I roll out of bed early again, happy that I got at least a few hours of sleep in. When the sun is up, so am I, but I'm not the only one.
Vincent is also an early bird, typing away on his laptop as I walk past the living room.
The entire table that was empty two days ago, has been occupied by all his computer shit.
'Up this early again?' I ask as I walk into the kitchen to grab some water. He chuckles and continues to type on his keyboard, before going through some papers. 'A lot of things need to be done.'
It feels like Vincent is trying to decode something every second he's awake.
'Marco told me he gave you a flash drive a few days ago?' I nod and take a seat on the couch, 'Do you still have it?'
'Yes, do you need it?' He nods and watches as I head to my room to grab the flash drive.
When I get back into the living room I notice that Rio and Killian are both up as well.
'Goodmorning Neveah.' Killian chimes before sipping his black coffee and looking at Vincent's screen.
'Goodmorning, any news on the guy we're looking for?' I ask as I take a seat across from him and hand Vincent the drive.
According to Vincent, some guy that lives here has files on almost every group in the world. He bought it from the Russians and has been very reticent about it.
Which is understandable.
The mystery guy deciphered some of the codes and filed every country separately.
He's willing to sell some pieces, but it's an entire scavenger hunt to find him in the first place.
Rio looks at me with a warning look, but I wonder why. He said we had to work with them, so he can't be mad that I'm handing him a flash drive, but that's not it. It's something else.
Maybe it's because I'm asking questions?
Not that it should matter, they didn't tell me anything yet.
'Not really, but we have figured out that there's a girl he hangs out with most of the time.' Killian says, smiling at someone behind me. 'Any food left?'
I look over my shoulder and meet Nikolai's gaze. 'No, no food at all.' Right...
Last night we had to live off of three potatoes and some leftover chicken because there was nothing else.
Let's just say that some of us ate nothing.
Not that I mind, I wasn't that hungry anyway.
But the others were. They were starving.
'North, go grocery shopping.' Rio says, going through some papers that Vincent printed out. 'That's kind of sexist of you to send her.' Nico chimes, taking a seat next to me.
I secretly move my chair away from him a little, he's scary, and turn back to Rio. 'Why me?'
'Because you're annoying.' I take a sip from my bottle and place it on the table. 'I've been staying out of your way ever since we got here, don't even-' 'Can I have some of that?'
I turn to my right and look at Nico with a frown. 'What?'
'I want some water and since you took the last bottle, can I have some?' He says, his tone free of any joy. 'No.'
Vincent and Killian try to hide their smiles, but I notice them.
'Why not?' Nico asks, tilting his head a little.
I can see a spark of that hatred in his eyes.
He has that whenever he looks at me. As if he's ready to kill me for simply breathing.
'Because in the past two days you've taken three girls into your room to do whatever it is you do in there and I don't want to catch something.'
His eyes widen before his lips curl up into a grin. 'So you noticed.'
'I must say,' Killian interferes, 'you didn't really keep it quiet.' Good thing my room is on the other side of the house...
'Good thing I wasn't talking to you.' Nico sneers, probably kicking Killian underneath the table, because Killian winces and rolls his eyes.
'Did you ask Leon if he had any STDs after you two got back together?' I frown and look at Nico again.
His blue eyes feel like ice, sending my body cold and my blood still.
I don't like him. And I doubt that he likes me. 'I take that as a no.'
'I trust that he's smart enough to take a test.' Nico starts laughing, already readying a comeback, but Rio cuts him off and throws the file back onto the table. 'You are doing groceries, there's money on your card.'
'I'll come with you, give me five minutes.' Nico chimes as he jumps to his feet. 'No.'
I am not going with him alone. No fucking way.
'Why not? Afraid that you'll like it too much?' You wish.
'I'll come as well since you two seem to want to kill each other.' Killian says, smiling at me as he gets up as well. Thank you!
'Fine with me.' I get up and head to my room to grab my bag.
