Richard was leaning against the wall right across the door he just walked out from. Startled, Theo cocked his eyebrow with a smile. "Waiting for someone?"
Their father chose that moment to join them in the hall, Vernier and Petroff right behind him. "What are you boys doing here outside?" He spotted Richard and narrowed his eyes at his son. "Why weren't you at the meeting?"
Five more men in exited the room and after a courteous nod to their father left to do whatever business they were tasked to do.
"I had errands to do," Richard answered simply. Theo kept his suspicious remark to himself but his eyes never left his brother's.
"I'll go right ahead, gentlemen," Vernier's voice said from behind Mr. Hong and as he stepped into view to walk away, he threw both brother's a condescending and menacing look. Theo almost rolled his eyes. The man was never a good sport.
"Don't ever miss another meeting again, Richard." Their father's voice was full of warning.
Richard just nodded and both brothers watched their father and Petroff walk away to the same route Vernier took just seconds ago.
"I had a very interesting conversation with your bitch just half an hour ago." Theo turned to face his brother. "I found her at the bar. I didn't do anything if that's what your scowl is all about," Richard added, his hands up in the air as if in defense.
Theo just stared at his brother dryly. "And I assume you left her alive, right?"
Rolling his eyes, Richard uttered, "She actually left first with a very big cliffhanger in her wake."
"What cliffhanger?"
"That's why I am here." Richard looked from left to right before pushing away from the wall. "She said to ask you the real reason why you are planning what you are planning."
He clenched his jaw in anger. Desiree had no right to tell Richard anything.
"Theo, I am against your plans. As a matter of fact, I am against any plans that involve throwing our father off his seat." Richard looked him in the eye. "But if you have something to tell me to change that, you better tell me now."
He didn't know if he could trust his brother. The years they had been in underground had dramatically changed the both of them, their relationship included. But looking at Richard's eyes now he saw the same brother he had those years ago. Though he was younger by a year, he was the one who comforted Richard when their mother died. His brother was just a wreck. In fact, even if he wouldn't admit it, he was the weaker one. They both knew that. Despite Richard's crimes and violent tendencies, he was the weaker one. His plan to escape with Jamaica was proof enough.
But could he trust his own brother?
He snorted and actually had the audacity to chuckle at his brother's face. Richard frowned, a hint of anger slowly showing in the surface.
Of course he could trust Richard with the truth if the truth concerned their mother. But there was one thing that made him hesitant to do so. "I am not sure if I can trust you not to act without thinking if I tell you," he voiced out his thoughts.
Richard's frown deepened. "Then don't make me do something stupid without thinking, Theo. Tell me."
He stared at his brother for a long time. Damn Desiree!
"Theo. I'm getting impatient here."
"It's mom."
"Mom?"
Theo nodded and in just less than ten sentences he told his brother the truth.
*****
Khaye was wearing a frown on her face when she reached the supermarket, deep in thought.
And she yelped in surprise when two hands grabbed her shoulders and started shaking her.
Alarmed, she looked up and saw Marco's angry face just inches above her. "Where the fuck did you go?" he hissed.
"I...I...I just..." She swallowed and looked away. "I went to get some air."
He looked at her incredulously. "Your life is in danger and you went to get some fucking air?"
She flinched. "I'm sorry. I know it wasn't a very good idea—"
"It was a stupid idea, Khaye."
Her mind was reeling with what to tell him. "I've been gone for just a few minutes! Can't I fucking go to the park where I used to go to when I was a child and take some time for myself?!" She pushed him away and entered the supermarket. She intended to finish her shopping and go back to their hideout.
"Khaye!" he called after her.
She could hear his footsteps behind her but she kept walking.
Her mind was still reeling from Gian's warning to stay away from Marco. She wanted a little distraction. And then they could go back to the house. Then she would consider her options and think.
*****
While she waited for Theo inside the lounge near the bar, Desiree's heart was ramming against her chest. He would surely be angry if Richard confronted him.
Shaking her head she forced her mind to think of something else. She'd face Theo and his rage later.
She focused her attention on Jamaica instead. Not a very pleasant subject, but one she had to remind herself every now and then. Her best friend didn't just die. She had been murdered. And someone she knew did it to her.
There was no doubt that it was one of the people she had met underground.
And who were the people in the Liaisons that were also there at the hotel? Desiree thought hard, fingering a few strands of her short brown hair. She nipped at her lips.
There was Richard. He had a relationship with Jamaica and he was with her before she died.
Petroff was also there. And he was the last man she saw Jamaica went out of that bar for. But Richard had said that he left the hotel room just minutes before him.
Still, the two men could have gone back and killed her.
And there was Ms. Kane. Desiree couldn't remember whether or not the lady was already at the hotel that night or not. But then, there were no cameras to prove that she arrived later rather than earlier.
Desiree closed her eyes. There was only one thing she was sure: she and Theo didn't kill Jamaica. They were having sex in his bedroom when it happened. And he couldn't have possibly sneaked out of the room, killed Jamaica and returned to her side naked while she was sleeping, could he?
Again, the fear of being considered a suspect in her best friend's death overwhelmed her again. What was the police doing right now? Desiree realized she hadn't watched or heard of any news about the murder lately. She could try, but it would not be of great help. The police would not spill anything important. Were they looking for her? If they were, would they handcuff and throw her in jail if she as much as appear anytime soon? Because that was what she wanted to do. She wanted to be free of the Liaisons so she could clear her name.
The door to the lounge opened. Thinking it was Theo, she began to open her mouth to defend herself.
But it wasn't Theo.
"Desiree! What a marvelous surprise!" Ms. Kane said, closing the distance between them. Her arms were already stretched wide to embrace her.
