Page 60 of Dark Things
“Your allegiance isn’t to Mario, then? It’s to this girl that you say you're looking for?” Haunt asks.
His hand goes to the back of Reb’s neck just like it did at lunch. It’s a claim, or a grounding that she seems to need. It looks like she’s ready to launch herself out of the chair.
“Correct. Mario is a means to an end. We feel no loyalty for him and his organization. How about you guys? I’m sure being a Graves means you're more entangled.”
“Haunt is a Graves in name only,” Reb says, her stare drilling into me.
“In that case, I propose we help each other. If you want Mario we can give him to you, but in return we need you to be honest about Belle, because we know you know something,” I say. I know I’m pushing it, but we’ve been dancing around this for too long.
Reb closes her eyes for a moment, but when she opens them the fire I see inside makes me flinch. So much anger.
“It’s probably better for you if we figure out the Mario part first. When we get rid of him, we’ll give you the information you want, but not before,” Haunt says, still gripping Reb’s neck.
“So we give you everything and hope you’ll deliver at the end? Is that something you’d agree to if you were us?” I ask, narrowing my eyes.
“You don’t have a choice here, Stafford Fitzgerald. It’s either you make the deal and we get you out of Mario’s grasp and give you the info on Belle, or you leave this room and forget we had this conversation. We can do this without you; it’s you guys who need us,” Reb sneers.
I straighten in my seat and lean in, “How am I supposed to trust you?”
“You’re not. You have to take the gamble. Consider it a game, one where you're all in and have to wait to see what cards you’re dealt. Unless you're scared of taking the risk.”
My nostrils flare looking between each of them. My gut is telling me to go with it, but sometimes that’s not enough. “You’re trouble, you know that?”
The comment comes out so smoothly that I don’t realize what I’ve said until it’s left my mouth. My ears heat up, but Reb is frozen in her seat. Haunt notices and takes over.
“Take the deal, Staff. It’s the only way you’ll ever get answers.” His other hand reaches across the table and he grips my forearm. Even though my sleeve I feel theheat rolling off of it. “I’ll make it worth your while if you do.”
This should not make me harder than I am, but I can’t help it. “Are you changing your mind about a third then?”
Haunt laughs, but Reb still sits there like a statue. Her eyes though, the impossible forest that’s inside them, consumes me. What I wouldn’t do for just a taste.
Before either can answer, there’s a knock on the door. I let out a breath and walk toward door, knowing exactly who it is. I open it up and turn back to them, who now have guns pointed at the door.
A shaky laugh sounds, and Brooks steps further into the room. “Meeting seems to be going well then,” he says, not caring that two scary killers have their weapons trained on him. Colter’s scowl shows how much he does not appreciate the welcome.
Reb holsters her gun first, but Haunt tracks the movements of both men before I close and lock the door. “We were just coming to an agreement of sorts. They are willing to give us information after we help them take care of Mario.”
Colter walks around the table. Neither Haunt nor Reb move, but I see her feet shift. Haunt looks like he could care less what Colter does, which is odd given all the protective vibes I’m getting off of him.
“You expect us to follow you blindly and not get anything in return until you get what you want?”
Now I’m not saying that my best friend isn’t smart, but in this instance I feel like he’s not living up to his potential.
“You seem to always be in the position where your dick is about to be cut off. It’s starting to become a pattern,cavalino,” Haunt smirks.
Colter looks down, and there’s Reb knife pressed to his cock. His jaw ticks, but he ignores it, bringing his eyes back up to meet hers. “Give me a reason to trust you,” he says, not breaking their staredown.
“Because without me, you’ll never know.”
It was almost a whisper, but we all heard it. For the first time in five years it feels like we’re finally on our way to knowing what happened and where Belle is.
“Then we’re in. Don’t make me regret this.”
25
Rebelle
We’re summoned the next night to the slaughterhouse. An angry text from Stan has my nerves on edge. Being summoned is always a bad thing, but when it comes via text with that many heated words, it means there’s extra pain to be doled out.