When I get back into the hall, I bump into Marco who looks like shit.
Nico and him went out last night because we thought we had a lead on that guy, but there was nothing. We got nothing but some drunk boys stumbling back into the house at midnight.
Nico seemed fine, but Marco. Marco was wasted. Barely able to walk himself. He needed Nico to move, otherwise, he would be on the ground.
'Where are you going?' He asks, leaning against the wall for support.
Marco looks like he could throw up any second. 'Grocery shopping, are you okay?'
'Mhm, just a little...' 'Hungover?' He nods and heads towards the bathroom, probably to throw up or something, and I head back to the living room.
Nico and Killian are already waiting for me and get up when they see me.
'Took you long enough.' Nico mumbles as he heads to the front door. I look at Killian who's rolling his eyes as he walks after him.
'Take as long as you need.' Rio says as I follow behind. We won't...
I jump in the backseat and put on my seatbelt. 'You know he just wants you out of the house right?' Killian asks, looking over his shoulder to look at me.
A smile forms on my lips and I nod. 'Oh, I know. He hates me.'
'Yet you two are working together for that Cataleya girl we're searching for.' Nico says mockingly. 'That's probably the only reason I'm still alive.' I admit, keeping my eyes on Nico, who's too focused on the road to even notice.
'What happened?' Killian asks, turning back to me again, 'Like, how did she end up with Steel?'
I honestly thought Rio told them about it already. He told me not to talk about stuff like this with them, because he said that he already told them all they needed to know.
But apparently, it's not enough?
'Didn't he tell you?' Killian shrugs and turns back around, smiling a little. 'He just said that he took her and that he needed to get her back for you.' For me?
'And we just don't get why he would go through all of that if he hates you so much.' Nico adds, finally looking at me through the rearview mirror. I freeze and feel my blood run cold again.
He still wants to kill me.
'So explain how that's a thing.' Should I lie?
I don't want to anger Rio by telling them the truth, it's obvious he didn't want them knowing the whole story, but I don't really want to lie to them either.
They are helping us after all.
But I guess Rio's trust means more to me right now?
Even though he can be a piece of fucking shit.
'She's my best friend and I'm his cousin's girlfriend.' I say. As if that's evidence enough.
Nico smirks and turns his eyes back on the road, while Killian sighs deeply. 'If you say so.' Shit.
For the rest of the drive, they don't even talk to me. They talk to each other though, about finding that guy with all the files.
When we finally get to the city, we head straight to the store.
It's a big building with a blue logo above the door, that looks like a tilted house with some white symbols inside of it.
'Hurry up Neveah.' Killian chimes as he grabs a cart and rolls into the store.
I rush after him, with Nico behind me, and look around. It's not that different from any other stores I've seen, but still.
'Rio sent you, so I suggest you pick most of the stuff and we'll just carry it back to the car.' Nico says, looking at me with a frown. I shrug and head to the fruit section, throwing a bunch of things in the cart before heading to the bread section.
The store is huge and there's an annoying song playing on repeat.
'Almost done?' Nico asks a little annoyed. He seems tired, even though we've barely been here for longer than fifteen minutes. 'How about you go get water? Since you were pretty thirsty before.'
He rolls his eyes and walks away, leaving me alone with a proudly smiling Killian.
'You really know how to annoy him.' I nod and grab some oven bread, since they last longer, and head towards the isle that has chips and cookies. 'I annoy everyone according to Rio.'
'You don't annoy me. Or Vincent. And I don't think you annoy Marco?' I throw a bunch of snacks in the cart and look at it. It's almost full and we've barely grabbed the essentials.
We continue to go through the shop, to get everything we need, and head to the checkout.
Nico is already standing in line, waving at us like a maniac. 'Took you long enough.' He says as he rolls his cart, one he grabbed apparently, before filling the belt with a bunch of drinks, mostly water, and beer.
'You didn't even try to lay low on the beer, did you?' Killian asks, before loading our stuff onto the belt as well. Nico shrugs and winks at the girl behind the desk, who starts blushing like crazy.
