Chapter 36
A/N: Part 2 - updated 12/13/2022
Part 1 - 11/23/2022
Seven weeks of searching, yet still no signs of Jack. But that still doesn't prove he's not alive. It only proves that he hired the right people to cover his tracks!
"He's not dead." It does sound ridiculous but there's no body. Jack's death certificate doesn't prove anything. The medical examiner who signed it could have been bought. The one who was cremated might not be him. Did he forget what happened to Benjamin Couric? Did he forget we're supposed to be dead too? Anything could have happened.
"When were you goin to tell me?"
When Scud pivots the conversation, that usually means he disagrees but what the heck he is talking about? Besides the incident in that fancy underground hideout, everything worked out. There were unforeseen problems but they've been taken care of. Is he talking about the meeting? There's no need for him to know. He doesn't need to do anything. He can't anyways. Letting him know about it will only make him worry.
"So you're still not going to tell me?"
When Scud asks the same question more than once, it usually means he doesn't know but knows that something is going on.
"She's going to leave you, you know that right?"
Ohh, he found out. Seven weeks is a long time to keep it to herself.
"Just say you're sorry. She'll forgive you."
When Scud runs out of ideas, he lets others handle it. "She won't listen to me, Janet."
"She will. Just remind her what you did for her, what you were willing to do for her. She'll forgive you."
Ohh Nadia. If everyone is as forgiving as she is, there would be peace. She hasn't changed and she definitely does not understand the definition of cheating. Picking up this call now seems like a bad idea. They don't know what happened yet they still think I did. Now they want to know who it is. It's time to hang up. "I did not cheat on her! Okay!" Lucy hung up while knowing that she shouldn't have said that out loud since she's not alone but she just couldn't help it.
"Sorry"
Another apology isn't going to change anything. This isn't her fault. She did everything she could to prevent Amy from knowing and she would've succeeded if she had known where the spy recorder was. It wasn't the mini flashlight/stun gun just like Aria said. It was the silver safety whistle that she had used to call for help in the hideout in Molokai and it had enough capacity to store hours of audio data including what happened on the plane. Aria wasn't lying. It did sound like we were doing it.
"I'll talk to her after this." Adalyn said.
Talk to Amy? Did she forget how I got the second punch in the eye? That first punch would have given her a broken nose if it wasn't for me. The second punch would've given her a broken rib if Amy was fast enough. She would've been detained like Aria is now if Petrie had agreed with Amy's accusation. Amy's jealousy prevented her mind from thinking logically. If Amy were here now, she would definitely think I'm cheating on her even though it's just touching on the face to make sure the beard is glued on. No one is going to care. Everyone would probably be wearing a mask. No one is going to care about my hair either. Is a hug necessary? As dangerous as the meeting may seem, it's not going to be like the last time. It will take place in an unfamiliar territory but everyone agreed to this. No one wants to die. Everyone wants to end this. They will all finally get to know what happened to the last key. They will all..."umm what's this?" Lucy leans back away from Adalyn's hands since she doesn't like wearing anything around her neck and because the long silver metal object she's holding looks like the spy recorder.
"for luck"
Ohh. She doesn't look like that type. Okay. It did help the last time. This time, it's not going to be necessary since everyone who's invited is going for the same purpose. This time, there's no need for night vision glasses. A pair of sunglasses works. This time, there are more helpers.
"I don't like this."
James isn't here but Jake is and having him makes this trip better even though he can be overly sensitive sometimes like now. What was he expecting? No banks would want anyone armed other than their own. The owner of this place certainly won't allow it. "It'll be fine." Lucy handed him the gun before asking Adalyn to go with him. This wasn't the plan but now being here, she realized allowing Adalyn to tag along is a bad idea because if these 2 guards are looking at her in an inappropriate way, that perv Delmonte would surely do the same since he's that type that can easily be distracted by pretty woman and when he's distracted, he might be triggered to change his mind. He might not since he agreed to this. The Russians are after him too. But like Anthony said, we don't know what he knows. He might just back out of this if he doesn't get what he wants. It happened before. It can happen again. Adalyn is the type he would want. "Wait outside. Cover your eyes too." Lucy promised to explain later since this isn't the time. Petrie is coming. Pervert is not. That's good.
"You're late."
