{TRIGGERING SUBJECTS, READ AT OWN RISK! IF YOU CANNOT HANDLE IT, DO NOT PROCEED- thank you <3}
'Neveah!' I hear someone shout down the hall as I try to focus on the emails I'm working on. 'Yes?'
The door bursts open and I can see someone walking into the room, but I can't take my eyes off my laptop right now. 'We need to talk!'
Brandon jumps on my bed, with Victoria climbing next to him, both of them staring at me as I continue reading. 'One second.' I mumble as I try to focus.
They're looking at me, their eyes burning through my skull, and I decide to close my laptop and listen to what they have to say.
'What is it?' I ask as Victoria moves closer to me, taking a seat between me and my laptop. I pull her closer and hug her softly, looking at Brandon, since he's probably the one who wanted to talk.
'Dinner is ready.' He states, making me frown. That's what he wanted to talk about?
No way.
He was way too excited for it to just be- 'Victoria, can you tell the others we'll be there in ten minutes?' Victoria looks at me and smiles, before climbing off the bed and running back into the hall.
'Okay, something amazing happened when we went clubbing that night and I didn't want to tell you at first but I have to tell you because I don't want to keep things from you and I honestly don't know what to do, so here goes nothing!' He says, his excitement all over the place.
I don't think I've seen him this excited in months.
'Killian and I kissed.' What?! He nods at the shock that's probably all over my face, and can't stop smiling. 'I kissed him and he didn't stop me, he even kissed me back later that night and we haven't really talked since then, and I have no idea if that's a good or bad thing, but I think I have a crush on him.'
Killian? 'Wait, why- Go back a few steps, you kissed Killian?' I ask, still a little blown away by the information he just gave me. 'Yes.'
'I need details, was he good? Since when do you like him? How did it happen? Tongue or no tongue? And what do you mean, you haven't spoken since that night?' He chuckles and moves to my right, smiling at me as he decides which question he wants to answer first.
'He's a great kisser. I think I liked him when we went to Spain. I have no idea. Tongue. I don't know why, but it just feels awkward.' He says, his tone changing with every answer.
'Why didn't you tell me!' I joke, giving him a little push, 'And why is it awkward? Did you puke on him or something?' Brandon did come home pretty drunk that night...
'I didn't know how to and you were busy working all the time, you still are. And no, I did not puke on him, it's just awkward because I don't think he feels the same way.' He says, sadness covering his entire face.
'If he didn't like you, why did he kiss you back?' I have no clue if Killian wants Brandon in that way, but it wouldn't make sense for Killian to kiss him again if he didn't.
So I hope that he does feel something towards Brandon.
Because he deserves it.
'Maybe he was too drunk to think about it.' He mumbles, climbing off the bed, and pulling me with him.
I groan and stretch before following him towards the dining room. 'I don't think so.' I whisper as we both enter the room, making everyone look at us.
'Took you long enough, we're starving!' Nikolai exclaims, immediately filling his plate with the food on the table.
I take the only unoccupied seat, next to Rio, since Brandon takes a seat into the other chair that was empty, next to Celine.
We have some stuff to discuss anyway.
Everyone starts talking about a bunch of different stuff and I notice Celine sitting pretty close to Vincent.
And there's definitely some awkward tension between Killian and Brandon.
'How is everything coming along?' He asks as I put some rice and chicken on my plate. 'Just a few more emails and I'm up to date again.' I answer, before pouring myself some water.
Ever since Victoria joined us, there's been no alcohol during dinner anymore.
So the only way any of us can drink wine or any alcohol for that matter is if we sneak something to dinner or when she's not around.
'Good, we leave early in the morning so we have some time to search around.' He states before taking another bite. 'You'll have the day of the meeting as well to search around, so we don't need to leave that early.'
'It's best if we do, it's unknown territory and I don't want to risk it.' I look at him and take a deep breath. 'Why do I have to go again?'
It's his company, it's his deals, why would he put such a responsibility in my hands? Out of all people?
'Because you know what's at risk and I need all the others so we can search for her.' Right.
'Fine, at what time did you want to leave?' I ask, already dreading waking up at five in the morning, because when it comes to time with this guy he- 'Seven should be fine.' Seven.
'Fine with me.' I sigh, before taking a bite out of my food.
'He's giving you a lot of work, isn't he?' Marco asks, smiling at me a little. 'A lot, but at least it keeps me busy.'
'If you ever need help, I wouldn't mind.' He says, pouring himself a glass of water.
As much as I love Marco for even offering his help, I would much rather ask Victoria.
He somehow managed to mess up the chain more than I could've ever imagined. But it's still kind that he offered it. 'Thank you.'
When everyone is done eating, I decide to wash the dishes. I mean, everyone already did something to make the food, I might as well clean it all up.
Brandon says he'll take Victoria to our room and put her to bed, Celine and Vincent disappear, Marco, Rio, and Nico talk about something they wanted to do in England and head towards Rio's office, Kai slowly disappears as well, and Killian stays seated since he's so full.
'I'll help you.' Killian groans, making me smile as he struggles to get up. 'I'll be fine.'