I roll my eyes and help with loading the stuff back into the carts. 'You're going to pay, right?' Killian asks, making me smile. 'Yes.'
'The total will be two-hundred and twelve euros and eighty-five cents.' The girl says with a weird accent. I nod and place the card into the holder before typing in the code.
Just as I watch a green checkmark pop up, my phone starts ringing. 'Thank you, have a nice day.' I chime to the sweet girl, before grabbing my phone.
'What's taking you so long?' It's Rio. And he sounds annoyed. 'Didn't you say that we should take our time?'
'North, I suggest you watch your tone with me.' He says, clear annoyance in his tone. I wonder what got him that messed up already. 'We just got our stuff, we're going to the car right now.' I say as I walk after the two men rolling carts outside.
'How long will it take to get back?' He asks impatiently. I wonder what's going on. Why does he need us back so urgently?
'Twenty, maybe thirty minutes.' He sighs and mumbles something. 'Better make it ten, hurry up.' And he's gone.
'What did he want?' Killian asks as he places the bags in the trunk. I lift two into the backseat because there's barely enough space in the trunk for all the bags. 'We need to hurry back.'
'Why?' Nico asks as he jumps behind the wheel again. 'He didn't say.'
They look at each other, before turning back to the road as they start the car.
Within fifteen minutes, we're back at the house. And they quickly carry the bags inside, only handing me one with the lightest shit there is.
'Took you long enough.' Rio says as he watches the boys carry all the bags inside. 'Why did you-' 'Neveah!'
I drop my bag and turn around, coming eye to eye with someone unexpected. 'Missed me?'
I stumble back and take another look, feeling like I'm dreaming.
'Brandon!?' He nods and catches me as I jump into his arms, hugging him tightly. 'I take that as a yes.' He chimes, putting me back onto my feet. 'What- when did you get here?' 'The moment you left, now get into the dining room.' Rio sneers, basically shoving us into the dining room.
Marco, Vincent, and Kai are seated around the table, all keeping a great distance from Kai, who smiles at me. 'Hello, Neveah.'
He has a bruise on his cheek, probably because I hit him. But then again, that was almost a week ago. 'Hey, what are you two doing here? Is everything fixed in Italy?'
Again, Rio didn't tell me anything about Italy or the fact that Kai and Brandon were coming in today, so this is completely new to me.
'Yes, didn't Rio tell you?' I take a seat, right next to Brandon, and shake my head. 'Why didn't you tell her?' He asks, looking at Rio who walks into the room with Nikolai and Killian walking in right after him.
'Because it's none of her business.' As expected.
They all take a seat and stare at Kai, before turning to Rio. 'What is he doing here?' So they know him?
'He owes me, so he's in on this.' Rio says, pouring himself a glass of wine. 'Now since Brandon didn't want to talk unless you were around.' He inclines his glass my way before taking a sip and turning back to Brandon, 'Tell me what you know.'
A smile forms on my lips when I realize what he just said. Brandon didn't want to start without me, because he knew Rio wouldn't tell me.
'Celine told me to call Dominic because he had some info since he's working in LA right now, so I did. He told me that there was an incident in Royal Diamond about a week ago.' A week ago?
'Why would we want to hear about that?' Marco asks, trying to pry information out of his brother.
But it looks like those two still haven't apologized to each other because Brandon rolls his eyes and looks at Rio again.
'Continue.' Rio says, taking another sip of his wine.
'There was word about someone linked to you and people were willing to pay a lot of money.' Linked to him?
'Cataleya.' I mumble, making everyone look at me. Brandon nods and looks back at Rio. 'Hunter bought her for five million dollars.'
'Dannazione.' Marco mutters, as he nervously waits for Brandon to continue. 'They left the club on bad terms, at least ten men were killed.'
Killed? Hunter bought her and he killed a bunch of people? And he bought her for five million dollars? What the-
'What is she going to do?' Rio asks calmly, while my mind is all over the place.
