Devil’s in the Details (78 page)

I threw clothes in a bag with anger as an endless amount of tears threatened to spill. I had been on a strange emotional high for the last couple of hours. Angrily cleaning the house and then manically folding laundry until I gave in when I removed one of Victoria's t-shirts from the dryer. The anger and hurt overflowed and I couldn't stand to be in the house any longer. I threw her shirt to the floor as more tears fell and rushed upstairs to start packing.

I decided to go to my mom's house for the night to think about what Victoria had told me when she came back to the house, the strange trip to New York and the even stranger urgency in her voice. I couldn't think straight being in a house where everything around me reminded me of Victoria and our relationship. A relationship that was broken and now felt like it was built on lies.

I shook my head, tossing another one of her sweatshirts to the side to reach for one of my shirts. Holly laid on the bed watching me as she curled up on Victoria's pillow. The poor little dog looked confused as to what had happened over the last few hours, she wasn't the only one. I was very confused and incredibly lost.

Sighing I looked at her, stilling my hands with a pair shorts clenched in them, "I wish I could explain it to you, but I can't. I don't understand what's happening." I set my bag down, moving to head downstairs to grab a few pairs of scrubs for work, Holly close on my heels barking softly in her way of asking where Victoria had gone.

When I was back in the laundry room, I heard the front door open as Holly scampered off. My heart tightened and I pressed my neatly folded scrubs against my chest and left the laundry room. "Victoria before you say anything, I will be back in a few days after I've had some time to think. I was going to take Holly with me, but I can leave her here."

I walked around the corner to find Dani in the similar black uniform I had seen Victoria wear in the winter, standing in the kitchen with Holly in her arms while the dog eagerly licked her face. Dani chuckled, nodding at the clothes in my hands, "You're packing, good. We're already a few hours behind schedule."

I scowled at the redhead, "I'm going to my parents." I turned to head back upstairs, "And I would like it if you left now."

I heard her exasperated sigh, "Alex, I'm not leaving unless you're with me. I made a promise to Victoria."

She followed me, still holding the wiggly Scottie. "So that means I need you to get over whatever stupid shit you're thinking about and listen. Then I’m going to need you to pack a bag, get in my car and go to New York with me to meet Victoria."

I reached the bedroom, fuming at the way Dani was speaking to me, "I'm not one of your spies to command." I tossed the scrubs on the bed, "Get out of my house before I call the police."

Dani leaned against the doorframe, smirking and scratching Holly's head, "Technically it's Victoria’s house and go ahead and call the police." She reached into her pocket, removing her cell phone. "Hit the last call button, James is waiting for your call. He's also waiting for your dumb ass to get to New York."

I spun around, glaring at the smirking woman, "How do you know about him?!"

"Did you pay attention to anything Victoria told you last night?" She bent down to set Holly on the floor, "I'm a spy, I know everything I shouldn't know." She stood back up, walking over to me, "You called him a bit ago, asking for him to go digging in dark corners that could have gotten him killed if it wasn't for me always watching."

My jaw twitched with even more anger, "Don't bring him into this. He's innocent, a friend and shouldn't…"

"Oh, but you brought him into this Alex, wasn’t me who did this. I took the extra step to bring him in further to keep him safe." Dani pointed at me, "There is so much you're still very ignorant to."

I huffed, turning back to the bag. "Just go away. Go do whatever murdering you have to do."

Dani suddenly appeared next to me, snatching the bag from the bed and throwing it the floor, startling me. "Alex, watch what you say." Her hard green eyes tore through me. "There is so much you don't understand, so watch that mouth before it gets you killed." She tipped her head down, "Victoria is doing all of this for you, and she has from the first time she let you into this house, into her heart."

I stared at the redhead, mildly frightened by her as she stood very close, "She also killed those men for me." I closed my eyes, "This all feels like a lie. A carefully crafted lie to…to…I don't know." I sighed, feeling the tears escape from underneath my eyelids.

A warm hand fell to my back, "You were never a lie to her. Her love for you will never be a lie." Dani's voice was softer, "You have to go to New York. You have to do everything Victoria and I ask of you in the next few days. If you don't." Dani paused, "Just do it Alex, trust me. Trust Victoria one last time."

I glanced at her, "Why should I trust you of all people? Why should I trust any of you?" My voice was raspy, tired from fighting. Dani's words had hit deep in the one part of me that still loved Victoria unconditionally, the same part I had been struggling with since the truth came spewing out.

Dani searched my eyes, "Because, I've grown very attached to you nurse blue eyes and the way you've given my best friend a chance at something more than the shadows she's lived in since we left the desert. I promised her that I would always keep you safe no matter what." Her hand moved away from my back, "Get the rest of your things, your lovely neighbors will be over after we've left to take on babysitting the little one." The tone of her voice told me that I no longer had another option.

Dani stepped away, moving towards the closet. I heard the floor safe being opened followed by the rustling of papers. I stared at the empty closet, trying to decide if trusting this woman was the best idea. She scared me, but deep down I knew she would never hurt me, that her promises to Victoria would always come first. I sighed, scooping out the pairs of scrubs I no longer needed and placing them back on the bed, "Will I see Victoria when I get to New York?" It was a tentative question. I was divided on Victoria. I still loved her very much but I couldn't stand to look at her right now. When I did, I felt myself forgiving and hating her for the things she had done in my honor.