So? It's her fault for choosing this place that's not even on the grid. "Why here? Why not just have it in his hotel?" A yacht would work too. "What's that noise?" Sounds like generators. "Why is it so cold here?" Cooler is good. Having this male disguise on is more comfortable here than outside. No answer is given but the answer is no longer important after following Petrie into another room. "What the hell's going on?" Anthony did say expect surprises. "Where's Dean and Doc?" Lucy asked, expecting to get a better response than "they're still missing." Incompetent! "Where's Delmonte?" Anthony did say Delmonte might not show up. He's right but he's wrong in thinking that he won't because of Petrie. He's sick? For real or just pretending? "So now what? You expect me to just hand it over?" That wasn't the deal. The deal was she talk to Delmonte, find Dean and Doc and I look for the key. She's obviously successful in getting the billionaire to agree to this. This place has to be his but where the heck is he? This meeting is to talk about how to deal with the Russians. This meeting is to stop all the bullshit so we can all continue with our lives. Without them, there's no need for this meeting.
"I expect you to be here on time and show me some courtesy if you want my help to get her back."
What? This isn't the time to ask how Amy is because there is one other person in here. With half of her face covered, it wasn't difficult to tell that she's not Doc since Doc wouldn't be just sitting there freely without her hands cuffed and now from five feet away, it's still impossible to tell who she is if Petrie didn't say. Well well. This is a surprise. Anthony wouldn't have guessed this. Delmonte isn't here but his beneficiary is and she seems to be as disrespectful as her father. Getting a good look at someone she just met is normal but not for this long. Getting no questions is good but does she know who I am? Does she know what her father did or is she here to find out what her father did? It seems that she does know but doesn't know everything since she just asked what the key is for. It seems that Petrie still doesn't believe it's possible since she still thinks it's just a rumor like those crazy conspiracy theories that have been appearing a lot lately. "Did you have this whole island scanned?" Lucy asked, wondering why she is so confident since she should know a lot of things are possible these days.
"Do I need to?"
"I'm just saying it's possible." What? It is. It's not difficult to have bombs buried all over the island. It's certainly not impossible to activate all of them. However, why would they? The election is over. There's no reason for them to destroy Hawaii or any of the islands. They've already succeeded in causing chaos in this country. It's also because "It's not that type of key." Lucy said in a whisper even though there's no need to. Confused? Wait till they hear this.
Many have never heard of bit coin before it became popular but Jack did and like those who understood the potential, he did what any intelligent person would do. Use the money from investors to make more money. He did but he made the mistake of hiring the wrong people who were not capable of protecting his systems from getting hacked which explains why he didn't leave the organization for Brooke. It's because he couldn't. If he did, his investors would know what happened to the money he was responsible for. So the only way to save himself was to try to make the money back which he was able to do and in the process of doing so, he found a better way to make even more money, quickly and anonymously. It would've worked if technology is not continuously evolving. It would've worked if he was the one doing all the work. Loyalty is hard to find. It would've worked if he didn't underestimate the ability of others. He knew the FBI, the ones he stole from and everyone in the organization would soon find out. There's no escape. The only option was to fake death and the only way to do that was have one last meeting, destroy the underground chamber along with everyone there, make it look like an accident and disappear. That was the plan until he saw me because he thought I have Brooke's key, the key that would've saved him.
Shocking, isn't it? I was. But it wasn't shocking to learn that a dissatisfied employee was the one who stole it, not Brooke. Just like Doc said, those who were maintaining the sophisticated systems in the Underground chamber must know something. "See if you can get someone to hack it." Lucy said before putting the small object on the table in front of Petrie.
"This...is the key?" Petrie asked.
Why is it so hard to believe? It makes perfect sense. Never seen one before? Oh geez. "private key, that's what it's called, without it, you can't access this, this is a wallet, it's like money except it's virtual, it's used to launder money" Lucy didn't continue explaining since Petrie is giving her the same look that Amy always does when she wants her to shut up.
"You really think they're after this?"
Jesus Christ. Anyone over 60 should not be allowed to work for the government! "This…could be worth billions." Get it now? Ms. Delmonte does. Her eyes just widened and she has a good question. Since she asked, then there's no need to wait for a better time to say: "I have a few questions for you too." There's no need for her to know how I found the key. Petrie doesn't either but she needs to know what her father did if she doesn't already. "How well do you know Dean? Does your father trust him? Did you know he tried to kill me over this?"
"Okay, I think we're done here." Petrie said.
No we're not. We haven't even talked about how to deal with them yet. What about the key? She's going to leave it with Petrie? Guess she has no choice. Well, I'm not going to stick around either. Petrie is looking like she has something nasty to say.