'You'll dry, I'll soap.' He stumbles over to me and pushes me to the side so that he can get to the sink.
And so we start, him washing the dishes and me drying them, talking about stuff that we normally don't have the time for.
'Vincent once almost got bit by one of those poisonous spiders, he didn't even fucking flinch.' My skin crawls at the thought of not caring about spiders.
I absolutely hate spiders.
'Let me guess, Nico and you freaked out?' He nods and hands me another wet plate to dry off. 'Of course! We're not that insane.'
We both laugh because they certainly are.
They're both insane in their own way. I feel like we all are.
A short silence falls between us and I can't help but think about what Brandon told me.
They kissed.
I want to ask so many questions about it, but I don't know if Brandon would like that very much.
But it might help him? And maybe- No. I shouldn't intervene. It's none of my business and I-
'I think you and Brandon should talk, see if there's something you two can do to get more information for the search.' Why do I always do this!?
'Don't tell me what to do.' Killian says, before handing me a wet plate.
I dry it off and turn back to him.
'I'm not telling you what to do.' I'm simply suggesting it...
'Yes, you are.' He sighs and hands me another plate, 'You're pushing me to get with Brandon.'
Am I?
So far, I haven't said anything about them together, as in dating or romantically for that matter, but that's what I was leading up to.
'I don't like him like that.'
'Why did you kiss him then?' His eyes widen and he drops his sponge into the sink, before quickly picking it up again.
His cheeks turn red with shame and I don't get why.
'Did he tell you that?'
'Maybe.' He knows damn well that he had too. How else would I know?
'Well, he's lying.' No, you are. He hands me another plate and starts cleaning the glasses.
'He kissed me.' As if that makes it any better.
'And you didn't do much to stop it, quite the opposite actually.'
He places a glass on the counter and looks at me. For a second I thought he was going to throw it at me. But Killian isn't Rio.
'I'm not gay, Neveah.' He says.
I put the plates in the cabinets they belong in, and turn back to Killian.
He's ashamed. Afraid of what might happen if people found out-
'I felt alone and he kissed me, but I'm not gay.' He lies.
I know he's lying.
For some reason, he doesn't want to admit it.
And I'm not going to push him.
So instead, I go into defense.
'Don't hurt Brandon.'
He raises his brow at me and grabs another dishcloth to help me with the remaining glasses.
'Brandon is a close friend of mine and he deserves someone that loves him and treats him with respect. Don't make him believe that there's something going on, just because you're alone.'
Killian looks at the glass in his hands and stays quiet, while I put everything back in its place.
'I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning?' He nods and continues to rub the glass, even though it's dry already.
Just as I reach the doorway, he asks: 'Does he already... Does he already feel something?'
I stop and take a deep breath.
I could tell him about our conversation earlier, it might help him understand what Brandon feels for him.
But that would be a violation of our friendship. If I haven't violated it yet...
So instead of telling him that Brandon has feelings for him, I turn around and look at him.
'That's something you should be asking him.'
He looks at me, annoyed that I'm not telling him. But then he smiles.
'Goodnight Neveah.' He mumbles as I turn back around and start walking. 'Goodnight Killian.'
Brandon is going to kill me...
I head to my room and notice that Victoria isn't in her bed, quickly looking around the room to see where she is, to find her lying in my bed. She's sleeping peacefully.
I quickly grab some clothes and hop in the shower, before putting them on.
As I stare in the bathroom mirror, I notice that I look different. I don't know how or why, but I do.
Not as tired as I did before, still stressed, just not as much.
Just different.
I quickly brush my teeth and climb next to Victoria.
This is the fifth time she's sleeping in my bed instead of her own. And I honestly don't mind.
It's cozy.
It doesn't take long for me to fall asleep since I'm exhausted already.
The next morning, I wake up because of Victoria, who's tapping my arm again and again and again.
'I'm up.' I mumble, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes as I turn to her. 'What is it?'
'We have to get ready.' She chimes, already jumping out of bed, all energetic and shit.
I want kids, but why the fuck are they this excited in the morning?
'Come on!' She exclaims, before running into the bathroom. For fuck's sake...
I stretch and move to the side of the bed, taking my time to really wake up, and listen to Victoria chatting about how excited she is to fly again.
Ever since she found out we're leaving for England, she couldn't stop talking about flying. She said she wanted to be a pilot when she gets older and I honestly hope she will be.
Seeing her all excited about it makes me happy.
'What time is it?' I ask, even though I know she can hardly tell the time in the first place. I rub my eyes one more time and look at my phone on the nightstand, blinking a few times before I can even read what time it is.
Six-thirty... Okay, meaning I have- Wait.
I have thirty minutes! I jump to my feet, rushing into the bathroom to brush my teeth while Victoria already heads back to the bedroom to change.
I still have to pack and I- Shit.
I should've packed my shit last night, before heading to bed!
'Victoria, if you're hungry you should go grab something from the kitchen.' She doesn't respond and runs out of the room, probably grabbing something to eat.
I quickly start packing some clothes, just for a few days, and grab all the necessities I might need for work, before following her lead.