He doesn't seem fazed at all, but the others are. Marco and I are.
'Justine is thinking about putting a price on Leya. Twenty million if she's alive, ten if she's dead.' What?
My heart drops and I lean back in my chair, waiting for anyone else to react. But everyone looks at Rio, waiting for him to say something first.
And for the first time since we started doing this, he seems to be floating inside his own head, not knowing what to do or say next.
'Can we talk her out of it? Pay for the damage they made?' I ask desperately wanting to keep her from making everyone hunt for my best friend.
'We're not really on good terms with her.' Brandon says, still waiting for Rio to respond. But he's silent.
Completely silent.
'We kind of bought her entire collection of girls once, so she had to search for new ones.' Girls.
She sells girls.
'And there's something else.' Rio snaps back at Kai's words, glaring at him as if he's the one who's putting all that money on Leya's life.
'They're getting closer to her mother.' Brandon finishes, making my lungs give in for a second.
Cataleya won't survive if something happens to Ariana.
And again, everyone goes silent. It's annoying really, we should be working on a master plan to get Leya back and make sure that people won't go after her.
'What are we going to do?' I ask since no one is saying anything yet. 'Justine has lots of friends, Neveah. We can't just mess with her.' Killian says, looking at me with a pained look on his face.
'So what? We're just dropping out and leave her to die?' The silence is killing me and the only sounds I hear are my beating heart and the chair scraping on the floor as I jump to my feet.
'It's the best thing to do.' Kai whispers, making me hold onto the table instead of bashing his head in.
'No.' It's not just me now. It's Rio as well.
We quickly look at each other, having a moment in silence, before he glares at Kai again. 'This just means we have to hurry.' He says before finishing his drink, 'Vincent, go look for that guy. We need those files. Marco, call those guys in Italy and tell them to keep that traitor in the basement for a while.'
They both rush out of the room, a little scared by Rio's hard tone.
He's talking to them like they're dogs, sending everyone out of the room so they can do some tasks until it's just the two of us.
I stay silent and try to drown out my panic, by focusing on his movements.
He's fidgeting with one of the rings he's wearing and quickly pours himself another glass, before looking at it for a long time.
As if that's his focus point. The wine.
'What should we do about her mother?' He asks after a few minutes. His voice startles me but I keep my eyes on him and take a deep breath. 'We have to get her out of there.'
He nods and finally looks at me.
He's angry again.
But for once, his anger isn't directed towards me.
No.
It's directed to the man that got us in this mess, to the man that practically made Leya worth a lot of money because... I don't even know why.
He bought her, meaning he owns her now. She won't stand for it. I know she won't. But at least we know she's still with him.
'What do you suggest we do.' He says, gripping his glass a little tighter.
His knuckles turn white and I wonder when the glass will shatter in his hand.
'I don't know, we just have to get her out of there.' 'And how do we do that, North. I'm asking you.' He sneers, throwing his glass onto the table. It doesn't shatter, but it tips over, staining the wooden table in crimson red color.
'Maybe we could explain it to her?' He shakes his head and jumps onto his feet, before he starts pacing around the room. 'Something else.'
'Why can't we just-' 'Because the more she knows, the more danger she's in. So we're not telling her.' I nod and take a step back, trying to come up with something while Rio continues to pace around the room like some criminal mastermind.
'How about we force her to stay somewhere in Europe?' Force her to- 'Are you insane?' He stops walking and looks at me with a strange look. 'What?'
'You can't force her to stay somewhere.' He looks at me with a dangerous look, telling me that he's willing to do anything to get her out of there. 'You are not abducting her!'
He rolls his eyes and slumps back in his seat. 'What do you suggest we do then?'
'I don't know, figure it out!' I jump back into my seat and try to come up with something for a second. 'She won't leave Theo, so he'll have to come as well.'
'Really? The guy that almost killed us?' I nod and smile a bit. That night was wild. 'She loves him.'
