Page 70 of Breakaway
"Someone paying a lot of money to be here," Vic says.
The man is a normal-looking human man. He has dark hair, dark eyes, and tanned skin. He's wearing business attire, clean-shaven, well-groomed. Even Jeremy is struggling to see what his role is in all of this, considering the people he normally deals with are as falsely charming as Vic.
"Okay, well, we need to be fast," Jeremy says, pulling out a key from his pocket and unlocking Reese's apartment. He keeps his hand on the knob, staring at Vic. "I want payment now."
Vic shoots him a too-big smile, but pulls out his comm and transfers the money. When he tucks his comm back in hispocket, he shoves Jeremy away from the door. "It's best if you wait out here."
"You said you were just taking some shit to sell," Jeremy says, though he doesn't put up any sort of fight when Vic opens the door and lets the other man step through first.
"Like I said, my friend here is paying a lot of money to be here," Vic says, his voice slick as he moves to shut the door on Jeremy.
I'm going to kill Jeremy. If I ever see him again, if he ever has the audacity to show his face around Reese, it will be the last thing he ever does. He sold her out for credits, as if she wasn't already giving him enough. But not only was he the one to share her secrets, he was the one who let the intruders into her home, the one who helped someone violate her. I don't care what he knew was going to happen in that apartment. His sister was violated, and the only thing he cared about was getting paid.
"One more, so you can really be angry," Kolos murmurs, his jaw tense as he keeps typing away on his comm. "Just know we're on our way to her, okay?"
I want to ask him what he's talking about, but the scene is starting to come together in my mind. Kolos is talking to someone, but his voice fades as the memory takes hold.
"How much?" Jeremy asks, his hands already shaking just thinking about how many credits the man is offering him.
"A quarter of a million if you just keep me up to date on where she is and what she's doing," the man says with a slight shrug of his shoulders, as if that's a normal thing to ask someone to do.
"Why can't you?" Jeremy asks, only questioning things because it seems almost too easy. He's not concerned about his sister's well-being or how he's once again violating her. Instead, he's worried that this man won't actually pay him even if he does what's asked of him.
"I can and I do, but I need someone closer to her, someone who people won't question if you're found nearby." The man reaches into his pocket but doesn't pull anything out. "You'll need to stay far enough away that the Sombran doesn't hear you, but other than that, you'll just need to keep me apprised of where she is at all times."
"She's planning on leaving Earth," Jeremy says. "I can only watch her until she leaves. I'm not leaving."
"I'm not asking you to," the man snaps, his composure slipping for a moment. He takes a deep breath, his face returning to pleasant. "Just keep me alerted to where she is and who is with her if you can figure it out. I can handle the rest of it."
Jeremy hesitates at that last statement, his heart speeding up. "What exactly are you planning?"
The man studies Jeremy for a long moment, making Jeremy even more uncertain of all of this. Again, it's not because he's worried about Reese's well-being, but his own. He's starting to see how unhinged the man across the table is, and he's wondering if he's made a mistake in answering him when he contacted him personally for more information about Reese.
"I'll be honest with you," the man says, leaning his forearms on the table. "I plan on marrying your sister. She is the center of my universe, the light of my life, and this little hiccup with the Sombran is something that we'll look back on one day and laugh about. I just need to get her alone so I can explain all of that to her."
Alarm bells are going off in Jeremy's head, and it's almost as if the man across from him can sense it. He leans back, his tongue brushing across the front of his teeth.
"Fine, four hundred thousand credits," he says, and it's the exact right thing to say to get Jeremy from worried to back in line.
"And you're not going to hurt her?" Jeremy asks.
It's all for show. His thoughts are more focused on the money, but a part of him is saying he's not the bad guy if the man isn't planning on hurting Reese. He's trying to rationalize his vile behavior, and it's working enough for him to excuse what he's doing.
"I would never hurt her," the man says, the vow sounding hollow even to Jeremy. He chooses to believe the man, though. After all, almost half a million credits is a lot of money. Pair it with the half a million Reese is planning to give him, and he'll be set for a good long while.
"I'll keep you informed," Jeremy says, reluctantly taking the other man's hand when he offers it to shake on their deal.
He ignores the churning in his stomach, the ache in his chest telling him he's doing the wrong thing. He ignores all of that in favor of how much he wants the credits.
I snap out of the memory, my shadows vibrating in their anger, and I'm right there with them. If something happens to Reese, I know exactly who I'm blaming first. But no, nothing is going to happen to her, not if I can do anything about–
Zill!Reese's voice is like a scream in my head, and I open myself to all of her thoughts, to everything that's happening.
"Oh fuck," I mutter.
Kolos is still in my head since I haven't closed off his access. We're both aware of Isha falling unconscious, something or someone taking her out without her even realizing it. She's still alive. If she weren't, Skia would be on a warpath, and we would all know she's no longer with us.
Leave Isha, get back into the studio. Go to your dressing room and lock the door. Kolos and I are on our way. You need to hide.