Everyone dropped their bags in the hall, so I throw mine on the pile as well.
'Glad you're up, I have something for you.' Celine says, hooking her arm around mine as she pulls me towards her office. 'What is it?'
'More letters.' She opens the door and points at the stash of envelopes on her desk. 'Twenty, they came in this morning. All for you again.' What...
'Wait, did you ask where they came from?' I ask, looking at the handwriting on the envelopes. 'The postman said he had no clue and that they were stacking up at the hotel, so he decided to send them over here.'
'Thank you.' She smiles at me and leans against the frame of the door. As I take her all in, it looks like her belly is even bigger now, if that's even possible.
'Are they really from Leya?' I nod and look at the handwriting again. It's certainly her. 'I'll probably read these on the plane.'
'Will you tell Rio about them?' She asks softly. As if she's trying to keep the letters a secret from everyone else. 'He already knows about the first one and I think it's only fair if I tell him.'
Her eyes widen for a second before she frowns at me. 'Who are you and what did you do to Neveah? You know, the Neveah that hates Rio?'
'I still hate him, just a little less.' I chime as I grab all the envelopes and carry them back into the hall. 'Another thing, your belly is getting big.' She follows me back to the kitchen and laughs, 'when is that baby coming, and is it a boy or a girl by the way?'
'Three more weeks and I am not telling anyone the gender yet.'
'Then how are we supposed to buy it presents?' Brandon chimes, who was apparently eating a sandwich with Victoria. I nod his way and wait for Celine to reply, but she's too busy drooling over Vincent.
'Get a room already.' Nikolai groans as he pulls Victoria away from the stares and towards the front door. Kai mumbles something as he follows behind, probably jealous of them, and I roll my eyes.
'Everyone ready to go?' Marco asks as he quickly grabs a bottle of water and heads to the hall as well.
'Almost.' Vincent mumbles, before kissing Celine.
I know they went on a date and all, but I didn't think they kissed yet.
'Good luck.' She whispers against his lips, smiling like crazy.
Brandon walks over to me and stares at them in awe as well.
I think we look insane for anyone else watching, but this is the cutest shit ever. 'And be careful.'
'We will be, take care.' He quickly kisses her again, before kissing her on the forehead and the bridge of her hand. So cute!
'What are you two doing?' I stop smiling and turn to Rio, who's frowning at Brandon and me. 'We were just-' 'Get in the car.'
Brandon sighs as I pull him along, heading towards the car before Rio is going to kill us both.
'We'll see you in a few days, be careful and call if you need anything!' Brandon shouts before he shuts the car door.
'Vincent, did you just kiss her?!' He shouts, pulling on Vincent's shoulder. He starts laughing and rolls his eyes, before looking over his shoulder. 'So what if I did?'
'You better not hurt her, or I swear to god I'll-' 'Barsetti.' Rio's voice is hard and demanding, silencing Brandon immediately. 'Don't meddle in their shit.'
'But I wouldn't dream of hurting her.' Vincent mumbles, before helping Marco with the directions.
'What are those by the way?' Brandon asks after a while, pointing at the envelopes still in my hand. 'Letters from Leya.'
'Can I see!' Before I can even blink, Rio pulls the letters out of my hand, looking at all of them. 'Why so many?' He asks, not once taking his eyes off of the envelopes.
As if he can see Cataleya in her handwriting. 'Celine said they were dropped off at the hotel and they became too many, so they sent them to the house.'
'Still no returner?'
'No.' Everyone else stays silent and I can hear Brandon sigh deeply after a while. 'Can I read them?'
'No. North, you and I are going to read these and see if there's something about their location.' What? 'That's not fair,' Brandon groans, trying to reach for the letters, 'how come you get to read them, but I don't?'
'Barsetti.' Rio repeats, making him go silent again. 'If I might add, I think it would be better if we read them all, the more people, the faster, right?' Marco asks, a little curious himself.
I know he wants to read those letters, just because they come from Leya.
'What if there's something personal in there?' Rio asks, gritting his teeth as he glares at Marco. 'Leya sounds important.'
We all turn to Victoria who is sitting between Nico and Rio, smiling at me.
'She is.' I say, before looking at Rio, who's waiting for me to reply.
He doesn't want anyone else to read those letters, but Marco might be right. If we all read all of them, maybe we might find something different?
But it's as if he doesn't want to share the letters with them. As if he doesn't want to share Leya with them.
So I won't force him to.
'We'll read them together and if I think there's something suspicious, we'll give them to you.' A small smile tugs at Rio's lips and for a second I think I'm imagining it all because he would never smile at me.
'I hate that you two became friends.' Brandon groans, staring at me in awe. 'We're not.' Rio and I say in unison because we're not.
None of the people in the car are Rio's friends. He said so himself.
'We're here.' Marco jumps out of the car and opens the door, letting all of us out so we can head to the plane.
As we all walk inside, Rio pulls me towards the back, allowing only Victoria to follow us.
She takes a seat on the leather couch and starts playing on a phone she stole from one of the boys. It's probably Nico's phone.
