“You thought you had me, didn’t you?” she laughed, walking up the rest of the way and scooping him up. “How are you this morning Mr. Timothy, my favourite little three year old?”
“Fine,” he said smiling, one of his front teeth missing. She mussed his strawberry blonde hair and set him down in front of the open door to his apartment. Bridgette poked her head inside.
“Hey Karen,” she called out. Timothy’s mother stood in the kitchen, her back turned. She looked over her shoulder and smiled at Bridgette.
“Hey you,” she said. “How was work?”
Bridgette shrugged. “Same as always.”
“Why are you just getting home now?” she asked, wiping her hands on her apron. Timothy squealed as his little sister, Stella, chased him.
Turning back to their mom, Bridgette replied, “It was my friend’s birthday so I crashed at her place.”
“Well you’ve been a pretty popular girl this morning.”
Bridgette looked at her, confused. “Popular?”
Karen nodded. “Two guys came by here this morning looking for you. Timothy’s been in and out all morning, so I saw both of them.”
Probably McKay, Bridgette thought. He was always checking up on her.
“One of them said he’s your father,” she said.
Bridgette’s whole body heated in anger. Why couldn’t he just leave her alone? Had she not made herself clear? She wanted nothing to do with him.
“I’ve never even heard of you mentioning your father, so I assumed he was lying.”
Bridgette smiled tightly. “We’re not close,” she said.
“Oh. So he was your dad? Well now I feel bad for being so rude,” she said with a laugh. “I just figured he was an admirer from the club.”
“Don’t worry, I would have been rude had I been here.”
Karen frowned, but didn’t comment. Bridgette waved goodbye, wishing them a good day and turned to go to her apartment.
“Wait,” Karen called out. “The other guy,” she hesitated. “I’m not sure, but I think he was that Roman Adamson fellow. Don’t take my word for it,” she quickly said as Bridgette’s mouth dropped open. “I’ve only seen him a couple of times, so I can’t be sure. But I don’t know too many men with long, dark hair like that, and so…built,” she said, blushing.
Roman? That didn’t make sense. Bridgette’s head swirled. Why on earth would Roman come to her place? And how would he know where she lived? He’s the second in command, she reminded herself. He probably knew where everyone lived, or could easily find out. It should make her nervous that he’d seek her out, and yet her stomach rolled with excitement instead. Bridgette muttered something about it probably being someone else and hurried over to her apartment. As soon as she walked in the door she spotted the folded note on the floor. Her father’s handwriting was unmistakable across the front.
That’s it, she growled inwardly. Grabbing the piece of paper off the floor, she slammed the door behind her and headed back down the stairs.
As soon as McKay answered after the third knock she knew something was wrong. Not just from the bruises on him, because really that was normal for McKay, but from the panicked look in his eyes and the paleness of his skin.
“What’s wrong?” she asked immediately.
He reached out and pulled her in, not saying a word. Dragging her behind him, they headed to his bedroom where a figure lay covered up in his bed. Bridgette stepped up beside it and looked down to see Seamus passed out. His face was almost unrecognizable from all the cuts and bruises. There was a deep, open wound bleeding on his right cheek that she could tell immediately would never heal without scarring. And from the angle of his nose, she guessed that was broken. Both eyes were swollen, his lips bleeding. All in all, he was a mess.
“What happened?” she asked, her voice hoarse.
“Roman Adamson happened,” he replied, his voice robotic. She looked back in shock, her blood cold. “And Weapon X.”
Dinah patted down her skin with her towel. Her uniform and mask lay on the bed in front of her. She stared down at it, hating that she needed to hide herself once again. Every time she left Pete’s and came here to take on the persona of Weapon X, she hated it a little more. Being with Pete was freeing. Her life here had become suffocating in a way, and didn’t feel as right anymore. Maybe it was never right, she argued.
Someone banged on her door. “What?” she called out.
“We’re suiting up and heading out in ten,” a male voice said through the door. “Ludwig wants you ready to move.”
Heading out where? Dinah dressed quickly and started for his office. She wasn’t aware of them going anywhere today. Mind you, it wasn’t like she had been paying close attention these days. Most of their meetings she spent daydreaming about her time with Pete. He was addictive and she was both scared and excited at the fact that she was in love with him. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever have the guts to say it to him, especially not first. But she knew it was true, and it was real. The first real thing she felt in a long time.
When she rounded the corner, she spotted Roman pacing outside Ludwig’s office. He stopped and stared at her when he saw her approaching. Something was wrong. She’d known Roman long enough to know when he was genuinely upset. His hair lay loosely around his shoulders, a little messier than usual. Probably from his running his hands through it, which he only did when he was agitated. His mouth was set in a grim line, and she could see his hands flexing at his sides.
“What’s going on?” she asked when she reached him. “Where are we supposed to be going?”
“Can I ask you something?” he said, ignoring her questions.
Okay, this was weird. “Sure,” she replied hesitantly.
“Do you ever have regrets?”
“What kind of regrets?”
“Over the things we do or have done. Do you ever look back on them and regret having done those things?”
