Page 28 of Anathema
“I’ll open the door if you promise to keep your mutt on a fucking leash,” Eli growled, and I continued to laugh, leaning my shoulder on the wall beside Dean and crossing my arms over my chest. This was more fun than I initially expected it to be. Getting Eli all riled up for no fucking reason whatsoever.
Most of my interactions with Eli have always been unpleasant—for him. I’ve always played the ‘bad cop’ when he was brought in for questioning, so he knows just how ruthless I could be. Not that I’ve broken any of his bones yet, but that option wasnever off the table—especially if I find out Alexis has been inside this apartment unit withhim. The thought alone caused me to fist my hands tightly, knuckles turning white.
“You have my word, Eli. Derekwillkeep his hands to himself.” Dean glared daggers at me as he shouted back through the door.
I returned a smug smile and nodded in agreement. I’ll keep to myself as long as he cooperates and doesn’t make this a bigger headache than it already was.
There was silence for a few minutes as we stood outside his door, waiting for him to open it. Minutes passed, and I heard the deadbolt click. The door opened, and Dean and I stepped inside. I slid my hands into my pockets as I entered, the only way I could show that I would keep my hands to myself during this visit.
My eyes wandered around his small studio apartment, taking in every tiny detail and hoping to find some sign that Alexis had been here—or not, the latter being the better outcome for the both of us.
Satisfied that nothing seemed to jump out at me, I turned to face Eli and grinned. Just because I couldn’t touch him didn’t mean I wouldn’t intimidate his ass from a distance. Eli cleared his throat out of nervousness before his eyes moved from mine to Dean’s.
“You want to tell me exactly what it is you want with me then?” He asked, running a hand through his hair and crossing his arms over his chest. He was dressed lazily, wearing a worn gray T-shirt and sweatpants. There was no way Alexis could be interested in someone who looked like him. Right?
“We’ll just cut straight to the point. What’s your involvement with Anathema?” Dean asked, placing his hands on his hips.
He was determined to get the answers we came for, and I knew he would refuse to leave without them. Dean always did his research before diving headfirst into anything, so he knew exactly what information Eli could provide us and could tell if he was lying or not.
“Anathema? Never heard of it.” Eli tilted his head and shrugged nonchalantly as if he had been asked that same question multiple times today.
I pressed my lips into a hard line as my eyes narrowed on him. If he were going to make this difficult, I would not hold up my end of the bargain by keeping my hands to myself. My patience was already wearing thin as it was.
“I’ve done my research, Eli. You can’t lie to us. I already know you are associated with them, but what I don’t know is the extent of it.” Dean stated, his voice stern and authoritative. It wasn’t often that I heard him speak this way—to anyone. He must be in atake-no-shitmood today.
“Look, you know as well as I do that if I open my mouth to the CIA, I am nothing more than a dead man to them, anask-questions-later,bullet-to-the-headliability,” Eli responded defensively. He wouldn’t talk, knowing that his life was on the line.
No one in their right mind would willingly betray Anathema without a reasonable price.
“You’re a dead man to us if youdon’ttalk,” I added, stepping up beside Dean and resting my hand on my gun. I wasn’t planning on using it, but the threat was all the same to him.
Eli took a long stride back, his palms held up in submission.
“I don’t want any trouble with you, Derek. But I can’t tell you what you want to hear. You and I both know what Anathema is capable of to those they deemproblematic.” He looked around the room as if it were bugged, and they were listening in on our conversation right this second.
Eli swallowed and blew out an uneasy breath. “If I’m going to risk my life for the CIA, I need insurance that I’m going to be protected from them. That’s the only way you’ll get me to talk, " he admitted.
I scoffed, scratching the side of my jaw. We needed him to help us, but I don’t know if we could make him a promise like that. We could certainly try, but it would require keeping him closer to us moving forward. An offer for a deal was better than nothing at all, especially one that we could easily make with him.
Glancing over at Dean, I saw he was thinking the same thing I was. We were on the same page, so I gave him a nod as I sucked on my teeth.
We would figure something out when it was just the two of us, but right now, we needed to know what he knew and if he would be an asset to our assignment or not. There was no point in protecting someone who wasn’t useful to us.
I held out my hand to Eli, and he flinched. I bit back the laugh at how scared he was of me. As long as he stayed out of my way, I hadno intention of hurting him. I may hate that he was the answer to our dead-end issue, but I am not about to beat the shit out of him for no reason.
“You have a deal. We will do what we can to protect you from Anathema as long as you give and tell us everything we want to know. No lies, no games.”
Eli grasped my hand to shake it, and I tightened my hold on his, jerking his body forward, closer to me.
“Lie to us, even once, and you’ll have more to fear thanthem,” I added with a hiss of malice. Eli swallowed and nodded.
“I’ll tell you everything and anything you want to hear… Where do we start?” he asked, looking between Dean and myself.
This entire interaction went better than I had anticipated. Now, we just needed to see what kind of valuable information Eli had to offer us.
“Why don’t you take a seat? We’ll be here a while.” I grinned and gestured for him to sit at his desk.
The three of us would be well acquainted by the end of this day, and Dean and I would be one step closer to getting our hands on the primary target of our assignment.