"Where you going?"
Stupid question. She obviously didn't notice Ms. Delmonte's odd reaction earlier. "Just because she asked what the key is for doesn't mean she didn't already know. That s.o.b sent them there to kill me, kill Doc and them. He knew what was in that house. He knew what it could do. His plan failed. That's why he agreed to this." Get it? Using others to kill off your opponents is a tactic that many have used before. Deny and blame others when it doesn't work. It makes sense but does she believe it? "Talk about this later." Lucy continued until she heard a reason to stop. "Show me what?"
"You're the only who'd know."
This is getting strange. Why can't she just say it here? What is so secretive that would require access to two locked doors to get into? Why is it so much colder in here? Ohh…wow. "Is that" It must be. Has Anthony seen this? If he has, he didn't say the gigantic sea-urchin like object now looks like broken pieces of the Epcot ball. Gold doesn't glow. Many types of minerals do under the UV light. Some are deadly. "It's not radioactive, is it?" Lucy takes steps back from the glass wall. It's not a stupid question. People who works for the government are stupid especially nowadays. They don't need qualifications to get the job. They just need to kiss ass. She should know. She got hired back. What the hell? Now that the lights are on, it can be seen more clearly. Like Scud said, it's not a safe but how did that get in there?
"Is that what you were talking about?"
No wonder she said I would know. It might just be part of the head but yup, that looks like the gecko-like creature. "Looks like it…or it could be a wolf." What? It could be. The color is off. It's cemented. It could be a dog. "Did you find anything valuable?" Lucy asked but didn't get an answer since Petrie just picked up a call. She probably wouldn't say anyway if she did.
"Say again?"
Her hearing must be getting worse. Her hearing might be but she's moving faster than a lot of folks her age. What's the hurry? Why are they all standing there? Whoever this guy is, whatever his position is, he didn't feel it's necessary to explain to Petrie in private but what the heck is he talking about? There's a drone outside? Lucy takes the note given then realized why Petrie cursed. "How did they know about this?" It must be Delmonte. "It has to be her." Lucy said after Petrie just instructed her staff to find out who the phone number belongs to which means she doesn't think Delmonte has anything to do with this.
"Sometimes things aren't as obvious as they seem."
Seriously? Not only her hearing, her eyesight must be having issues too. "Are you going to call? You have two minutes left." Didn't she see the deadline on the note or does she think they're bluffing? This temporary structure isn't going to hold if they're planning to drop explosives. The tents outside definitely will not. "Is the drone still outside?" Lucy decided to check it out herself after getting an answer from the guard since there's no need to stay anymore because whatever Petrie plans to do with the key, whether giving it to them or not, won't guaranteed anything. No drones are in sight, just like the guard said. That's good. Adalyn isn't here. That's not good. This is a bad time if she's in the bathroom.
"What happened?"
Jake saw the drone. This isn't the time to explain though. This is the time to tell everyone to get off this island. "Now!" Lucy added since no one is moving not even Jake who has a lot of good qualities but sometimes he makes very bad decisions. Adalyn doesn't work for him but even so, how could he let her go after Delmonte? Shit. Why isn't she picking up? Bad connection? "I'll meet you at the chopper. Which way did she go?" It seems that Jake doesn't like to take orders either since he gave the same order to his guys. Either that or he's trying to make up for it since he's leading the way. It's not his fault. If anyone is to blame, it's me for letting her come and Petrie for picking this isolated place with no paved roads, just a wide, stony trail surrounded by overgrown grass, thorny, wild bushes and thick trees that would allow someone to hide from a helicopter's view from above. "What was that?" It wasn't loud but Jake must have heard something besides the helicopter noise since he too suddenly stopped moving.
Lucy quickly ran to see where she thinks the shots came from without waiting for Jake who might be fit but he can't run as fast with his muscular physique and because he just slipped. Hope the screaming wasn't from Adalyn. It could be from Delmonte. It could even be from a guy. That's all possible but this, how is this possible? Now isn't the time to check out the dead animal. Lucy quickly ran to Adalyn, then realized who was screaming before. Injured or not, this place isn't safe to stay for another minute. This isn't the time for questions. "Jake!" As strange as that thing is, this isn't the time to be curious. One is dead. No gecko creatures can be seen now but that doesn't mean there aren't any more coming. What the hell is that guy doing? "Hey! Could be poisonous!" Now he gets it. Ms. Delmonte does too. She's picking up her pace but clearly she still doesn't understand the seriousness of the situation. Is this really the time to ask how I know? This is the time to watch out for those creatures so Jake could safely carry Angel back to the helicopter.