'Don't say that word.' I look at Rio and tilt my head a little. 'What word? Love?'
His eyes darken and I nod when I realize that he's ready to kill me if I continue in this direction. 'Fine. But we need to come up with a plan.'
We both go silent, trying to come up with something for at least ten minutes, while the others all do the tasks he told them to do.
'I'll figure it out.' He says, jumping back up and rushing out of the room. I look at him for a second and run after him when I realize that he must have something in mind.
'Rio-' 'Any news on the girl?' He asks Vincent who's typing away on his laptop again.
'Matt says they have her in the compound a few blocks away, we can go meet her there.' What girl?
'Let's go. Marco, you're in charge. Brandon, Kai, and North stay here and listen to Marco.' I shake my head and follow them to the front door. 'I'm coming with you.'
'No you're not, you'll-' 'I'm coming with you.' I repeat, slipping through the front door, walking after Nico, who's already heading towards one of the cars.
'You coming too?' He asks, smiling a bit. I nod and jump in the backseat, hearing Rio mumble something as he climbs in as well.
Vincent takes a seat next to me and Killian next to him as we make our way to the compound that some girl is waiting in.
I stay silent again, not wanting to anger Rio more than I already have.
As I hop out of the car to follow them, Vincent stops me and pulls me to the side. 'This might be a bit harsh to see.'
I frown a bit, thinking about all the torture I've seen so far, I doubt that this will be something outstanding.
If that's even what we're going to do here.
'What is it we need her for anyway?' I ask as we walk after the others. There are a bunch of guys, standing on every corner of the building as if they're protecting someone very important.
'We need some more information on that guy.' I nod and look at two guys that are staring at us strangely.
But they let us pass through, probably because we're here with the others.
Inside are more men, quickly talking to Killian, before taking us to the right room.
As soon as the door opens, I can hear a woman scream for help, but I didn't hear a single sound when the door was closed.
There's a table with a few empty chairs and a girl screaming for her life. 'Okay, just shut up already!' Nico sneers, his loud voice beaming against the walls.
She instantly shuts her mouth and looks at us with a frown.
'Wat doe ik hier?' The blond girl shouts from her seat.
Everyone moves to another spot in the room, Vincent places his laptop, that he apparently brought with him, on the table and sits behind it, while Nico grabs a chair, and sits on it backward, so that he can lean on the back of the chair with his arms, and Killian moves to the other side of the room, leaning against the wall.
Rio stays by the door a bit, while I walk over to Killian.
They tied her to the chair and she fights against the rope around her body. Understandable...
'What did she just say?' I ask, looking at the others. Rio shrugs and looks at Killian. 'She asked what she's doing here.'
'You understand Dutch?' I ask, a little taken back. But he nods and the others all chuckle. 'He is Dutch.'
Killian is Dutch? 'How the fuck was I supposed to know that?'
'I mean, can't you tell?' He asks, pointing at himself. As if his looks are supposed to help. 'I don't know how Dutch people look!'
'Laat me gaan!' Blondie shouts. I turn back to her and tilt my head a little. She looks like Brooke Steel.
Or at least the pictures I saw of her.
Perfect lips, straight blond hair that just reaches her shoulder, blue eyes, sharp brows. A beautiful girl if you ask me.
'She wants us to let her go.' 'Dutch sounds a lot like German.' I joke, turning back to the others.
'Bek dicht trut.' Killian chuckles and looks at me as if he's waiting for me to respond. 'What did she say?'
'She said, shut up bitch.' Oh...
'So she can understand what I'm saying?' I ask, looking at Blondie again. 'I'm not dumb.' She has a weird accent, but I manage to understand.
'Good to know.' Rio states, stepping closer, further into the light.
Her eyes stick to him immediately and I can already see the desperation in her eyes, it almost makes me puke.
'Tell me what you've been doing with that man.'
'Welke man? Ik zou nooit met iemand anders gaan dan met jou.'
