When Starla’s fingers tightened on his, he smiled.
“You date a lot of bad boys?” he asked quietly, keeping his eyes out for anything that might look like a spot Chaos would be held at.
“Never,” she mumbled in returned.
“So I’m your first?”
“You’re not a bad boy, Danny.”
“No? Hm, most would disagree with you. What’s that?” He stopped them, trying to focus on a bunch of dead tree limbs and brush that looked out of place.
“What?” Starla turned her flashlight in the direction Danny aimed his. “Looks like a bunch of dead trees.”
“Right. But look how they’re positioned. They’re not in the ground and just sort of scattered in one spot. Let’s check it out.” He led her towards the bushes, keeping his flashlight aimed at the spot.
“I don’t understand why those trees are fascinating you so much.”
He pulled some of the larger limbs aside revealing a metal door.
“Oh…”
“Bingo!”
Chapter 22
“I know what you’re doing.”
Jonah looked up at her from his workstation with a baffled look on his face. “Um…sure you do, because it’s what we always do. It’s called work.”
Trinity pushed up from her spot across from his desk, leaving the laptop open and running the diagnostics Jonah insisted on running. “Right. But we don’t need to be doing this together.”
He gave her a genuine pouty look that might have worked if she was a complete moron. “You don’t want to work with me? That hurts, Trin. It really hurts.”
She rolled her eyes. “I could have done this up in my apartment, and all you would have had to have done was set it up, get it rolling, and go about your own business. In your office. Basil told you to watch me, didn’t he?”
Jonah’s jaw dropped. “I am appalled. When have you ever known me to do anything Basil asked? I don’t answer to him—”
“Jonah—”
“And I never will,” he finished. “Did it ever occur to you that I miss being with my friend, miss working with you?”
“I wasn’t born yesterday, Jonah. And I’m a big girl who does not need to be watched. Got it?” The nerve of Basil—and she knew damn well he’d asked Jonah to watch her. What did Basil think, she couldn’t handle being alone, couldn’t manage to call out to him if she needed him? He’d be here in a flash if she… The thought brought a smile to her lips.
“Why are you smiling? You’re scaring me, Trinity.”
She only stared at Jonah while calling out to Basil in a frantic voice inside her mind. He would no doubt pick up on her nervousness and worry and be here in no time. When he appeared in the room with her and Jonah, she held out her hands. “And that is why I don’t need a sitter.” Dusting her hands, she marched from the room.
“She’s on to us.” Jonah stated.
“You think.” Basil snarled, then sent himself away.
Trinity stood by the closed door, laughing to herself. That would teach them. She was more than capable of taking care of herself and all she needed to do was call out to her lover and he would be here in the blink of an eye.
Panting as she took the stairs up pissed Trinity off. She’d been fit before becoming pregnant and couldn’t understand why she was so out of breath after taking a few stairs. Then again, she hadn’t been doing her usual exercises for obvious reasons and it wasn’t like she could get out of the house and go for a walk.
The last thing she or Basil wanted was for the outsiders to know she was pregnant.
Rubbing a circle over her belly, she felt her daughter moving about. Trinity knew perfectly well if anyone found out she was pregnant they’d try everything in their power to harm her and the baby.
Especially Chaos.
Though he had been incommunicado the past few months, she didn’t believe for a moment he was gone for good. Call her a skeptic, but until Chaos was dead and the sun was back, she was not going to feel safe.
And until her daughter was safely in her arms, she wasn’t going to do anything to jeopardize either of them.
***
Anticipation fueling him, Danny shoved the bush aside, eager to find out what was beneath the metal door.
It had to be Chaos.
“It’s locked,” Starla pointed out, holding up the padlock.
Taking it from her, Danny gave it one hard yank, cracking it open, and tossed it aside. “Not anymore.” Grabbing the handle, he pulled the door open and saw a decaying rock stairwell leading down. “Could be a truck load of creepy crawlies down there. Maybe you want to stay up here?”
“As long as I have this baby, I’m fine.” She taped the flashlight against her palm.
“Okay.” But to be safe, he decided it was best he went first. Shoving his light in his pants’ pocket, he took the stairs down. “Careful coming down,” he warned her. At the bottom of the stairs he followed the thin rock and dirt path and when he saw it, his heart actually sped up.
Dead ahead was a plastic bubble and inside was Chaos.
“Hot damn!” He couldn’t contain his excitement and ran to the bubble.
“Interesting setup,” Starla commented as she came up beside him.
“Fritz is a rather odd character. Who knows what his reasoning was behind this. We need to get Chaos out of here.” And not wasting any time, Danny drew the zipper down and entered the bubble. “He’s hooked up to an IV.” Danny figured it was probably the way Fritz kept Chaos subdued. He yanked it out of Chaos’ arm and tossed it aside. Scooping his arms under Chaos, Danny lifted him up and turned to leave.
“Where are we going to take him?”
“Back to the house.”
“And what if someone invades it like they did the previous house?”
He hadn’t thought of that. “Hm…”
“What about the police station. We could lock him in a cell until we figure out what to do with him.”