Rio drops all the envelopes on the little table in the middle and drops next to her, leaving a chair across from them for me.
'You sure you don't want them to read the letters as well?' I ask, looking at him as he keeps his eyes on the letters again. 'I asked you and you said this was a smart idea.'
'Technically you didn't ask me, but I'll take it.' I grab an envelope and open it, before leaning back to read it.
Here we go...
𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘩, 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯.
𝘋𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘺. 𝘐 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘐'𝘮 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥'𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰. 𝘚𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐'𝘮 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘐 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘕𝘰𝘢𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐'𝘮 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘶𝘱𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭.
I don't get how we're just getting the letters now? She wrote these a while back and they were just at the hotel, waiting for someone to pick them up.
𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦, 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘏𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘫𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘺 𝘐 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴.
So she does know about the bounty and she told me in one of the other letters? I look at the pile again and look at the one Rio's holding.
Is he slowly going insane?
𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩. 𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘦𝘵? 𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐'𝘮 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺? 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴. 𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯!
~ 𝘊𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘺𝘢
Shit.
'Remind me to call Ariana when we get there.' Rio looks at me with a frown and waits for me to explain. 'She asked if I could check up on her and tell her to stop worrying.'
'Anything else about her location?' He asks, quickly scanning the letter he's holding. 'Just that Hunter doesn't want her writing it in the letter because of the bounty.'
'I'll see if I can get rid of it.' He mumbles, rubbing his temples. 'But I thought you said you and Justine had a bad history?'
'I honestly tried contacting her the nice way, but since-' 'You can't threaten her, she'll kill Leya.' His grip on the letter tightens and I fear he's going to shred it.
'Don't-' He let's go of it and places it on the table between us, before taking a deep breath. 'Just continue, we'll see about that Justine thing later.'
Alright.
I grab another envelope and open it.
𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘩, 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯.
𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦. 𝘌𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘏𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵. 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵. 𝘚𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘍𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘰. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐'𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺. 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥, 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘐 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦.
Oh, Leya... I'm not mad at her. How could I be mad at her? I know they're playing games with her, I just know they are, and I know that she didn't actually mean anything she said that night.
𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘏𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘍𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘰, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵? 𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘰. 𝘏𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘐 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘏𝘦'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮.
She got stabbed?! I wonder if the others know about that already? Because Nico's uncle said they left the party just after we did, but did he know she was hurt?
𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘐'𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨!
~ 𝘊𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘺𝘢
Wait? So she's not with them anymore?
I almost jump out of my seat and grab another letter.
'What is it?' Rio asks, looking at the letter I just read, before looking at me again. 'She might not even be with them anymore.'
I open a new letter and continue to read, hoping that she's not with them anymore.
𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘩,
𝘚𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘕𝘰𝘢𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘺.
Train at night? She did look more in shape than before, but was that because they're training with her?
'Did you find anything yet?' I look up at Rio, who's waiting for me to answer him. 'Just that she's training with them.'
'Training with them?' He asks, confused as fuck. I nod and look at the rest of the letter, ready to read the rest of it, but I can feel Rio's gaze through the paper. 'What is it?'
'Why would she be training with them?' I lower the letter a little, so I can look at him. 'Why wouldn't she?'
'Because-' 'Does it bother you that much?' I can tell that it does, but I just need him to admit something different for me to write down.
Because the last time we talked about Cataleya has been a while back, and I need to know more about his feelings towards her, just in case he falls back again.
'Of course, it does.' Bingo. 'Why?' He frowns at me as if it's insane that I'm even asking. 'Are you fucking kidding me?'
I quickly glance at Victoria, but she seems too busy with Nico's phone, and look back at Rio. 'I don't see why she shouldn't.'
There are a few reasons why she shouldn't, but I can think of a few reasons why she should as well.
'For starters, they're the enemy.' He says, leaning forward, ready to lecture me again. 'Let me guess, you're jealous that you don't get to train her.'
He rolls his eyes, but I swear I saw him flinch when my words kicked it, and leans back again, grabbing another letter, before looking at it as if I didn't say a thing.
'Don't be ridiculous, I'm not jealous.' Oh, he so is...
'If you say so.' I mumble as I lean back as well and continue to read the letter.
𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦. 𝘚𝘰 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯.
Why would I ignore you? All of this reminds me of when we were eighteen years old. My aunt grounded me because I didn't get home on time.
She always threatened to lock me out of the house, but in reality, she did the exact opposite.
She locked me in the house, not allowing me out, which was the worst she could do since we were off school at that time.
No phones, no internet, no tv, nothing...
And since Leya wanted to get in contact with me and she wasn't allowed at the house, she decided to write me letters.
I remember when Eric would slip them underneath the door, keeping them from my aunt.
I couldn't write her back then either, not until I asked Eric if he could sneak some letters back to her, which took a lot of convincing, but he did eventually.
She thought I was ignoring her, but I wasn't. I simply couldn't get the letters to her without Eric's help. And I can't get the letters to her now because I have no clue where the fuck she's sending them from.
𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐'𝘮 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦. 𝘐 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘕𝘰𝘢𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘐𝘴𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦, 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘺.