Dani appeared out of the closet, a large stack of envelopes under her arm and a black holster in her hand. "Chances are no, not right away. Like I said, you're a few hours behind and the plan was set in motion last night. Victoria has a few things she needs to take care of and will probably meet up with you in Sweden in a day or two." Dani stepped closer to me, setting the black holster with the .40 caliber handgun I had Victoria hide in the safe when she was home. "James told me you're a bit of a deadeye?"

I stared at the black blob of plastic and steel, "He taught me how to shoot, for protection since we lived in a rough part of Brooklyn for a few months." I glanced up at Dani, "Are you going to tell me what this plan is?"

"Probably not." Dani smiled at me, "Just listen to what I tell you to do and things will be fine." She tapped the gun, "Take this with you, you may need it as we move further along." She turned to look at Holly laying in her bed, "When this is all done, Victoria will be the one to tell you the entire truth."

She looked over her shoulder, "Ten minutes and then we leave." Dani walked out of the bedroom, leaving me in a daze.

Two hours of incredibly thick silence later, Dani and I arrived in New York City.

I had said a quick goodbye to Holly before handing her over to Dale as he and Mary pulled into their driveway right as I dropped my bag in Dani's car.

Mary grinned at me, telling me that Victoria had called her and told her all about the quick weekend getaway to the big apple. I just smiled and nodded, kissing Holly on the head before thanking the nice old couple for watching the dog. I then climbed into the car and said nothing to Dani the entire ride to a private airport where we boarded a private jet and left, in silence.

Now I was again sitting in a fancy black sedan with Dani driving. She had changed out of her uniform on the jet and into a pair of jeans and grey sweater. Her red hair was down into a loose ponytail, giving the frightening woman a gentler appearance. Not once did she ever try to start up a conversation or even really look at me. She would only engage with me when we landed and helped get my bag in the trunk. The thick silence brought even more weight to the situation in front of me, leading me to understand that this was not a joke or a ploy to get me to buy into what Victoria did. This was serious and it rattled me.

As Dani pushed her way through the late night city traffic, I finally broke the tension, "Am I in danger?"

"Yes, you are." Dani answered quickly, bluntly. "Our one boss is disgruntled with Victoria for filing her retirement papers early and doing it through our other boss. Needless to say, you've become collateral damage to the oncoming shit show." She didn't look at me as she turned the car into an underground parking structure.

I glared at her, "Explain everything, it's my life, I think I deserve to know. No more cloak and dagger bullshit."

Dani chuckled, shaking her head, "I won't tell you anything." She then bent her head down as the headlights casted over another black sedan in front of us, "But he can."

I looked out of the front windshield to see James walking around to the back of the other black sedan, he had a tense look on his face as he squinted around the headlights.

I felt my heart drop into my stomach and the two began to churn like a blender. "James."

Dani parked next to him and got out of the car quickly, moving towards the trunk. I took my time getting out of the car, folding my arms across my chest as Dani handed James a thin envelope before turning to me, "Alex, when you two are done talking. Take the elevator to the penthouse level. Go to the door marked with a six and I'll fill you in on what's next." She clipped the last few words as her phone rang, answering it quickly, "Maggie, the nurse is here." She met my eyes as she continued, hers turning cloudy, "You've got to be fucking kidding me, I took precautions."

Dani slammed the trunk shut and stormed off. I only caught a few more curse words with her telling the caller that she would get a Dave ready to go immediately.

I watched her disappear into the elevator, when James moved around to the trunk of Dani's car, "Alex, I know you have a lot of questions." James thick New York accent rolled over the hood of car and hit my ears like a long forgotten favorite song. It almost made me smile if it wasn't for the fact I was in the middle of a terrible spy movie plot.

I shook my head, dropping my eyes to the concrete floor, "James, what in the hell is going on?"

He chuckled softly, "Let's take a walk to the corner, get you some coffee. I can talk as we walk." He grabbed my upper arm, "Even though it's under terrible circumstances, it's really good to see you again."

I looked at him with bleary eyes, James had not changed in the last couple of years, just a few more grey hairs at his temples. But he was still tall, dashing, charming and looked like he belonged in English films and not humping the streets of New York fighting crime. His bright blue eyes smiled at me in the way that told me he was worried and going into protective mode. "Yeah, it is."

James tugged on me gently, "Come on Alex, I'll get you filled in on why we're both here."

I nodded slowly, dropping my arms to follow him.

I paced along the wall of windows that made up the large penthouse, I had been on edge since I landed in New York and met with Maggie. Our plan had been leaked somehow and the old lady was sending one of his best my way. "Can we get Alex out of here? Shift her to Sweden now?"

Maggie sat on a couch across from me, "We can't she just landed, so has Achilles. My insider saw him leave the airport twenty minutes ago." She tapped her phone on her leg nervously, "Danielle has been notified. She's getting things in place for this all to go as planned and plans have changed, as I just told you."