Chaos wouldn’t like waking up in a cell, but… “Good idea.” Shifting, Danny carried Chaos up the steps and out of the makeshift grave he’d been held in for the past four months. Danny had mixed emotions at finally finding Chaos. There was the joy of finally finding him. The giddiness of being the first face Chaos would see when he woke. Then there was the animosity he’d been feeling for months now. It was a nasty cauldron of emotions swirling thought him and he just didn’t know what to do about it.
“You drive. Keys are in my front pocket.”
Starla dipped her fingers into his pocket and slipped the keys out. She held the door for Danny while he set Chaos in the back seat. They drove back to town in silence, Danny watching Chaos carefully.
He was still on an emotional rollercoaster.
***
Dante knew it was stupid of him to think Starla would contact him when they found Chaos. If they found him. But he had to be optimistic. He couldn’t think the worst of his brother, though it was so hard not to. Dante liked to believe they were making progress, but the last conversation he’d had with Danny hadn’t gone that well. It was hard to tell with Danny, what he was thinking or feeling, and Dante wondered if he ever really knew his twin.
He jumped when a set of fingers were snapped in front of his face. “What the hell?” He glared at Basil.
“Less daydreaming and more working.”
“I was working. And I was not daydreaming. I was thinking,” Dante snapped, back then lifting his hammer, slammed it onto the head of the nail with a great deal more force than necessary.
“Well, think less and work more.”
“Yes, sir.” Dante saluted Basil one finger style, which only earned him a heated glare and a growl before Basil turned his back to leave. “What is his problem?” he asked of Cooper standing besi
de him, handing him nails.
“Pre-fatherhood jitters, I presume.”
“God help us all if it continues.” He hammered another nail into the wood frame that would hold the new windows Basil would have installed. “I bet you can’t wait to move back into here, hey, Coop?”
He handed Dante another nail, shrugging. “I do miss my own space.”
“I bet. We all do. I’m looking forward to moving back to my place, and Gypsy already has decorating ideas. It kinda scares me, what with her bold fashion sense. But if it makes her happy…” Dante shrugged, hammered the nail in place, and when Cooper said nothing in return, he decided to let the conversation go.
“You truly love each other. It’s nice to see the love that’s burgeoning in the midst of so much turmoil.”
It caught him by surprise, not that Cooper had spoken but what he had said. “Yeah, I guess so. I never really thought of it like that.”
“It’s reassuring to know that even when in the face of danger, love still blooms.”
Dante took the nail, giving Cooper a sideways glance. “Someone sounds lonely.” When Cooper didn’t reply, Dante prodded on. “Ever been in love, Cooper?”
“Yes.”
“Care to expand on that?”
“No.”
Dante pursed his lips. “She leave you?” he continued, not willing to give up.
“Perhaps I should see if the ladies need my services. I’m sure you can handle gathering your own nails.” He set his handful on the tiny wooden table they used for supplies and walked away.
“There’s a story there and if he thinks I’m giving up, the guy doesn’t know me very well.” He was, after all, a private investigator.
Dante yelped when Basil appeared beside him. “Damn it, Basil, stop doing that!” His heart pounding, he scowled at the man beside him. He hated when Basil just appeared beside him.
“We need to get these windows installed.”
“And I’m working as fast as I can,” he informed Basil sternly.
“Work faster.”
“Jesus, man, I cannot wait until your kid is born and you can take a chill pill.” As Basil stalked off, Dante shook his head.
If that’s what pre-fatherhood did to a guy, he wasn’t sure he wanted it.
***
Seeing the bush to the side and the steel door wide open, Fritz ran at it at a dead run. He didn’t bother taking the steps down but jumped to the bottom instead. Seeing the plastic bubble open and Chaos gone enraged him.
He tore at the plastic like a mad animal, ripping it open, tossing the bedding, the IV, and finally the bed, in his fury.
Then the fear set in.
If Chaos was free, it wouldn’t be long before he came looking for him. Fritz did not want to be around for that. He needed to move, somewhere safe, somewhere Chaos wouldn’t find him so easily.
Running towards his car, Fritz new he didn’t have much time.
Chapter 23
Danny sat watching Chaos as he slept, wondering when he’d wake up. Danny had laid him on a cot in one of the police cells and insisted Starla lock them both inside. She’d argued with him about leaving Chaos in the cell alone, but Danny had finally won. He simply shoved Starla out of the cell and slammed the door shut.
Then she’d pointed out that she had no idea where the keys were.
So he sat watching Chaos sleep while Starla looked for the keys. It had been half an hour already.
Standing, Danny stretched his back and looked out the tiny barred window in the cell. He’d hate to be cooped up in this place. He felt like he couldn’t breathe now as it was. And the smell was enough to make a person vomit.
The moan from Chaos caught his attention. Returning to his side, Danny pulled the chair he’d been sitting in a little closer. “Come on, Chaos, wake up now.”
Chaos mumbled, his eyes blinked open and closed before sealing shut again. With a heavy sigh, Danny leaned back in his seat, stretched his legs out, and waited.
What else could he do?