Fighting any hesitation, she returned the short embrace.
"How have you been?" the lady asked, taking the seat opposite hers.
She returned to her seat and cleared her throat. What a perfect timing, she thought. "Oh, nothing new. I am waiting for Theo. And thinking while at it," she hastily added.
"Thinking? What could you be thinking about?" The red-haired lady raised her brows in curiosity.
She waved her hand as if to indicate that it was nothing but said, "Oh, just who might have killed Jamaica."
Ms. Kane's face froze in a cold smile that almost sent a shiver through Desiree's spine. And then it was gone. Just like that, her lips thinned into a line and one brow arched higher. "Jamaica. Yes. What a big loss that girl is."
Desiree didn't believe a word she said. She knew she shouldn't be broaching the subject to the woman, but she took a liking to Ms. Kane and she wanted to at least be comforted with the thought that the lady wouldn't have any reasons to kill Jamaica. Apparently, she was wrong. It was written all over Ms. Kane's face. She hated Jamaica.
In all her years in the world of modeling, it was not easy to miss.
Ms. Kane was wise and clever after all because it didn't take her a long time to realize what she was thinking. "I know she's your friend, my dear," she said with an empty smile. "But as much as I like you, I hated her."
Anger rushed to Desiree's ears.
"Oh, please don't get me wrong. Jamaica was a very good asset. She did her job really well. But she did things that almost ruined the entire underground." In her last statement, Ms. Kane did not even bother to hide the shaking fury in her voice. Desiree watched her try to compose herself but it didn't work. The lady was beyond angry. She shot to her feet and uttered, "I suggest you keep your thoughts about Jamaica to yourself, Desiree, dear," she said, her back turned to Desiree. "There are people here who didn't like her. Still don't, actually. It's best you let her murder rest." Kane's head turned over her shoulder but her eyes didn't look at Desiree. "She is worth better dead than alive, trust me."
And before Desiree could jump to her feet and claw on her pretty face, she was gone.
*****
Theo stormed inside the lounge and every step seemed as if he intended to make holes on the ground. And he knew Desiree realized that when she saw him because her face was already white and her eyes round with anxiety. She wasn't afraid of him—she never was. And that angered him more.
"Why the fuck did you tell him anything?" he demanded.
Richard was right behind him, closing the door.
"Well..." she shrugged. "I just thought he should know."
"This is not the best place to have this conversation," Richard reminded him under his breath.
Desiree was already on her feet, walking to the door. "Are we leaving now? I would very much want to get the hell out of here."
Theo grabbed her arm none too gently and turned. Richard had already opened the door for them, his face full of amusement.
"I know I should thank you, Desiree, but I don't think you did the right—"
"Shut up, Richard," Theo told him as he almost dragged Desiree along the corridor and toward the exit.
They reached his car in no time, Richard still hot on their heels. He opened the door for Desiree, pushing her inside the passenger seat, and slamming it beside her before circling around to seat behind the wheel. Before Theo could lock the doors, his brother had already jumped at the backseat.
"I told him because I know we need help with our plan!" Desiree gritted through her teeth even before Theo opened his mouth.
His eyes flashed in anger. "As much as I remember, Desiree, it is my plan."
She snapped her head toward him, her eyes squarely meeting his anger. "Vernier would not open his doors if you come knocking, would he?"
"I never said I'll stick to the same plan. You are not going back there—"
"I told you it is the only way you can get what you need!" she shouted at him.
From the corner of his eye he could see his brother was enjoying this.
"As I remember, Desiree," he added, his tone sarcastic, "you were nearly pissing your dress the last time you were there!"
"Because you had the most stupid plan! You didn't even know that man is a fucking psychopath! If you should have done your job more—"
"I was just five minutes away—"
"And if he—" she pointed at Richard, "—wasn't there to tell you about Vernier's fucked up mind, I would be dead by now!"
"Oh God, please, just stop, the two of you," Richard groaned at the backseat. "You don't have to fucking narrate everything that happened that night just because you think you are making the right blows against each other."
"Shut up, Richard," Theo uttered the same time Desiree snapped, "Then get the fuck out."
"But I am with the bitch for once, Theo," Richard said, ignoring them both.
"What?!" Theo and Desiree cried out but in two completely different manners.
Richard leaned forward so his head was between the two front seats. "If we can think this through like real geniuses that we are, what Desiree suggests can actually work. And you can't deny that it is the most convenient."
"I had been telling him that," Desiree said under her breath, staring stonily at Theo.
"So what? You come knocking on his door and say you are willing to donate your fucking skin?" Theo shot at her.
"No, I am going to go back, knock on his door and say I forgot to take my phone—the one I was supposed to use to send you that stupid, useless signal—which he took away from me the last time I was there. Then he will think I went back for whatever sick, disgusting thing he does but too ashamed to tell him so, without me telling him so," Desiree retorted, challenging him to challenge her logic.
"Now, that..." Richard said with awe, "...was quite hard to follow but now that I get it, it's brilliant."
Theo shot his brother a look. "I didn't ask for your opinion."
"You told me about how our mother died," Richard said, his face back to the serious, dangerous one, "and that tells me you want me to help you with this plan. And I am in. And I say she's—the bitch—is right. We don't even have to make a complicated plan if we just let her go to Vernier willingly. We just have to be there at the right time. And we have to do it at the right time. It's just all about the perfect timing, brother."
Theo stared at Desiree. She lifted her chin in defiance and pride.
She was this desperate to get her end of their deal? Was her freedom worth that much she was willing to step back inside Vernier's house?
"Fine," he finally managed in a very cold voice. He started the car. "We follow her fucking plan."