Chapter Thirty-Four
Questions
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Sausages, bacon, eggs and toast. Pancakes, waffles and croissants. Several types of juice; apple, orange, pineapple, berry, mango. Real coffee made with finely grinded beans. So many aromas filled the dining room, making my mouth water.
"Maybe you could change my mind about marrying you," I said drily as I drooled over the breakfast banquet.
Luke, who was sitting like a king at the head of the table, grinned and tilted his chair back onto two legs. "I knew I could make you come around. What was it about me? My stunning looks? My alluring aura?"
I rolled my eyes and took the seat to his right. "Your cook."
He chuckled. "Ah, so maybe you could marry him instead." He sniffed and turned his head away. "I suppose I could let you go into the arms of another man, even if I only got one date."
I ignored him, piling my plate up with food. It seemed like I hadn't eaten in weeks.
"So," I said as I poured syrup onto my pancakes, "what's going on with this LASER 'break-in'?"
He leant forward, placing all four chair legs back on the ground, and rested his elbows on the table. "Ah, so it's business talk now, aye?"
I sighed impatiently. "I'm surprised that YOU didn't bring it up earlier. Have you scoped it all out, received security patterns, and gathered allies within the building?" It had been a while since I'd done a theft. I was definitely rusty and needed all the help I could get. Especially considering the type of place I was breaking in to.
"How do I put this...? I don't think that I'm absolutely capable of breaking into a government building, let alone a military headquarters. That place will have the best security in the country. And I can't use magic, like I pretty much relied on in the past, there are a lot of witches in LASER, I can't fool them."
What if I come across another Liam or Dan, I thought to myself. My attempts at fooling them with magic had been a fail... wait a minute. What if I actually did run into Liam or Dan? "This idea is developing more and more holes as I consider it."
Luke scratched his chin, his golden eyes on the tablecloth. Then he looked up, his expression determined. "Kayli... Can you trust me?"
I raised my brows at his sudden question, then closed my eyes and rested my forehead onto my hand. Luke, the guy I knew nothing about... "I don't think I can," I said honestly.
His hand slapped down on the table. "Goddamn! How can I get you to trust me? I'll do anything!"
I was taken aback by his outburst. He must be really desperate for this. But the pressure he was putting on me, that Fletch was putting on me. Even the anxiety of knowing that Liam was pursuing was pushing against the thin control I had on my temper.
"Oh, I'm sorry for not trusting someone that I met a little more than a week ago." I spoke in a low voice, hopefully warning him not to push me any further. "Not that I trust easily anyway. Can't you find someone else to do this? Someone with a little less of a connection to LASER?"
He scrunched the tablecloth beneath his hand into his fist. "There is no one. No one that I can trust. See, I trust you! Can't you reciprocate?"
"What the hell?" I stood up, pushing my chair back. "Since when do you trust me? I still don't understand why you chose me for this in the first place! You. Don't. Know. Me!" I turned around and shoved the chair out of my way. It fell with a crack. I was about to yank open the door when it opened itself. Fletch stepped in.
Bad timing, Fletch. I clenched my hand into a fist and rammed it into his stomach. He doubled over, wheezing. "What the hell, Kay?" he gasped.
"I don't understand you, or anyone! What the hell do you all want with me?! You, Luke, Lee, Donovan, Fielding... dammit! Even Liam! What the hell do you all think I am? Because I am nothing like the images of me you've created. I'm an eighteen year old orphan who USED to steal. Who USED to break the law. Not anymore. I can't do this anymore. I c-can't... I just want to have a calm, peaceful day for once. To be goddamn normal for once."
Tears were welling, I could feel the hot ball rising in my throat, threatening to choke me if I kept it in any longer. But I wouldn't cry in front of these guys and ruin their 'miracle girl' image even more. I shoved Fletch into the wall and took off out the room, racing to the front door.
It was faint but I heard the order for a house lock down behind me in Luke's voice. Metal gates slid down over the outer doors and windows. I spun around and found that Fletch was not far behind me.
He looked quite mad.
"Can you let me go outside? Can't you just let me have a few minutes to myself so that I can calm down? Please!"
Luke stepped out of the dining room looking slightly pale. "Kayli... I've friends who are Gardaí. They've had new orders issued from LASER to arrest you on sight. You can't leave this house looking so obviously like yourself."
Fletch raised his hand, signalling silence. "I need to have a talk with Kayli, Luke. Don't mind me."
He approached me, eyes narrowed and hands outstretched. I backed away slowly. Fletch wasn't the violent type but I'd never seen that look in his eyes. It wasn't anger but he definitely wasn't happy either. "Eh? Talk?" I said nervously. Just as fast as my temper arrived, it left and I was left with an embarrassed feeling.
He smiled, though kept his teeth hidden. "Yeah, let's talk, Kayli." It happened very quickly, I hardly saw him move, but he somehow managed to fly forward and throw me into the air, over his shoulder. As I landed, my stomach hit his shoulder and the air in my lungs was pushed out.
"Ow!" I hissed.
"A little payback," he said drily. He strode down the hall, not even bothered by the weight on his shoulder. He entered a room, a small study, and closed the door gently behind him. Using his hands on my waist, he slowly lowered me to the floor. I immediately took a step back.
"So, what is there to talk about?" I said lightly. "My outburst? That was bound to come out sooner or later, you know. I'm no superhero who flies into buildings and plucks out a wanted object."