***
With the keys to the cells in hand—at least she hoped they were the right ones—Starla pulled the card Danny’s brother had given her out of her pocket. Picking up the telephone sitting on the front desk, she heard the dial tone, then dialed the number on the card.
She hoped the caller ID didn’t show where she was calling from. If it did, she hoped Dante gave her and Danny the time they needed.
When the line was answered by a strong, male voice she recognized as similar to Danny’s, she spoke. “Dante Vega?”
“That’s right.”
“This is Starla. Danny’s friend.”
“I remember you. How are you doing?”
She could hear the anxiety in his voice. “Fine. We found Chaos, but before you get all excited I want you to promise me you won’t come looking for him until after Danny has some time with him.”
“Danny won’t give him up, Starla.”
She sighed and pulled up a stool to sit on. “You don’t know that.”
“Do you?”
She paused, giving it some thought. “He’ll do what he has to do for his own peace of mind.”
“Chaos is his family now and Danny won’t let anything happen to him.”
“You’re wrong about that.” She wasn’t sure if it was right of her to say this but she was willing to risk Danny being upset with her. “He’s confused right now. Since being away from Chaos, Danny has done a lot of thinking and he’s seeing Chaos in a different light.”
“How so?”
Picking up a pencil on the desk, she began tapping it restlessly. “He sees that Chaos controlled him. Did you know that Chaos told him his family didn’t want him?”
“Yeah, Danny told me and I told him it was bullshit.”
“Danny’s seeing that a little more clearly now. He has questions for Chaos, and when he’s through I’ll let you know.”
“Chaos has to die, Starla, and Danny knows that. Do you honestly believe he’ll allow us to take Chaos out even after he gets his answers?”
“I guess time will tell.”
“I love my brother,” Dante sighed. “I just don’t know him anymore.”
“He’s confused and hurting. What you did by locking him up hurt him. He’s having trouble getting over that.”
“I know and I’ve tried to make him understand, but…I just don’t know what to do anymore.”
“Have you told your parents he’s alive?” The pause told her no.
“Not yet.”
“Why not?”
Again, the pause. “Because I don’t want them to get their hopes up.”
“Maybe he needs to see them. I have to go. I’ll be in touch.” She hung up and took a deep breath before grabbing the keys and heading off.
***
Danny bolted awake at the touch of a hand on his. When he saw it came from Chaos, and he was awake, he sat straight in his seat. “You’re awake?”
“Apparently. Where am I?” Chaos sat up, looking around.
“At the police station. In a cell.” He’d had all these things he’d planned to say when he found Chaos and now his mind was drawing a blank.
“Did Fritz put me in here?”
Hm…how was this going to work? “No…I did.”
Chaos’ face scrunched up. “You? Why you? And I thought I told you I no longer wanted to see you, Daniel.”
His heart ached but he stayed strong. “What is the last thing you remember?”
His brow furrowed. “Fritz placing a cloth over my mouth.”
Danny nodded. “He drugged you and has kept you drugged for the past four months in an underground hideout.”
Chaos’ eyes went wide. “Four months?”
&nbs
p; Danny nodded again. “I finally found you and brought you here.”
Running a hand across his face, Chaos responded. “And I suppose you think that’ll put you back in my good graces?”
Danny hadn’t thought his heart could hurt anymore than it already did. He was wrong. “I imagine you’ll want to feed.” He rolled his sleeve up past his elbow and held out his arm.
Chaos glanced at it, then up at Danny. “If you have any inkling that by feeding me I’ll forgive you, then I would save your blood. I have no intentions of doing either.” He stood, gave his back a stretch, and walked to the door. When he couldn’t open it, he turned his attention to Danny. “Why am I locked in here?”
“I have someone looking for the keys.” His jaw ached and Danny finally realized he was clenching it. “I locked us in here,” he said boldly.
“You did? Why?” Chaos snarled it, his yellow eyes narrowed in on Danny.
Let it out, Danny. “I wanted to be alone with you and I wanted to make sure you wouldn’t walk out on me. I have some questions for you and I need them answered before I let either of us out.” He didn’t stand like Chaos was but, instead, chose to remain sitting. He felt no need to show Chaos he was bowing to him in anyway. His days of standing at attention to Chaos were over. They were equals now as far as Danny was concerned.
“I have nothing to say to you, Daniel.”
“It’s Danny! It’s always been Danny. I was born Danny Vega, not Daniel Vega,” he barked and enjoyed the flash of surprise in Chaos’ eyes. “I want to know why you pushed me away. What did I do that was so wrong?”
“All right, Danny,” Chaos emphasized. “You want answers? I’ll give them to you. And then I demand you release me from this retched cell. You betrayed me by seeing your brother.”
Danny’s brow curled in confusion. “How was that betraying you? He asked me to meet him so I went. That was it.”
“Twice. You went twice.”
“Big deal.” He was utterly confused.
Chaos folded his arms across his chest as he glared down at Danny. “I spent twenty years conditioning you, convincing you that I was your family, that the family you were born to no longer wanted you, only to have you running back to them the instant they called you. I knew at that moment that you would return to them and forget all about me.”
Shiela Stewart - [Darkness 04] Page 14