I doubt Rio will think like that...
I feel like, according to him, everyone who isn't helping with getting her back, is the enemy.
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘏𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐'𝘮 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘴𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘳. 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘚𝘬𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘭? 𝘏𝘦'𝘴 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵. 𝘏𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐'𝘮 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥.
𝘐𝘧 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦... 𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘯 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.
So she knows about Martin Steel? I honestly think she knows more than I do at this point.
'You're a slow reader North.' Rio says, pulling the letter out of my hand, before jumping back in his seat.
Apparently, he opened and read all the other letters already, leaving them all over the place. 'How did you-' 'Not important. There's nothing useful in them, it's just bullshit' Bullshit?
He looks tense. Way too tense.
'It's not bullshit, she's talking about all the things she's doing.' I say, trying to see if there's an unopened envelope left.
He literally opened all of them, some he opened with care, others he almost ripped into pieces, and threw them all over the place.
'It is bullshit because it doesn't say anything about her location.'
'Is that all you want her to write about?' Something flashes through his eyes as he looks at me again. 'What do you mean?'
'You know what I mean.' I mumble, quickly looking at a gasping Victoria. She's still too focused on that phone to care about either of us. 'I don't, so enlighten me North.'
'You're annoyed because she didn't write about you.' He simply looks at me, blinking a few times, before placing the letter on the table between us. 'Listen, North-'
'Johan is at Blue's tonight.' Nico says, moving over to the seat next to me.
Rio looks at him with a frown, completely forgetting that he was about to scold me for pushing his buttons again.
'What?' He asks confused. 'Johan is at that club of his tonight, Blue's. I thought, since we didn't get the link through my uncle, we could get it through him.' Nico answers, waiting for Rio to react.
But as I turn to Rio, I notice his eyes are on me and me alone. 'What?'
'Nico, get Marco and Brandon in here, after that go change.' Rio demands and Nico jumps up immediately, 'Apparently, we're going clubbing tonight.' What?
'Wait, what?' Nico walks over to the front of the plane, probably doing as Rio told him to, but I don't get what's going on.
'I thought you said-' 'I need you to seduce Johan for me.' What? I can barely keep in my laughter because he can't be fucking serious right now.
'You want me to seduce a stranger?' He nods as if it's completely normal for me to seduce anyone. 'I don't- how the fuck am I supposed to do that?'
'According to our sources, you're exactly his type. And don't act like you don't know.' He sneers, folding all the letters, before placing them on the corner of the table. Exactly his type?
'We need that flash drive and I heard he always has a copy with him, so you'll seduce him, take the drive, and get the fuck out.'
'Tell me why we need it.' I say, waiting for him to shut me out again.
Every time I ask, he shuts me down.
And I don't doubt that he will do it again and-
'On the drive is the information we can use to get closer to Steel.' Wow. Did he just-
'So, will you do it?' He asks, getting a little impatient. 'Will she do what?' Brandon asks, taking a seat next to me.
Rio ignores him and awaits my answer as Marco takes a seat next to him.
We need the information to get to Steel, which will get us closer to Leya.
'Yes.' I'll manage. Somehow.
'What are you two talking about.' Rio nods and finally looks at the Barsetti brothers that joined us now. 'Brandon, I need you to help North get ready. We're going to club Blue's tonight and we're getting that information.'
'Why does- Wait. Rio, abbiamo un accordo.' Italian again... 'What did he say?' I ask, looking at Brandon. He normally translates it for me, if he's in the mood and all, but this time he stays silent.
'Vaffanculo, Marco.' Marco rolls his eyes and looks at me. 'Neveah, you don't have to-' 'If something goes wrong, we'll be around. She'll be fine.' Rio intervenes before Marco can pry his way into my head.
If something goes wrong? It's not like- Wait. 'Maybe I shouldn't.' I mumble, remembering the panic attack I had a while back, because of a tiny dark space. How the fuck am I supposed to flirt with another man?
'Neveah, nothing will happen to you.' Neveah. Not North, or North, just Neveah.
Rio's eyes are stuck to me as he awaits my answer. 'You can't do this to her, Rio, it's not fair and-' 'I'll be fine.' I say, placing my hand on Brandon's before he explodes on Rio and only angers him more. 'Everyone will be around, so I should be fine.'
Brandon and Marco look at me for a while, debating if they should believe me or not, but they should.
'Get her ready, we land in less than an hour.' Rio says, waiting for us to move. 'Who's going to stay with Victoria?' I ask, not leaving until I know what's going to happen to her.
'Shit.' Rio mumbles, looking at the little girl next to him. 'I'll have Killian take her to the house.' I nod and wait for Brandon to move, which takes longer than I want it to, but when he finally does, he takes me to the booth in the back.
'You know you don't have to do this right?' He mumbles as he goes through a rack of clothes.
I've never been back here.
There's a filled closet and a small bed. It's bigger than I thought it was.
'Rio said I'll be fine, you guys will be around.' I say, trying to convince both of us. 'I don't think it's a smart thing to do, Neveah.' It's probably not.
But I doubt we will get that flash drive without it.