She looked at him searchingly. Where was this coming from? He stared back, his face emotionless except for his eyes that were just brimming with things she couldn’t decipher. “I guess I don’t really let myself think about it too much,” she admitted. “I don’t like living with regrets.”
“There must be something,” he pushed. She shrugged. This wasn’t the type of conversation she wanted to be having with him, otherwise she might let it slip that she regretted coming back here every day instead of staying with their enemy. Who she just happened to be in love with. Yeah, no, there was no way she was telling him that.
“Why? What do you regret?” she asked.
His eyes roamed over her slowly, making her shift nervously under his stare. “You,” he said, his voice dropping lower.
“Me? What about me?”
“I regret you,” he said. “I regret dragging you into this mess and giving you this life.” He shook his head, looking off into nothing. When he looked back she could see the anger in his eyes. Not at her, but at himself. “You deserve better than this.”
She really didn’t know what to say to that, and didn’t have the chance to when the door to Ludwig’s office swung open and a young guy came walking out. His head was bent as he counted a stack of bills in his hand. When he looked up at them, meeting her eyes, she sucked in a low breath. He gave them both a smile and continued walking down the hall. Dinah turned to watch him leave, her eyes never leaving him, until he got into the elevator and the doors closed, blocking her vision. What. The. Hell.
She turned back to Roman who was watching her carefully.
“Who was that?” she asked.
“That,” Roman said, “is Ludwig’s informant.”
Holy shit. Her breath whooshed out of her like she’d just been punched in the stomach. Tommy Boy was Ludwig’s informant. Pete needed to know. She had to go tell him.
“He just gave us the location of the rebel headquarters,” Roman continued speaking. Her head snapped back to look at him. “St. Anne’s Cathedral,” he said. “We’r
e heading over there now to destroy it and anyone who’s in there.”
The way he was looking at her and telling her the information was putting her on edge. Like he knew she wanted to know, not because she was Weapon X, but for another reason she thought he was unaware of. She should have known better than to think she could hide her feelings from Roman. She took an unconscious step back toward the elevators. She needed to warn Pete before the army got there.
“I wouldn’t,” he said, halting her steps. “If I were you. I don’t think you’ll find him as receptive.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked, her voice cold. Worry slithered up her spine.
Roman looked away and when he looked back it was with sad eyes now, pleading. “I made a mistake,” he said. “I can see that now.”
“What did you do?” she said as calmly as she could muster, when every fiber in her body wanted to yell and scream at him.
“I told him who you really are.”
She let out a breath. He didn’t know Pete was already aware of the fact that she was Weapon X. It was okay. Relief swam over her.
“Not Weapon X,” he said. And just like that, her relief was gone. “I told him who you really are, Charlotte Hatcher. I also told him why you were sent to befriend him.”
“Why?” she asked, her voice coming out rough, almost a whisper.
He shook his head again, sucking in a deep breath. “I told you, it was a mistake. I thought…it doesn’t matter what I thought. I was angry at him, and I thought I could hurt him by telling him the truth. I saw the two of you together, and the way you looked at him, and I thought he didn’t feel the same way, so I wanted to hurt him.” No words. She had nothing to describe the feeling she felt right then. Her stomach felt sick. Would Pete believe him and think everything between them was a lie? She closed her eyes, blocking out Roman, and prayed that Pete knew her better than that. Please, she begged.
“I let him believe that it was you who told us about the church,” he continued. Her eyes snapped open again.
“You did what?” she said sharply.
He flinched. “I’m sorry, Lottey. When I saw his face, I knew…whatever you feel for him, he felt it too, and…I don’t know how much damage I’ve done, Lottey. I’m so sorry. Truly.”
It felt like a part of her inside broke. She rushed forward with all her bodyweight, shoving him up against the wall. He just stood there as she continued to push at him, tears falling from her eyes. “You just ruined the first good thing that’s happened to me in years,” she accused, still attacking him. Finally she stepped back, breathing hard. “How could you? I’ve given you everything I had since the day we met. This was the only thing I had for myself. It made me happy – he made me happy. And now you’ve ruined it. Haven’t you taken enough from me?”
He opened his mouth to speak, but she had no interest in hearing what he had to say anymore. Dinah whipped out her pistol, pointing it at him. “Stop,” she ordered. “I don’t want to hear it.”
“Lottey,” he warned. “Don’t do this.”
“Then don’t make me,” she countered. “I’m leaving here, and you’re not going to stop me, or I swear to God I will kill as many people as I need to on my way out.”
“He believed it, Lottey,” he said. “I could tell. If you go there he might just shoot you before you can even explain it. I can’t let you do that.”
“You are no longer in charge of what I do or don’t do,” she bit out slowly. “Don’t try to stop me, Roman. Please. If our friendship meant anything to you over the years, you’ll let me go and do this.”
“And just stand back, knowing you could be killed?” he argued, eyes bright with fury.
“I need to warn him. Don’t you get it? I don’t care if I might be killed. I’ve been in countless situations where I could have been killed and it never stopped me before. I care about him, Roman. If he’s there, I need to warn him. I can’t let him be killed.”
“You would put his life before your own?”