"AH"
Lucy immediately turned to see who yelped. Fortunately for Ms. Delmonte, she just tripped over something. This is what happens when she wore the wrong shoes for the wrong occasion. Did she think it was going to take place in a hotel too? Even so, she should know better than to wear business shoes even if it is flat. Lucy grabbed onto her arm to pull her up with the intention to help her get to the helicopter until she heard Adalyn called out.
"Behind you!"
Where? Where? Where? My God. It was impossible to tell until it moved since this one has the same color as the grass and it's as small as a kitten and as thin as a banana. "Go. Go. GOHHH!" Lucy opened fire multiple times while knowing that moving backwards at the same time is not a good idea but it's getting closer and closer and jumping as fast as fleas. One bite might not hurt but it could be deadly. Shit. Adalyn is right. It's time to run because there are two more. "Start the engine!" The wind from the blades should be able to scare them away but where the hell is the pilot?
"WEEEEEEE! WEEEEE!..."
Owww. That's loud! That's more painful than the sound from fingernail on a chalkboard. That's not generated from the helicopter but it's a brilliant idea if it works. Can't look back to see if it does, at least not until it's safe to do so. Lucy quickly closed the door after jumping into the pilot seat as told. Seatbelts can wait. Start the engine first. Find out what happened to the pilot later. Okay. Take off, slowly and steady she goes. Seatbelts can now be put on. Everybody can now relax. Jake obviously cannot. This helicopter is bigger than others but having 6 on board including 3 guys is too much. He not only looks uncomfortable sitting next to the injured pilot; He looks like he's just seen the most scariest thing in his
"AH!"
Does she scream at everything? How the hell did it get there? It has suction cups? Can it fly too? Nope. Down it goes with a little more speed and a little tilt. It's safe to take a longer look now but it's difficult to tell. Jake was able to though. How many did you see would be a stupid question to ask now. Angel is groaning in pain. The pilot is doing the same and this Delmonte sounds as bossy as her father. Replying is a waste of time. Besides, Petrie needs to know about this. C'mon. Where are you? "Hello?" The noise from the helicopter is not making it easy to hear. "Listen! Get everybody out of there. Those things are here, in this island, near your area!" Lucy repeated once more before letting her know that high pitch noises can slow them down. "Say again." Petrie did say again and gave more information than she was asked. As ridiculous as her assumption is, she might not be wrong. There are no bombs but there are hungry gecko-like creatures. Did they put them here? This island is no longer a safe place to be. "Honolulu it is." Lucy said to Delmonte after hanging up since that's where she wants to go instead of the Lanai Hospital where it would be closer. That wasn't the plan since it would take at least 40 minutes but Petrie said her team, Francois and Aria are on their way out so there's no need to go there.
The Queen's medical center would be better than the ones in Lanai. It didn't take 40 minutes but it will probably take a few hours to find out if the bite is poisonous. Hope they're going to be okay. If Adalyn can forgive Angel, then Angel doesn't deserve to die. This bossy biatch, on the other hand, does if she had anything to do with this.
"Hey" Lucy called out. There's no better place to talk than on the helipad. "The least you can do is say thank you." Looks like she agrees since she just told her bodyguard to take a break but that half covered face doesn't look like she's planning to. There's no need to act tough now. The way she screamed when that thing suddenly appeared on the window next to her 30 minutes ago showed she's just a normal young woman with a …oh, she's…not that normal looking. But still, showing your face now doesn't mean you're not
"Remember me now?"
What? Why does everyone say that? How is this possible? She can't be my ex too although it would explain why she looks pissed. It would also explain why her bastard father wants me dead. Did I hook up with his daughter?
"You…cannot be his daughter." There's a smile so she must have taken it as a compliment. It is.
"I wish I wasn't."
Well well, she's not like him after all but denying any involvement does. Blaming it on someone else is what Delmonte would've done. Blame it on her own father is a very good idea but is he really that sick? Does she really think I'm going to believe her just because she said she didn't know? Denying all responsibility isn't going to work. Blame it on the Lord for being born is a nice try. She must think I'm a reasonable human being, not like his father. I am but don't think I'm weak. Like Anthony said, one way to hide your weakness is show what others think you're not going to do. It needs to be quick. It needs to be rough so they know you're not to be messed with. It needs to hurt so they know...what? Lucy said to herself in her own mind while holding back what she was thinking of doing since there's no need to anymore because an offer was made that no man would refuse. A gay man might.