And if Rio thinks this is the best option, it has to be.
'If something goes wrong, you can blame me.' Brandon frowns as he places a black dress on the bed. 'It will be my own fault.'
'Neveah-' 'This dress is gorgeous.' I don't need him to stress more. I'm already stressing enough.
But we'll be fine. I'll be fine.
'Yes. Go change and knock on the door when you're done.' He mumbles, walking to the door to let me change.
After changing into a cute black dress, he does my hair and make-up, giving me the silent treatment as he does, and when we're all done with me, he tells me to go back to the others.
'Where's Brandon?' Rio asks, wearing another suit of his. 'He's going to change, when did you guys change clothes?'
Everyone is wearing something casual.
Only Marco and Rio are wearing fancy clothes again. 'When you were getting ready with Brandon.' Kai says, smiling at me. 'You look good, Neveah.'
'Thank you.' I chime, dropping next to Victoria, who's still playing on that phone.
'Everyone stay away from each other, but keep eyes on each other at the same time. Either North gets the info out of him, or one of us does.' Rio says, making Nico and Vincent's eyes widen.
'You're sending her in?' Rio nods and looks me up and down, before turning to Vincent again.
'I don't see why not.'
'Are you insane?' Oh god... The fact that they're all not in with this, doesn't help with the stress at all. 'I'll be fine.' I say, wishing I didn't sound so... Insecure?
'I'll just talk to him, keep him busy, and you guys can go- what's the plan exactly?' I ask, unable to process anything Rio just said.
'The drive is probably in his office, either you go in there because he invites you in, or you keep him busy while we try to get in there and find it.' Rio repeats calmly.
I nod and look at the others because it sounds simple.
Nothing wrong with some harmless flirting. I've done it before.
'We'll be landing soon, so take a seat and prepare.' Everyone drops into a seat around and looks at me. And I hate every second of it.
As soon as we land, everyone heads out, leaving just Victoria, Rio, and me inside. 'Come on, you're going with Killian.' I mumble, grabbing her hand to help her out.
She smiles at me and runs towards the car Killian is standing at, quickly turning around to wave at me, before jumping in the car.
'Good luck, text me if something happens.' Killian chimes, before jumping in the car himself. Brandon, despite not saying a thing, pulls me towards a smaller car, and jumps behind the wheel.
'We'll see you there.' Oh. Everyone gets in a different car, despite just saying that we should act like we don't know each other again, I'm going with Brandon.
As I jump in the car, he instantly starts driving.
It's completely silent for at least three minutes.
'Don't be mad at me.'
'I'm not mad at you, you're just stupid.' He says, sighing deeply as he turns on the radio.
I turn it down and look at him, feeling the fabric of the dress tighten around my waist. 'I'll be fine, now can we talk about something else?'
He takes another deep breath, before smiling at me.
I know it's not a real smile, but it will be fine. 'How about we talk about that little conversation you had with Killian.' Oh shit.
'You know what, let's go back to silence again.' I mumble, looking straight ahead again.
Shit. 'No, I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have talked to him about it, I just wanted him to know that he couldn't hurt you. And I know that was stupid of me to do it the way I did, but I'm sorry okay. It won't happen again.'
Brandon stays silent for another second, before laughing hysterically as he drives into the city.
London.
'I'm not mad.' What?
If someone did this shit with me, I would be fucking pissed. Unless...
'Why not?' I ask curiously, turning back to him again.
I'm glad that we're finally talking about something else than what's going to happen today.
'He asked me to be his boyfriend.' He admits, his cheeks slowly turning a deep red. 'What?!'
I almost pull him closer but remind myself that he's driving.
'When- What did- Tell me!' I'm so happy for him, but I didn't expect this at all.
'I knew you were going to talk to him, that's just how you are, so I told you to put everything into motion.'
He parks the car across a big building with Blue's on a bright sign.
I think it looks a lot better at night.
'We're here and we'll talk more when all of this is over, okay?' I watch as he jumps out of the car, a little too stunned to move.
I don't know if it's because of what he just said or because of what might happen in there.
'Also, stay in the car a little longer and come out when you're ready.' He throws the keys on his seat, before shutting the door, and walks away.
Thank you. I take a deep breath and close my eyes for a second, readying myself for what's about to come.
I'll be fine.
Just a little flirting and I'll be done.
I got this. Nothing wrong with this. I'll just... try to seduce him and see what happens. If he doesn't want me, I'll tell the others and they'll deal with it.
Come on. I can't bring myself to open the car door and take another deep breath.
My phone vibrates in the little purse Brandon threw at me as he shoved me out the door, and I quickly look at it.
𝚆𝚊𝚒𝚝 𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚕 𝚒𝚝 𝚐𝚎𝚝𝚜 𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚔
Marco texted me.
I look out of the window and realize that it won't be long until it's dark, but I don't mind the extra time.
So I lean back and stare at the building a little longer, my heart beating like crazy.
Stop it.
We need that flash drive to get to Leya. That's why we're doing this. For Leya.
So I'm going to go in there and do what I have to, for Leya.