I stopped to stand in front of one pane that looked directly at the Freedom Tower, "You promise when this is all done, I'm free?" I kept my eyes on the top spire even as I caught the reflection of my black hooded twin standing next to me, begging to merge into one and shutting down the human part of me Alex had drawn out every day from the first moment I laid eyes on her. I would have to keep my humanity separate and tucked away for what was about to happen next. I couldn't falter no matter what.

"Of course Victoria, when we've completed it all, Chimera will become nothing but a myth again." Maggie stood up, her heels clicking on the hardwood floors as she walked to stand next to me, "It's time all of this returns to myths."

I looked at the woman out the corner of my eye, "Alex?"

Maggie patted my shoulder, "Alex will be taken care of. We've made sure of it, as it stands she should be walking with James for a cup of coffee and we can follow through without her knowing anymore. By this time in two days, she will be home, safe."

I nodded slowly, turning back to the spire as Dani rushed into the room, tossing a bag to the floor as she began rattling off at a million miles a minute.

I closed my eyes and leaned against the glass, soon this would be over. I took a deep breath and opened my eyes. Taking one step to the right, I merged my reflection with that of the black hooded twin, staring back at me.

"Dani is a scary woman." James walked next to me, "She showed up on my doorstep the next day after you first called, asking me to go digging." He looked at me as I walked with my hands jammed into my coat pockets, "She introduced herself as being from Naval Intelligence and the next thing I knew, I was staring at files I knew I shouldn't have access to. Then she started telling me everything, about Voltaire and how I needed to keep my mouth shut." He sucked in a slow breath, "Then two weeks later I was sitting in a basement in some old building in D.C. talking to these old Naval officers. Telling me that Voltaire was straying and they needed my help to reel it in. It was them who had be brought in as a liaison for the Office of Naval Intelligence, them and Dani."

I kept my eyes on my boot tips. James had told me so much that I stopped listening to from the third sentence, zoning out as I heard more spy talk that did nothing to ease my fears. It only invigorated the other emotions of anger and confusion. "Were any of them referred to the old lady or the old man?"

"I met the old man, Maggie. I've met her a couple of times in the basement, Alex. Seems nice, but a total ballbuster if you provoke her." James looked over at me, "Alex, what Victoria has done, it was in the name of serving her country. I read her file, the one with what happened when she was captured, tortured. The woman has incredible survival skills and to be brutally honest, I don't look down on her for killing those shit bags that tried to hurt you in the metro station." He sighed, "I read their files, they deserved what they got."

I furrowed my brow, dipping my chin deeper into my coat, "Please James, don't try to justify that. She did that not under orders…" I drifted off, hating that he had a point. If I put myself in her shoes on that night, I would have done the same or something similar. My love for her was whittling away my resolve to hate her.

"No, but she did it to keep you alive, she saved your life. If I was in her position, I would have done the same a hundred times over." James stopped walking, "Alex, what is in the past is the past, we can't go back and fix all of the mistakes made. Shit, if I could, I would have tried so much harder to keep us together, but I can't. Our mistakes led us to part and onto better things that we were meant to do, meet the people we love."

I kept my chin down. "I don't know if I."

James interrupted me, "Don't say it. You know if you do, it will be a bold face lie. You love that woman, she loves you. I saw it in her eyes when I met her a few hours ago. You're her entire life, and for what it's worth, forgive her Alex. Forgive the things she's done for the simple fact you love her and you can't change anything, not even that." James linked his arm in mine, "The coffee place is right up here, it's on me and as we walk back, I'll tell you as much as I can."

I scrunched my face up, refusing to look up as more tears rolled over my cheeks. James was right, I couldn't change how much I loved Victoria and even if I had a time machine, I wouldn't go back and change how we came to be. I looked up, wiping away the tears with the back of my hand, "James, I always hated when you were right."

He laughed, leaning into me, "And I always hated when you left your scrubs on the bathroom floor."

I half smiled, shaking my head as he held the coffee shop door open for me to enter.

Dani sat across from me, her laptop open, as her hands flew around the keyboard like lightning, "I don't like doing this last minute without having a few diagnostic tests run, but it will work." She glanced up at me as I shrugged on the black hooded running jacket. "Achilles is a block away. Maggie's insider dropped a beacon on him at the airport, the good ole oops I spilled my energy drink on you trick." She tapped a few more times before standing up.

I watched her move around the desk towards me, "How much time?"

"Ten minutes, but knowing how good you are, you'll be done in eight." She smiled at me, "You kill Achilles and it will send a clear message to the old lady to back the fuck off." She motioned to Maggie sitting at the large kitchen table, typing away on her own laptop. "Old steel balls over there will make sure he understands."

I nodded, zipping up he jacket before feeling for the knives I had tucked in the interior, "Dani, when this is done. Let's have a drink?" I looked up at her, knowing I had glassy eyes.

Dani smiled genuinely, "Of course." She nodded towards the door, "Get going, I'll have your back."

I smiled back at the redhead, patting her shoulder, "Thank you."