"I can help you. We...can help each other."
My...God. She is a Delmonte. But so what if we have a common enemy? That doesn't mean we can be friends. That certainly doesn't mean all can be forgiven even if she's willing. A partnership with additional benefits is very tempting though. "Let's go for a ride." It doesn't hurt but it startled her. Any woman would be after her waist is suddenly grabbed onto. Any woman would immediately try to push back to avoid the contact below. Grabbing her butt might not be appropriate but like Anthony said, sometimes it's necessary to show them you're not who they think you are. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. Surprisingly, she quickly stopped resisting and gave her bodyguard the signal to stay where he is.
"Not now"
Figures she didn't mean it.
"tonight"
Oh, a delay tactic. She must think I'm stupid to fall for it.
"I promise"
A promise means nothing especially from a Delmonte. Does she not know her father is known for breaking promises? She might not look anything like her father but she sure knows how to get what she wants. I saved her before? When? She seems to know more than she lets on. Does Petrie know? Ask Petrie later. It's more important now to tell Jake to keep what he saw to himself even if it's just a kiss on the cheek. Adalyn saw too but she doesn't need to be told. She however needs to stay in the hotel and mind her own business.
"You can't trust her."
Hours of rest after shower and food, she came up with that? "Of course I don't." Lucy said while fastening the belt buckle in front of the mirror.
"Then why are you still going?"
For a lawyer, she's not too bright. She might not know everything but she knows how much I hate Delmonte. She knows about the offer so what better way to get back at him than hooking up with his daughter or does she think I'm not that type? She shouldn't since she knows why Amy left. She knows what I did to Aria. "She said she wants to thank me." Lucy shrugged with a smile before walking away to the luggage to get a tie.
"It could be a trap."
"I hope so." Confused? She's cute when she's confused. That's why she doesn't look like a lawyer. She's definitely not a good one either. The answer is simple. "If it is, then I'll know she's lying." Get it? She does. She still looks worried though. This will make her feel better. "I don't think she is. She said I saved her once before." Surprised or still confused?
"You believe her?"
"I'm not going to know if I don't go." Lucy said before calling Jake to tell him to get ready in 5 minutes. "Don't go out. Lock the door. Okay?" Apparently not since Adalyn just left the bedroom in a hurry and did something so unexpected, there was no time to stop her. Obviously, she doesn't want me to go but throwing all my shoes out from the balcony, that's just childish but it's another good idea. If it isn't dark out, finding them would be possible but now
"Don't go."
If she thinks this will stop me, she still has no idea who I am. It won't be hard to get another pair. It just won't be as comfortable. Jake would know what to do but it seems that Adalyn isn't giving up. She's holding on tight like a child preventing her mommy from leaving. This is getting ridiculous. The plan was to wait for Jake to find out more but there's no need to wait anymore.
"When do you plan on telling me?" Shocked? I was too. She may have provided a good reason for going after Angel but Jake wasn't totally convinced since Angel already admitted to be working for Dean weeks ago. The story about her sister is a lie. So why would she still go after Angel by herself? That's dangerous unless she knows that Angel wouldn't hurt her. The only way she would know that is if everything is a lie. It's not according to Jake who found their behavior in the helicopter abnormal when no one else would have; He did because he's sensitive enough to notice that the long silver whistle she pulled off from Angel's neck to scare those creatures away is similar to the one I was wearing. That might not prove anything but he saw the signs, literally. He weren't able to see what they were arguing about but he saw enough to know why Adalyn went after Angel. They're lovers? They might not be anymore but he believes Angel betrayed her because of me. She's jealous of me? That all sounds possible except for one thing. "You said your boyfriend left you. Was that a lie?" She's shaking her head so that means Jake got it wrong. "Is Angel your lover?"
"Nnno"
Okay. That sounds more convincing than the last but if Jake were here, he might not believe it. He did say Angel confessed her love using sign language so maybe it's one sided. Jealousy can make a person do crazy things including betraying the one she loves. That makes sense but this doesn't. "You knew that wasn't the key. Didn't you?" God damn it. She's not even denying it. "Then why didn't you tell me?" Lucy said in frustration since it took weeks of searching, moving one place to another to avoid being followed. The most difficult part was getting the owner of that fancy house to cooperate since he's no law abiding citizen. Threats wouldn't have worked. An explanation for intrusion did. It wasn't Shyam but he had information to know who stole it from Jack.