Killian bursts into laughter and makes all of us turn to him. 'What did she say now?'
'Please- Continue.' He laughs, making me wonder what it is she said.
'Answer me in English.' Rio says, taking the last step forward. He pulls her head back, forcing her to look up at him. Not that it was necessary, since she was already looking at him.
But now it's different. I can see the glimmer of fear flash through her eyes before they turn dark again. Lust.
'Tell me where he is.'
Rio's not asking it nicely, he's demanding answers.
Answers we need according to him.
'Who are you talking about?' Her accent is making me cringe.
No shit I didn't realize Killian was Dutch. He doesn't have a Dutch accent at all.
'How come your last name is Bridge then?' I whisper, moving closer to Killian. 'It's Brugge actually.' Brug-ghe?
'Ah, okay.' I turn back to blondie and Rio, noticing that he's pulling her head back a little too hard now.
Yet she seems to enjoy it.
'Tell me what you know about Johan van Beek.' That name came way too smooth for him to say it the first time. Johan-van-Beek?
The name sounds weird in my head, nothing like the way he said it.
He must've said it before, I just didn't catch it.
But I put the pieces together, that's the guy we're looking for.
'Johan? Wat moet jij nou van een sukkel zoals hem?'
Rio sighs and slowly reaches for his back pocket. Oh god... 'Rio-' He pulls his knife out and presses it against her throat.
'Listen up blondie, if you want to keep talking Dutch, I'll fucking kill you.'
Killian nods and leans on the table in between him and the others. 'She asked what we needed him for.'
I feel like we need Killian a lot more than I thought we would. So Rio was right about something.
But he could've at least told me that we needed him as a translator.
'Praat gewoon Engels.' Engels? That sounds like English. 'Fine. I know where he is, but why do you need him?'
'That's none of your business. Tell me where he is.' Rio sneers, pressing the blade into her skin. She winces but does not back down as she keeps her eyes on him.
'No.' Rio sighs and takes a deep breath, trying to keep himself contained so that he's not about to cut her throat.
'Okay so,' They all turn to me as I step closer to them as well, 'how about we make a deal?'
'Jij weer.' 'English.' Killian says, making it sound like a reminder.
'I'll untie you, grab you something to eat,' I feel the others in the room shift, but there's no way she'll help us if we tie her to a fucking chair and threaten to kill her, 'and you'll tell us where Johan van Beek is.'
I try. I try to say his name the best I can, but it doesn't sound good at all. And she hears it too.
She laughs and looks at me, tilting her head a little. 'If you untie me, I'll take you to him.'
'Where is that exactly?' I ask, slowly taking another step. She sighs and looks at Rio's knife at her throat. Oh right...
'Rio?' He sighs deeply and looks at me. 'If she kills you, it's not my problem.'
I nod and grab the knife from him, cutting the rope that keeps her in place.
She slowly gets up and looks at all of us, not even attempting to run out of here.
Not that it will do her any good. She probably knows that there are more men outside.
Vincent could easily push her on the ground, even though he's sitting in a chair. Nikolai probably wouldn't hesitate to push her down either.
'I'll take you to the weide.' Weide... That sounds... I don't even know.
It's either freaking fancy, or it's some crack place in the city.
'Geen grapjes Anne.' Anne. That's her name. Because she responds to Killian by turning to him with a smile. 'Waarom zou ik?'
'She's going to kill you if you go with her.' He says, before turning back to Anne.
'Tell me where we can find him-' 'Of wat!?' I step back, a little startled by her sudden hard tone, but Rio simply tilts his head and chuckles a little.
'I warned you.' Killian sighs, dropping into one of the seats. 'Third strike, out.'
Suddenly she breaks, almost dropping to her knees as she starts begging.
'Okay! He lives in Den Haag! He's always hanging out at Scheveningen!' Rio is the only one who turns to Killian, and Killian nods. 'Good to know.'
What? They all turn to Rio, who reaches for his back pocket and pulls out a gun.