He nodded toward the two small wooden chairs in front of the desk. "Sit." I stared at them for a moment, wondering why, when there was a luxurious chair behind the desk that these were uncomfortable and small. Must be some kind of business thing. I took one of the wooden ones, expecting him to sit on the other side to give me the feeling that he was the authority over me as he scolded me. Instead he lifted the other uncomfortable one, turned it so that the back was facing me, and straddled it, resting his arms on the backrest and his chin on his arms. He was giving me a piercing look, one that told me to lie, no matter what he asked or he'd find out something I wanted to keep secret. He always gave me that look when I'd done something wrong that I had thought I had kept hidden from him.
He opened his mouth. Here came the confronting question...
"Just what is the relationship between you and Liam?"
I nearly fell off my chair. As it was, I jumped about two inches off the chair and felt like I'd been punched in the face, stomach and heart. His question shocked me, winded me - again - and hearing Liam's name produced the usual reaction of an increased heart rate and a wrenching feeling of separation.
His hands gripped the chair, his knuckles whitening. By looking at his face I couldn't tell if he was angry or just merely shocked. I wonder if I could talk myself out of this.
"What the...? Fletch, is that a joke? I thought my 'relationship' with Liam would be obvious. Jailer and Prisoner suits best..."
Fletch breathed sharply through his nose. "Just quit it, Kay. How do explain his allowance for you to come with me?"
Think, Kayli, think! My mind, recently scrambled by his sudden query, scurried for a perfectly rational excuse. "A mental lapse on his part?" I gave up trying to fool him. He was Fletch, the best person out there at judging a person's character. He probably saw my answer on my face as soon as he'd asked the question.
His lips pressed together into a thin line. "Does he love you back?" His voice was so low it was almost a growl.
If I said 'no' would he go after Liam like a raging and protective father? "He says he does," I said. I was tensed for his exploding lecture on the cons of falling for your captor.
He closed his eyes and rubbed his hand over his face. "He did let you go so he's either going all out to get your complete trust so that he can completely break you or he actually has feelings for you."
He looked up, seemingly about to ask another question, but as soon as he opened his mouth his face flooded crimson and he snapped his lips shut. His gaze switched to the wall behind me. He was embarrassed and I knew why.
"Yeah, we've slept together." I grinned as he flinched and rocked back in the chair. A little payback from me for his surprise question.
"Do you know what? I think we've talked about this enough for now." He swallowed, looked me in the eye, and then looked away again.
"Oh? You didn't want to hear all about it? All the positions and feelings? We could swap stories. You tell me something about Moro and I'll reciprocate with Liam." I should have felt discomfited but the look on his face was worth it.
"I'm going to have to have a massive talk with that bastard when I get the chance," he muttered. Ah, here was the overprotective dad, making his appearance.
"I'm eighteen. It was my choice. Besides, he's older than you. I don't think that he'll take what you say as my 'guardian' seriously."
"Hey! What's with the quote marks? I am still your legal guardian. And it doesn't matter how old I am. I'll make that guy listen to me." He began to drum his fingers on the wooden back of the chair, his eyes on me. "So, you really think that you can't do this H.I.T. on LASER?"
H.I.T. Heist-Infiltration-Theft. I rolled my eyes toward the ceiling. "I want to help, the poor 'lion' seems desperate but there's no way I could pull it off. I got luck that there were no witches around in my previous H.I.T.'s."
Fletch shuddered. That's right, he hated magic. Hence the rule; 'No using powers on you partners'.
"You can trust Luke, he'll have pretty much everything covered. He just needs someone who knows how to keep silent and look for only one thing. All his shape-changers are hot heads, they don't know the meaning of 'sneak quietly' and they'd probably go looking for a fight while they're in the building."
I gave him a dull stare. "You know me, yes? Trust and new acquaintance don't usually fit in the same sentence around me."
"You trust me?"
"Yes," I said quickly. Then flinched when I thought about how he had kept secrets from me for our entire association. But he had his reasons, and he had yet to completely betray me. I would hold on hope that he was a good guy. I had to.
"Then trust him. He's saved my life twice now."
"How?"
I wanted to ask more questions but he shook his head. "Not the time. You'll need to have hours of spare time and we don't. Just believe that he'll get you through it. Just follow what he says, he's got a team of geniuses behind him."
I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with air and clearing my mind. "Okay." The word came out timid and unsure. But I would do this. I hadn't forgotten that General Lee was my final target. Doing something like this would prepare me for when I had to infiltrate wherever the general was staying.
He nodded and then tilted his head, his expression contemplative. "You couldn't just ask Liam to get the files, could you?"
I raised my eyebrows as high as they could go. "Are you shitting me? While I'm at it, why don't I just ask him to go and kill Lee? Then all my problems would be solved! Hah! Letting me go was probably the closest he'd come to breaking the law - besides speeding but he doesn't see that as a bad thing anyway."
Fletch shrugged. "Worth asking. How about that Seer kid? Can he help at all?"
I thought about it for a moment. "I doubt it. He told me that I should do this thing for Luke, a while back. I don't think that he can See classified information that easily."
He whistled softly. "It would've been handy. Ah, well!" He slapped the chair's back and stood up. "It's time to get you prepared."
"Say what now?"
His eyes were alight with mischief and eagerness. I did not like it.
"Luke says he won't send a defenceless girl into a security forces building, even if his plan is foolproof. You need to learn some self-defence."
I thought back to my few days in the military school. "I know a little boxing."
He gave me an evil smile. "Oh, you are going to learn a hell of a lot more. And I'm going to enjoy getting you back some for those comments earlier."