"I wasn't sure."
"You weren't sure? Then when were you sure?" Just like Anthony said, she can't be trusted. She's only here because she wants the key. She didn't try to steal it because she knew. God, I hated when he's right. "I protected you. I trusted you. Were you pretending to have claustrophia?"
"I"
"Doesn't matter." Lucy extended her palm out to signal her to stop talking since Jake is probably waiting outside and wondering what's taking so long. "We are going to talk about this later so don't go anywhere."
"Wait, wait!"
Lucy did wait this time but not because Adalyn is holding onto her from behind but because she was given a good reason to change her mind. If Anthony heard, he would've said 'I told you so.' He doesn't know but he did say all lawyers are manipulative and untrustworthy. How could anyone have known when she didn't hide how she feels about Schaeffer? She defended him. How could anyone have known when she too was forced to go into that house where she could've been assaulted and killed? She's Francois' daughter. That was so obvious. So how could I have known that she's actually a Delmonte. What...the hell.
Part 2
Change of plans. Jake doesn't need to know why. No one needs to know yet. Not everything makes sense but one thing is certain. That SOB has been playing me this entire time! Ughhh!
Lucy pulled Adalyn into the bedroom since the main door might not be able to prevent anyone outside from hearing. Holding her wrist tight isn't necessary but she did because she's furious but more with herself for being so blind. It wasn't love this time. It's because Adalyn used herself to protect her in that house in Molokai. It's because Adalyn's situation reminded her of her own. Being forced to deal with the circumstances that her father created is a good reason. It worked before but does she really think I'd sympathize with her now?
"What are you doing?"
Lucy ignored the question and continued to toss the clothing out of Adalyn's luggage. No bugs found but that doesn't mean there aren't any. It means they're hidden somewhere. Lucy furiously walked pass Adalyn to go into her own room, then closed the balcony curtain to see if there are any lights. None can be seen by the naked eye so it could be in the fire alarm or behind the tv. If it's in the bathroom, I'm going to kill him.
"There are no cameras."
Does she really expect me to trust her now? Lucy didn't bother to respond and took out the bug detector from her own luggage with the intention to scan the room once more until she heard another confession that is so shocking, it's hard to believe yet at the same time, it's not. Karma does exists. Many hates Delmonte. It's not surprising that his own daughter would too but betraying him for Schaeffer? Has she been brainwashed or is she being threatened? "What does he have on you?"
"It's not like that."
"He's listening. Isn't he?"
"Nno, I wouldn't do that."
That sounds as convincing as everything she just confessed to but that doesn't mean it's the truth. Looking for hidden bugs is no longer necessary. "Call him" It's not an unreasonable request so is there a need to think about it?
"I can't."
Can't or won't. "You want it?"
"You know where it is?"
"Now that I know that wasn't it, there's only one other place to look. So call him." Adalyn might not be stupid to fall for it but she is obviously not bright enough to realize she's being manipulated since she's still protecting him. Is she in love? It seems that way because why else would she think that he's different from her own father? Why else would she still be here after everything she went thru? She's not simple minded or uneducated. She should know why I didn't tell her how I got the key so why is she still trying to make excuses for hiding the truth?
"I wish he wasn't. I didn't get to choose just like you."
She must be desperate. Using the same reason as her sis isn't going to work.
"I didn't tell you because it doesn't matter. I would never hurt you."
My...god. The comforting hugs, the pain she endured to prevent Amy from finding out, the kissing in the yacht, and her confession in the Underground hideout now all seem part of her plan. It might just be a touch on the face but it's as unnecessary as the last few times.
"I would give my life to save yours just as you did for me."
She wasn't as direct as her half-sis but her intention is now clearer than before. She's willing to take her place. She's willing to take it off just to prove there are no cameras. She's willing to…ohh...my God…do more than just strip down to her undies. God damn it. He's smarter than his father. Loyalty is hard to find. He found one. But loyalty can be broken.
Like Anthony said, she never would've been able to get this far if I am a man. A man would not hold back in this situation. A man would've used the one thing that all women are afraid of to get the truth. It's too late now.