After waiting until it's dark and attempting to calm down again, I climb out of the car, lock it, and walk towards the club.
I have to wait in line, but again, I don't mind the extra time.
'ID please.' I look for my ID in my purse and find one that certainly isn't mine. Laura Prude.
Who the fuck- 'Get in.' The bouncer sneers, handing me back the fake ID.
I put it away and step inside, watching as a group of guys heads to the bar, and silently follow them.
I take a seat on one of the barstools and look around, trying to find the others.
Kai is the first one I see, since he's walking over to me, and I look him up and down as he takes a seat next to me.
'Get a drink so he won't order you one.' He says, barely loud enough to hear because of the loud music blasting through the space.
In different circumstances, I would love it here. But right now, my head is starting to hurt and I just want to leave.
'I don't need a drink, thank you.' I say as I try to look around again. Kai steps in front of me, blocking me from everything and everyone else. 'Get a drink, Neveah.'
'No thank you.' I say as I climb off the seat and walk the other way.
But, since I'm keeping my eyes on Kai, I bump into someone.
'Is this man bothering you, darling?' I look up, straight into brown eyes, and step back a little. 'I just wanted to order her a drink.' Kai mumbles, before walking the other way.
I stay put, a little in trance by the stranger standing in front of me.
He's pretty, but something's off about him.
Now, I don't know this stranger's name, and I don't know what Johan looks like, but something just feels right.
And I think this is him.
'Are you okay?' I nod and keep my eyes on his, feeling like I'm caged or something.
As long as his eyes are on me, I won't be able to do anything suspicious.
'My name is Johan,' He says, stepping closer a little, 'What about you?' It's him.
This is the guy I'm supposed to seduce tonight, and he found me.
'I'm Laura.' I lie, keeping my eyes on him and him alone.
I must admit, his eyes are intriguing and he's not ugly, but that's not what we're here for.
'Well, Laura,' He leans a bit closer, his hand going to my waist to keep me from stumbling back, 'what's a pretty girl like you, doing in a club like this, all alone?'
'A lot happened at home and I-' I try moving back a little, feeling the need to create some space between us.
He lowers his hand again, straightens his jacket, and clears his throat, before looking at me again. 'Is that so?'
I nod and lean closer a little, wanting to give him the impression that I want this. That I want him.
His eyes roam over me, completely unashamed, and he stops at my face again, before leaning closer as well.
'We can talk about it more in my office.' I widen my eyes, as if I had no clue that he owned this place, and frown for a second. 'Wait, you own this place?' I ask, making him nod in return. 'I do, didn't see that coming, did you?'
I smile at him and nod, taking his hand as he leads me to his office down the hall.
I notice Vincent in one of the couches with a girl at his side, but he doesn't notice me.
Johan takes me through a small hallway, barely wide enough for three people to walk side by side, and opens the door at the end of it, before stepping to the side.
I step inside and take a look around. It looks very industrial, with metal pipes coming out of the wall and taking up space all across the room.
'So tell me, Laura. Why are you here alone?' He takes a seat on a leather couch on the other side of the room, patting the space next to him, and I slowly make my way over to him. 'I just needed to get out of the house.'
Lying isn't that hard when it comes to shit like this.
'Really?' I nod and look at him, watching as his hand slowly makes its way to my leg. 'My roommate is being a piece of shit and her girlfriend doesn't like me that much.'
'Why would someone not like a pretty girl like you?' He asks, leaning closer a bit. I almost freeze, but place my hand on his, trying to keep it from touching my leg. 'I can be very hard to pin down.'
He raises an eyebrow and leans even closer, his lips brushing against my ear, 'I can pin you down right now.'
I lean back and look into his eyes, awkwardly laughing as I get up and head to the other side of the room.
'You seem a bit tense?' I look at his desk, searching for that stupid flash drive, ready to get the fuck out of here again. 'I am,' I turn back to him and smile, 'Maybe I need to get a drink?'
He shakes his head and gets up to walk over to a little table filled with glass bottles on it. Shit. 'I can get you something.'
Kai was right. I should've gotten my own drink.
'I saw the way that guy looked at you and I didn't like it.' He says, turning his back on me to fix that drink. I walk to the other side of his desk and look for that stupid drive in the drawers that open silently. 'What way was that?' I ask as I go through another drawer.
'He's a typical man, out for the sensual.' I roll my eyes and slowly shut all the drawers, so I can turn to the filing cabinet on the right side of the room. 'It's disgusting, honestly.'
Nothing. Not in any of the drawers I open. Fuck.
I turn back to the desk and notice a bump in one of the papers on there. Something- 'Everything okay, Laura?' I look up at him and smile, touching the desk as if I'm completely fascinated by it.
'I just really like this desk.' He steps closer and hands me the glass he made for me, before sipping from his own. 'Do you work behind it all the time?' I ask, acting completely oblivious.
'That's what a desk is for, right?' I chuckle and cling my glass against his, acting like I'm drinking, but simply letting it hit my lips, before lowering my glass again. 'It's very pretty.'
I slowly place my glass on his desk and start coughing. 'This is strong.'
