get everything on that."

"Sure," Corey murmurs, slipping the card into his pocket. "Let's go," he says.

I say bye to Luke, Kota, and Victor and quickly slip on my shoes. Outside, myself, Corey, and Mr Blackbourne walk up the street to Nathan's house where Corey's car is parked in the driveway. As we walk towards the car, I watch both Corey and Mr Blackbourne, noticing how tense their shoulders are and how their eyes are sharp with awareness.

At the car, Mr Blackbourne opens the passenger side for me. Corey climbs into the driver's side. I shake my head at Mr Blackbourne. "You have the front seat, I'll take the back."

"No, Miss Sorensen. I insist," he says, pausing as his head tilts to the side just a fraction. "Besides, I think there might be something you wish to talk to Mr Henshaw about."

I'm not sure if that's a question or a statement. Either way, it makes my eyes widen. "What do you mean?" I ask, even though I'm pretty sure I know.

"You know what I mean," is all he says. He waves a hand for me to get in and I comply. My heart thunders in my chest and my hands shake as I pull the seatbelt on.

The door closes and a second later, Mr Blackbourne is getting into the seat behind me. Corey starts the car and pulls out of the driveway, heading down the street. Music plays softly from the speakers, and l take a peek at Mr Blackbourn behind me.

Feeling my eyes on him, he lifts them from his phone and raises an eyebrow. I turn back to the face the front. "You alright, Sang?" Corey asks. I'm not sure, but I think I hear a hint of amusement in his voice.

I have to clear my throat before I can answer him. "Yeah, I'm fine."

He chuckles. "Go on, Sang. Ask me."

My head turns rapidly in his direction, my eyes wide as I stare at him in shock. Okay, maybe Raven isn't the only person who has noticed me watching Raven and Corey together. Mr Blackbourne knows—that's for sure—and so does Corey. Oh god, what if I've got this all wrong?

"AreyouandRavenmorethanfriends?" I blurt out so fast the words jumble together. If I didn't already know what I had asked just now, I would have been confused.

"Pardon?" Corey asks, chuckling.

I take a deep breath before asking again, slower this time. "You and Raven... are you more than friends?"

Corey comes to a stop at red light at the perfect moment. He turns his head to look at me, his blue eyes guarded. I hate that immediately. "Would that bother you?" he asks.

I shake my head. "No, of course not. There's that saying right, 'the heart wants what the hearts wants', you can't pick and choose. You are who you are."

As he takes in my words, I watch the protective shield drop from his eyes. A smile tilts at his lips. "Yeah, Sang. Raven and I are more than friends. I've been in love with him for a very long time."

I smile, because it's just beautiful. "Can you tell me about it?"

"Absolutely."