Seth took a sip of his coffee and looked at Roman with worry in his eyes. Lupita had slept on a mattress in their office since she wanted to be near their computers.
"I trust her," Roman said.
"So do I," Seth sighed. "Almost. I mean, I trust her maybe 95% but there's still 5% doubt lingering in the back of my head."
"We've both been in Dean's basement. We've both seen him chain people up the way she explained, and we've both seen what he does to those people. He's one sick bastard."
"I know that, Roman," Seth said.
"You're the one who always worries. That's one of the things I love about you. Sometimes I get my head caught in the sky and you're right there pulling me down to earth again," Roman said.
"I don't even know why I'm worried. This should make me excited. We're finally gonna get rid of Dean," Seth said. "We are going to get rid of him, right?"
"Of course," Roman said.
"You're worried because you're about to go after a man you once called your brother," Lupita said.
Both men jumped startled. They hadn't heard the door to the office open or her walking through the house. She stepped out in the kitchen, poured herself a cup of coffee, and turned around and looked at them.
"A part of you still loves him. You always will. Because no matter how much shit he's done, you also saw the good sides. Those sides are sometimes hard to ignore, especially when you've spent so much time trying to hide and survive. You don't just want to survive anymore. You want to live. A part of you remembers the good sides and maybe sometimes your brain tries to trick you into believing he's not that bad. Maybe you can go back and everything will be okay," Lupita said.
"How did you sneak up on us like that?" Seth asked.
"Tell me I'm wrong," Lupita said.
Lupita stared at Seth with a challenging look.
"Seriously, how did you..." Seth started.
"She's not gonna allow you to change the subject," Roman interrupted.
"Fine," Seth sighed. "You're not wrong but I know that part of me is lying. If we try to go back, we'll be dead. There's no good person inside Dean. He's just really good at pretending when he needs people on his side."
Lupita smiled at Seth and took a sip of her coffee.
"I'm good at sneaking around and blending in with crowds. It's part of what I do," Lupita said.
"Dean still found you," Seth said.
"Don't try to hurt me because you're hurt," Lupita said. "It's good coffee, by the way."
"Seth made it," Roman said.
"Thanks," Seth sighed. "And sorry. I know you're right. I'm lashing out when I have no right to. I'm just on edge right now. I thought we were safe but you found us."
"How?" Roman asked.
Lupita took another sip of her coffee and leaned back against the kitchen counter.
"I had to go way back in time to when you disappeared. I even went a bit further back. I hacked into every security camera around town until I finally spotted you, and I kept following you. You drove to a used cars shop and sold your car. Dean said your car was at the mechanic's when you disappeared but he couldn't find it. Smart move. I lost you for a while. You're good at dodging cameras too. I followed the trail of your phones and when they were last used. That led to a whole other town two hours from here. There's only one phone shop in that town so I watched their security cameras from that day. Two very handsome men wearing sunglasses entered that day and bought new equipment. Phones and laptops. Again, smart move but I still found you," Lupita said.
She took another sip of coffee and enjoyed having their eyes on her.
"I then hacked their system to find your new numbers. Obviously you paid in cash which luckily only two customers did that day. I had your numbers and went from there. Eventually I realized your phones always pinged around this area so I went on google maps. I looked at every house around this wilderness they call a forest to find the most secluded ones. There's a few of them and I sent out a drone for some footage. Most of those houses are abandoned. One of them has a whole family living the farm life, and an old man lives in another one. That leaves this house and wouldn't you know it? Those same two handsome men stormed inside when they saw the drone," Lupita said.
"That was you?" Roman chuckled. "We were scared shitless that day until we told ourselves it was probably one of the kids from the farm 40 minutes from here."
Lupita chuckled and emptied her cup of coffee.
"You should know that every footage and piece of information I found on you have mysteriously vanished. Deleted from all existence. No one will be able to find you the way I did," Lupita said.
"Thank you," Seth said.
"I hope that gives you some peace of mind and that you will soon understand that trusting me is the right thing to do," Lupita said.
"I know," Seth nodded. "It's just hard trusting anyone who isn't Roman. I used to trust Dean and our gang, and I'm sure you already dug up enough shit to want to bury them all deep in the ground."
Lupita nodded and poured herself another cup of coffee.
"So what happens now?" Roman asked.
"When do you wanna take him down?" Lupita asked.
"Today," Seth smirked.
"It's gonna take a few days to set the trap and gather a team to help, especially since I only have your laptops to work with. It would be easier and faster with my setup but I don't dare go home right now. And to be honest, I don't ever invite anyone to my place. I've managed to stay hidden for all these years because I don't do deep friendships or relationships," Lupita said.
"That sounds lonely," Roman said. "At least me and Seth have each other. You should have someone too."
"I don't need anyone," Lupita shrugged. "Anyway, I'm gonna get to work."
She took her cup of coffee with her and walked towards the door.
"It still sounds lonely to me," Roman said lowly.
"If you wanna make me happy and feel appreciated for a few hours, you can always go down on me afterwards," Lupita said.
"Is that a joke?" Roman asked.
Lupita just smirked at him and walked out of the kitchen.
"Is that a joke, Lupita?" Roman yelled.
"Don't ever use my name in front of anyone! You're the only ones I've told it to!" Lupita yelled.
"Is that a joke, wolf?" Roman yelled. "Tell me it's a joke, damn it!"
Lupita laughed and they heard that laughter disappear into the office. Roman looked over at Seth who was chuckling lowly.
"It was a joke, wasn't it?" Roman asked.
"I have no idea," Seth answered. "I wouldn't be surprised if she has her needs met from time to time. She can look into anyone to see if it's worth it to go home with them."
"It has to be a joke," Roman said.
"Why are you obsessing over it? It's like you want to do it," Seth's eyes lit up. "You do! You want to fuck the wolf."
Seth started laughing but Roman chose to ignore it and concentrate on his coffee. He took a sip and Seth stopped laughing.
"So do I," Seth said.
Roman coughed when coffee went down the wrong pipe. He raised his eyes and looked at Seth again.
"So do I," Seth repeated. "Maybe that's why I'm worried. I worry she's the last woman we'll ever see up close. What if my mind is blurred because I'm attracted to her?"
"Seth," Roman sighed.
"I know I'm wrong but you can't deny she's fucking hot," Seth said.
"I'm not denying anything but we need her help. We can't go whip out our dicks hoping she'll jump on them," Roman said.
Seth looked towards the kitchen door and then shook his head.
"Don't worry, I'm not gonna try anything. We all need our heads in the game. This isn't some random piece of shit we're out to take down. This is Dean. He'll smell weakness a mile away. We can't mess this up," Seth said.
"Good, we agree," Roman smiled. "Take a shower and rub one out if that's what you need. Meanwhile I'm gonna take a walk in the forest to clear my head. We can't do anything while she's setting the trap. She'll tell us when she needs us. Until then, we need to make ourselves as invisible as possible so she can work in peace. We fucking need her, Seth. We can't blow this one. Dean is going down before the week is over. That's a fucking promise."