He shoots the girl and watches as her body drops to the ground. No remorse, no hesitation, no nothing. Emotionless.
Blood pools around her, almost reaching my shoes because I was standing pretty close to her.
I look at her lifeless eyes and take a deep breath. I've seen death before. But damn.
It reminds me of times I don't want to be reminded of.
Dark times. Dark, cramped up in a tiny room with rats, times.
Manuela... I see her lifeless eyes looking up at me as her blood covers my entire body.
It was dark, but I could see her eyes. As if they let just enough light in to taunt me. To torture me to catch her eyes.
I didn't know what to do and she was in so much pain.
I remember her screams, they were the worst sounds I've ever heard.
And just like I did back then, I feel the walls close in on me, slowly forcing me in a corner again. No.
'Excuse me.' I walk out of the room, into the hall, and try to catch my breath.
I can't have a panic attack again. Not because of this.
I hated myself for even reacting to that tiny storage room in Santo, but I did. And it still haunts me a little.
'Pozhar zayka, are you okay?' I look up, into those gorgeous clear blue eyes that are the only thing keeping me from panicking right now.
'Pozhar what?' Nico chuckles and looks at me. 'Fire bunny.' Fire bunny?
'Why fire bunny?' He shrugs and looks outside the window. 'You remind me of fire, fierce and wild, and a bunny, cute and fluffy.'
I don't know if I should feel offended or flattered, but I guess I'll go for the last one.
'Thank you?' He rolls his eyes and turns back to me. 'You can't take a compliment, can you?'
His eyes focus on mine and I step back a little. He still doesn't like me and I really don't want to be alone with him right now. 'Am I making you uncomfortable?'
'You want to kill me, right?' He starts laughing and slowly backs away, giving me enough space to run if I want to.
But he didn't answer my question. So, I'll take it as a yes...
'We're leaving.' Rio says, pulling at my arm as he storms out of this place. I hear some of the guys mumble something as we head towards the car.
The whole way back to the house is a discussion between Nico and Rio about who should've killed her. Nico really wanted to kill her, he says, but Rio wouldn't let him.
As soon as we get into the house, a delicious smell fills my nostrils.
'What is that smell?' I ask, heading to the kitchen. I catch a glimpse of a cooking Kai and an observing Brandon before Rio drags me into the dining room, where plates are already set for lunch.
'Stay here.' I roll my eyes and stay put, watching as Brandon and Kai place everything they made on the table. I see a cake, muffins, pancakes, eggs, and a bunch of other foods. Some of it looks burned, but it still smells delicious.
'We tried.' 'Thank you.' I say, smiling as Brandon takes a seat next to me.
As soon as everyone is seated, they attack like they haven't eaten in months.
I wait until everyone filled their plates, before grabbing some myself.
But I feel like I'm going to throw up if we don't talk about this first.
'So we're just going to act like none of that just happened?' They all look at me and sigh, before looking at Rio to explain. 'It's not that big of a deal.'
'You killed someone.' He nods and takes another bite out of his pancake. 'We got the information we needed, so she wasn't needed anymore.' 'So you just kill someone if they're not needed anymore?'
He nods and looks at me with a fake smile, making me wonder how his brain works.
How does he sleep at night, knowing that he kills people if they're not needed anymore.
'What is the information we gained, exactly?' Brandon asks, pouring us some water. I thank him and take a sip, waiting for this conversation to end so I can enjoy my meal without feeling like I'm going to throw up any second now.
'The guy we're after lives near the beach. The Hague, it's a forty-five-minute drive.' Kilian explains, looking at Vincent for help. 'I already looked for hotels at the beach, but they didn't have enough rooms.'
'How many rooms?' Rio asks. 'Four rooms left.' 'We could share, right?' I suggest. They all nod, except for Rio of course.
I decide to finally dive into the food as well, since I don't feel that nauseous anymore.
'As long as I don't have to share with North, I'm all set.' He sneers, finishing his plate.