Lucy pulls her hand back from Adalyn's chest but it seems that Adalyn isn't giving up. It's not a kiss on the lips but the kiss on the bearded face feels familiar. The second kiss is longer. The third did something she didn't expect. It didn't just make her heart suddenly beat faster. The tip of her tongue sliding against her face brought back memories. No words were whispered into her ear this time but she remembered what it was at that time, when it happened, where and who it was. It was Let's go to sleep. It was unexpected and so, so difficult to control what the body wants like now...mmm... It's been so, so long. As good as the kisses feel, this can't happen.
Lucy grabbed Adalyn's shoulders and pulled her up, stopping her from continuing further. "Is it worth it?" It's a simple question that she knows the answer to but the answer given surprised her to the point where it made her think back to all those moments when they were alone. It's not a yes or no. It's a whisper into her ear that sounds as real as her confession in the Underground hideout but that doesn't mean it's true. Leaving now might be the right thing to do but like Anthony said, some don't know who they are until they're put into a situation where they've never been before.
Kissing her back isn't going to change her mind. Getting her on the bed didn't either, surprisingly. If her mother is still alive, she would be heartbroken right now. Anyone who loves their daughter wouldn't want her to sacrifice herself for anyone, especially for a man who doesn't love her and definitely not for the key. Francois would be devastated. Delmonte wouldn't give a damn otherwise he wouldn't use his own daughter to spy on his enemies. Schaeffer obviously feels the same way. This proves it. If he's listening, he would be calling right now because no man would be able to stand seeing the one he loves being kissed, being touched, being this close with another man or woman or trans-man unless he's a perv. He may be but she's not so why can't she see that he doesn't care? Anthony is right. A pretense might not work. It needs to look real. It needs to sound real. It needs to be real even if it's not appropriate. It needs to show I'm not the gentle person she thinks I am. It needs to be rough so she doesn't want to continue. It needs to hurt so it would wake her up from whatever she's been drugged with!
"UH!"
It worked. Adalyn didn't say stop but her phone is vibrating. This cannot be a coincidence. Her legs are holding on tighter than before so that has to be.
Lucy quickly got off to pick up the phone from the floor. Zipping up can wait. Waiting any longer, he might change his mind. "ow" It was so sudden. It couldn't be avoided. That's because her back was turned and she never thought Adalyn would jump on her back, instantly causing her to fall on the floor.
If this is her plan to protect him, it's a very stupid one. She should know she wouldn't be able to win especially when she's partially naked, especially when her intention isn't to hurt me. One punch would be able to put her down but there's no need to do that. All it took is 125 of body weight to pin her down. Speak! She should know why I didn't answer it. If she wants to prove he's a good guy, this is her chance.
"You okay?"
It is him. So he does care, probably cares more about the key.
"Is it working?"
So there are no cameras? Maybe there is, he didn't tell her and now he's testing her?
"yes"
Yes? That's good to hear. She's not that loyal after all but it seems that she has a reason for lying since it prompted him to ask if she wants to continue. So he didn't force her? It seems that way but that doesn't prove anything. It means he's a master manipulator.
"yes"
That's a yes with uncertainty. He might not be able to tell but those dark brown eyes are drowning with tears of regret. Regretting to have lied to me or regretting to have taken so long to realize that this isn't worth it?
"Does he know?"
"no"
That's it. Keep telling him what he wants to hear.
"I'm sorry."
That sounds genuine but that doesn't mean he is.
"There's not much time. There's no other way. Sorry."
Another apology isn't going to…wait…is he talking to me? "ugh…ugh…what…did you…do?" Lucy said before falling on top of Adalyn. There's no pain but the body suddenly feels weak all over. The head feels funny. It's tingling everywhere.
"He's still hot." Adalyn said before placing her ear against Lucy's chest. "He's pounding."
"What" Lucy had more to say but couldn't with the finger on her lips followed by a shush. A whisper of apology into her ear can be heard. One kiss came in slowly but it's impossible to avoid. Sounds of light footsteps can then be heard. Where she went can't be seen, but it's not far. Lights are now turned off. Nothing much can be seen. It's not completely dark either. Now it's clear why he asked if Adalyn wants to continue but as relaxing as her voice is, as soft as her kisses are and as comforting as the hand rub is, this still doesn't make sense until another voice is heard. It's not him. The voice isn't familiar but the words spoken are.
"Listen to my voice. Take a deep breath, slowly let the air out. Relax your body…"