He chuckles and moves over to the door, quickly reaching for a bottle of water on the table right next to it, before swiftly locking the door and putting the key in his pocket. Oh god...
'You know, you can use a desk for more than just work.' He says, gently pressing me against the desk, placing the water bottle right in front of me.
I hate this. I hate every second of it. But I place my hands on the papers and act like I need to hold onto something. Just as the papers move just a little, I see it.
The flash-drive.
It might not be it, but just like earlier, I can feel that this is it.
'Do you want me to show you,' He presses himself against me all the way, making my body run ice-cold. No. 'Do you want that, Neveah?'
What? I quickly turn around and notice that he's grinning from ear to ear. 'Do you think I'm stupid?'
'I have no clue what you're talking about, but if you have someone else on your mind, I'll leave.' I reach for the drive and brush past him, feeling his hand go around my wrist before being pulled back.
He keeps his grip around my wrist as he pushes me onto the desk and shakes his head. 'Pathetic woman. Thinking you could play me?'
'Let go of me.' I say, trying to find a way out. But there isn't one. 'Stealing from me?' He pulls the drive out of my hand, puts it in his pocket, and starts laughing like a maniac. 'You fool.'
'Let go of me, please.' I don't know why I sound so pathetic when all I feel is anger and fear.
'You think you can steal from me and get away with it?' He asks, pushing me flat on my back. I kick at him, but he simply pushes my legs apart and presses himself against me. No.
My heart starts racing and I almost freeze. Almost.
I grab the glass I placed on the desk and throw it at his face, making him stumble back as he groans, covering his face.
Droplets of red liquid drip onto the ground. Blood. He's bleeding.
I move to the door and start banging, trying to pull it open, despite knowing it's locked. Shit.
The music is too loud for anyone to hear, there shouldn't be- 'Neveah?!' It's... Kai.
'Kai! Help me! Get me out, please!' The door handle starts turning and I can hear him slamming against the door as well. 'It's locked!' No shit!
I look back at Johan, who's still groaning as he tries to stop the bleeding.
'Please get me out of here.' I can't do this. I can't.
Brandon was right. This was stupid to begin with.
'Please.' 'Give me a second.' I stay by the door, trying to burst it open by slamming myself against it.
My shoulder starts hurting and I slowly turn back to Johan, who finally stopped groaning.
'You bitch.' He's standing a lot closer than I thought he would be, and drags me over to the couch, throwing me on it.
My back hurts like crazy and I ready myself for a fight. Because there's no way I'm going through this again.
No fucking way.
'Help!' He rolls his eyes and walks over to me, slapping me so hard that I'm starting to see stars.
The world is spinning and I can't focus on anything because he's too close and my head hurts like crazy.
'Shut the fuck up you bitch.' He pulls me up by pulling on my hair, and smiles, 'No one will hear you.' No.
My head hurts too much for me to come up with anything I could pull to make him stop. And he uses this to his advantage, pulling, no ripping the dress down my chest.
I find the strength to push him off of me and quickly stumble to the door. 'Get over here, you-' 'Someone help!'
I'm pulled back and slammed on the ground, before he jumps on top of me, moving his hand underneath my dress. I clench my legs together, but it all hurts too much, and he's stronger, so he reaches a place I don't want him to. No.
Tears form in my eyes and I lean forward, biting him. He pushes my head down and groans as he puts more pressure on my core.
I feel like I'm going to throw up.
No. No. No.
Panic fills my legs, moving up to my waist and then my entire body, and I freeze for one second.
Silence. Complete silence.
Not his heavy breathing or my racing heart. Just silence.
Just as I'm ready to give up, ready to let it happen because there's no way I'm getting out of this, I hear some commotion coming from down the hall.
'North?!' Rio? I open my eyes and look straight at Johan, who's trying to pull down his pants while keeping me in place. 'North?!' He sounds... Panicked?
'In here-' I mumble, barely loud enough to hear it myself. Shit.
'Shut up.' Before I can shout again, Johan presses his hand on my mouth, removing his hand from my wrists he was trying to keep in place. I press my hands against his chest and ready myself with all I have, before pushing him off of me.
He falls on his ass and immediately runs up to me again, giving me less than five seconds to reach the door. 'In here!' I shout just in time for Johan to run into me, crushing me between his big body and the door.
'Get over here!' He sneers, pulling me away from the door, just to throw me across the room again. I can't do this...
'Neveah!?' The door handle starts turning again and I want to shout, but I can't.
My throat is shut as Johan's fingers wrap around my throat, squeezing as hard as he can. 'You're going to be a good girl and stay silent. Or I'll kill you.'
He swiftly pulls his pants down, readying himself for me. But I don't want it.
'Rio...' I can't- No. Please god, no.
I don't want any of this. I try moving around, but everything becomes blurrier by the second.
For some reason I can only focus on the banging on the door, wishing that they break through to stop this. 'Rafael please.'
----
A/N: Bye. Don't kill me.
Don't forget to vote and comment and yeah...
See you at the next chapter! LOVE YOU ALL AND PLEASE DON'T KILL ME <3 have a nice day!