Now that I look around, most of them are done already.
And I truly wonder how they're all still in good shape. Like I've seen them walk around shirtless the past days, it's insane...
'Trust me, I don't want to share a room with you either, Curse.' He cringes at my nickname for him and rolls his eyes as he turns back to Vincent.
'I'll book us those rooms then.' Vincent says as he takes his plate to the kitchen and heads to his room. 'I'll share a room with Brandon.' Is the first thing I say.
Nico rolls his eyes and Rio nods, 'Fine with me, at least that way I won't have to deal with your shit.'
'You're still mean to her, as always.' Brandon chimes as he continues to peel a banana.
'Why are you pinning yourself to him?' I look up and frown when I realize it's Nikolai who said that. 'What do you mean?' 'You could have lots of fun sharing a room with one of us.' He chimes, making my eyes widen.
'You mean, you would kill me in my sleep? No thank you.' He starts laughing again as he heads to the kitchen with his plate as well.
Everyone slowly leaves, except for Brandon and Rio.
'North.' I swallow my bite and look at Rio. 'What is, Curse.'
I hear Brandon chuckle beside me, but keep my eyes on Rio. 'Let's make a deal.'
'What kind of deal?' I ask, taking a sip from my water. 'Whenever we do something and you behave, no drama, no annoying me, no bullshit, you get a name.'
'A name?' He nods and starts grinning proudly. 'A name of a list. A list of people who worked with the Steels.'
'What would she want with that list?' Brandon asks a bit confused. But I think I know where this is going. 'A list of names with people who helped with your family's murder.'
He keeps his eyes on me, waiting for me to react. But I keep my facial expression straight, feeling anger boil up inside me.
'You have a list?' He nods and tilts his head a little, trying to read me like an open book. 'Some of them died already, but there are a few alive.' He says a little too amused if you ask me, 'The choice is yours. Behave and get a name, or never get revenge, because you can't keep your mouth shut.'
'Rio that's kind of-' Brandon stops as soon as Rio looks at him, and grabs my hand underneath the table.
I want to squeeze his hand so hard, but I don't want to hurt him.
He knows. Rio fucking knows.
He has a fucking list of names and won't give it to me unless I behave. Piece of fucking shit.
'Fine.' I need those names. And if that means keeping my mouth shut while he handles most of this, fine. But if it gets too out of hand, I'll search for the list myself. 'So we have a deal?'
'Yes. But if you don't keep your end of the bargain, I'll-' 'I always keep my end of the bargain, let's see if you can keep yours.' He says, smiling proudly. I wish I could hit him right now.
I look at my plate, suddenly not hungry anymore, and get up from my chair. 'I'll go pack my stuff.'
He nods and stays put, looking at Brandon as I head to the hall. I stop for a second, to process all of this.
The cold wall is the only thing keeping me from exploding right now.
He has a list. He knows the names of the people involved in one of the most painful events in my life.
He fucking knows.
And he's going to make me work for it.
He's going to make me work for a fucking list of names.
'You're really mean to her, did you know that?' I hear Brandon say, a little disappointed. 'Brandon, don't go shoving your head in someone else's business.'
'Just give her the list.' Brandon says, moving around a bit, 'It's not fair.'
'I don't remember asking you for anything, so keep your opinion to yourself.'
I take a deep breath and head to my room, bumping into Marco again. He looks a bit better now.
'I'm sorry Neveah.' The look in his eyes makes me want to hit him as well. He knows about the list too.
I brush past him and head straight to my room, jumping on my bed to take it all in.
Curse is going to make me work for this list. And it's going to be a pain in my ass.
But I need that list.
And I need Leya back.
So I'll stay, I'll keep my end of the bargain.
Because I need that list.
-----
A/N: So they know about the price on Leya's head as well...
Disclaimer, not the whole story will be about finding Leya. That does not mean they won't find her but it does not mean they will find her either.
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I hope to see you guys in the next chapter, have a great day!<3