“Absolutely.” She turned and walked away, her gun held ready at her side. But Roman didn’t follow or try to stop her. When she turned around in the elevator and looked down the hall at him, he was still in the exact same position. Their eyes met and held until the doors closed. The sense of loss and betrayal broke her heart. If there had been anyone she counted on over the past five years, it had been him. And now he proved to her she couldn’t trust him. That realization killed.
Dinah had never ridden her bike as fast or recklessly as she did on her way to Pete’s. The whole time, all she could do was pray he’d be there. If he was at the church, she wasn’t sure how she was going to get in and get him out in time. She parked the bike beside his building and bolted for the doors. By the time she raced up the stairs and stood in front of his door, she was out of breath and sweating. She hadn’t even bothered to change before she left, except to pull her mask and hood down. When he saw her, all he’d see is his enemy. It hurt to think that way, but it was the truth. If all she could do here was warn him, at least she’d know she did that much. It was better than nothing.
The door was locked, which was abnormal. He locked it when they were in there, but otherwise he usually had it open. Unease ripped through her stomach. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door and waited. When it opened and Pete filled the doorway, she just stood there like a deer caught in headlights. She was completely frozen to the point where it took her a couple of seconds to even realize it when the door was slammed shut again, and he was outside in the hall with her, her back pressed to the wall, her front pressed against his, and a knife at her throat. All she could do was blink up at him.
He. Was. Furious. But what hurt even more than the fact that his anger was directed toward her, was the pain she saw mixed with it.
“What are you doing here?” he gritted through clenched teeth.
“I’ve come to warn you,” she said weakly.
He laughed humourlessly. “Warn me? That what, you’ve given away my secrets?” The knife pressed a little closer breaking the skin. Dinah could feel a drop of blood slide down her neck.
She shook her head slightly, too afraid to move. “It wasn’t me, Pete. Please believe me. I would never betray you.”
“Bullshit,” he spat. “Roman told me everything. I know why you suddenly came around.”
“Okay,” she said. “I admit that they were the ones who sent me, but I never got any information from you. I can’t break your walls, I never have. And even if that was why I was there initially, it’s not why I stayed.”
“I don’t believe one fucking word that comes out of that pretty little mouth of yours.”
Sweat trickled down her temples. She tried to arch away from the blade, but it was useless, he had her pinned too tightly. “I’m not lying, I swear. It’s Tommy Boy. I saw him leaving Ludwig’s office today with a stack of money. I knew he had an informant, but I had no idea who it was until today. It was Tommy who told him about the church. Not me. I swear it, Pete. I didn’t even know about the church until Roman told me only a short while ago. Please. You have to believe me.”
His eyes searched hers, still full of anger. He didn’t believe her. The truth of that was just as sharp as if he had slid the knife he held right through her heart. “Tommy?” he asked. She nodded carefully. “He doesn’t know about the church. Tommy’s not in the inner circle. You’re lying.”
“I don’t know how he knows, but I’m telling you it was Tommy. I didn’t know, Pete. How could I have told them? I haven’t been able to read any of your minds.”
He pressed his lips together. Then he leaned in, his breath hot on her ear. “You know what pisses me off the most,” he whispered. Dinah held her breath. “That even though I know you’re a liar and a traitor, I still want you more than I’ve wanted anyone else in my life.” He pressed his body closer and Dinah could feel his hard length against her stomach. “See what just being near you does to me? You’ve ruined me. But perhaps that
was your goal all along.” He pulled back, staring coldly into her eyes.
Dinah shook her head, no longer worried about the blade against her skin. Tears fell from the corners or her eye. “I wouldn’t betray you, Pete. He was lying to you.”
He scoffed. “And why should I believe you over him?”
“Because it’s me,” she urged. “You know me.”
“Do I? Charlotte.”
Dinah flinched. She swallowed awkwardly around the lump in her throat. “I would have told you about that eventually. It’s a difficult thing for me to talk about. That doesn’t mean that you don’t still know me. You can’t take Roman’s word over mine.”
“And why not?”
“Because I love you!” She sucked in a quick breath, her body stiffening again in shock. She hadn’t meant to say that, and she could tell from Pete’s stunned expression he wasn’t expecting it either.
The door beside them opened and she heard a girl’s voice call out Pete’s name. Dinah snapped out of her shock and turned toward the voice, jealously instantly filling her. When her eyes collided with the other woman she thought she might actually pass out. Standing inside Pete’s doorway was one of two people Dinah never thought she’d see again. Bridgette looked exactly the same. Lighter brown hair falling just beneath her shoulders, bright blue eyes looking back in a mirrored shock, same features like their mother. Pete had moved off her at some point. She could sense him watching them, his eyes darting from one to another.
Dinah stayed pressed against the wall, too afraid to move. Until her sister spoke, “Charlotte?” Just the sound of her voice saying her name, her real name, was all it took to snap her out of it. Then she was moving, and a second later she had her arms wrapped around her sister’s waist, her face buried in her shoulder. One of Bridgette’s arms was holding her tightly while the other stroked her hair like she always used to do. “Charlotte,” she said again, tears filling her voice even as she smiled. Then her tears came, and Dinah just stood there, letting her sister hold her.
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