The woman I’d seen in Atticus’ office earlier was already sitting at the table, her legs kicked over the arm as she watched us in interest. Her electric purple hair stood out in the bland room, and I instantly wish I could pull something like that off. Her glasses perched on her nose as she looked back and forth between us. All she needed was some popcorn, and she could’ve been the perfect replica of that meme.
“Hi, I didn’t get to meet you earlier. I’m Loren.” Her face showed surprise, and she hopped up, wiping her hands on her plaid skirt. Her whole look was eclectic. She was a little punk, a little grunge, and a little sexy. Somehow, it worked for her, and she pulled off this sexy, nerdy vibe.
“Oh my goodness, it’s so nice to meet the infamous girlfriend of Oscar. That man, he would not shut up about you.” She laughed, and I found myself smiling at her. I could see why Sax had gotten so annoyed, but I found her charming.
“I’m sure he did. He’s such a chatterbox, that one. This is Cami and Nat. And you are?”
“Oh, apologies, I feel like I already know everyone from my internet stalking.” She peered around me, waving at Cami. “Hey, Enigma, long time no see.”
Cami rolled her eyes, sitting down, and I noticed she kept her hand with her finger missing cradled to her, and I wondered how she was doing with it all. I needed to reach out more and check in. She ignored the girl, waving her off. “Don’t mind, Cleo. They hardly ever let her out around others.”
“You blow up something one time, and it’s like you can’t be trusted with explosives. But who do they all come to when they need help with their computers and phones? That’s right, me! Pixel, fix this; Pixel, work faster. I swear, it’s been a freaking holiday coming here. I get to actually do the shit I’ve been trained for. So, Enigma, what’s your game? How did that project I helped you on turn out?” She leaned on the table, her chin resting in her hands.
“It’s just Cami here. I’m not a Siren.”
“Hmm, sure.” Her bright purple hair swished back and forth, her face showing she didn’t believe anything Cami said.
“I’m sorry, Sirens?” I asked, feeling lost. Those drugs were affecting me more than I realized.
“It’s the Costa women’s mafia name, and each recruit gets a code name. Cleo here is Pixel because she’s so good with the tech stuff. I was Enigma because I excelled in the brains part, and I could be mysterious. I was on the seduction track before I decided it wasn’t for me,” Cami explained, shrugging her shoulders like it wasn’t a big deal.
Nat and I looked at her, blinking as she revealed this part of her life we hadn’t known. She looked between us, some guilt on her face. “It’s not a part of my life I like to remember. After my dad died, I went a little off the rails and my mom sent me to camp. I tried it out, but it wasn’t what I wanted. End of story. Now, can we focus on something else? So, is it true? Is Dayton alive?”
Atticus cleared his throat, drawing attention to him. The others had filed into the room, sitting down at the table while we’d been talking. Even Wells leaned against Monroe, along with Topher and Beau. I noticed that Nat kept averting her eyes from looking in his direction, and his only seared into her, not even trying to hide who he was staring down. I’d need to get the story behind that.
“It’s true. Pixel’s test showed that the bones were actually Benny’s. Somehow, Dayton managed to escape after I shot him and put the decoy bones in his place. It was probably Uncle Seth, but it’s hard to know since one of them is dead, and the other isn’t really being forthcoming.”
“What was his intention of keeping himself hidden? Is he working with Darren?” I asked, not seeing how it all measured up. What was the purpose of him coming to therapy? Was it just to unnerve me, or had there been a plan to get information from me? Was he that deluded to think it would be a head game? Actually, I wouldn’t put it past Dayton to not play with his food.
“It seems that Darren was a means to an end, and we inadvertently helped him get Darren out of the picture, leaving the Delgado family for him to take over, along with swaying most of our family members as well to his new one.”
“Fuck,” Nat swore, her fingers beginning to tap nervously on the table.
“He’s taken over the house in the suburbs, and he’s tried to take over several of our businesses. Climax was bought with my own money and is untouchable, despite his attempts to have all my staff leave. The others, they will be a battle to show who has the claim—him or me. I worry the most about Upswing. Rawles took the Masked Kingpin when we dethroned Darren, and I could see Dayton wanting it. While I’ve done all the legwork for it, it was initially his idea. He might try to poach it, stating he has more stake in it. A lot of my money is tied up in that place. It was to be our family's new future, and I could see him wanting to attack that to prove a point, especially after losing the other one.”
“I might have something to add,” Cami stated, lifting her head. She looked at Pixel and then Atticus. “Before I was, um, captured, I’d taken some files from Darren’s computer and had Pixel help decode them. When I was trying to figure out what they connected to, that was when he caught me.”
“What did the information you found say?” Atticus asked, his jaw tensing. I could practically hear him grinding his molars together from here. I reached over, grabbing Cami’s arm in support. She took a deep breath, giving me a watery smile. I knew it couldn’t be easy to share this with us.
“It was blueprints, mostly and some plans to operate some type of club underneath it. I couldn’t piece it all together, which was why I had Pixel looking into it for me. If I had to guess based on the information I’ve learned in my stay… it looked like a full-blown operation, effectively cutting out Rawles and, well, you.”
“Fuck,” Sax said. I watched Atticus as he mulled it over.
“So the question is, why hasn’t our dear friend Ethan told us what he’s found?”
We all sat quietly, thinking it over, not sure what this meant for their alliance.
“And our captives?” I asked. It had been quiet too long, and I could feel myself wanting to fall asleep.
“Oh, let me,” Pixel started, excitement entering her voice. “So, I was able to formulate this chemical compound that will enter their system and kill them later. It’s got a delayed function, giving you the perfect alibi, plus you know, it’s untraceable. I’m calling it the Filibuster because it fills you with gas until you bust, and it’s delayed. Get it?” She mimed brushing her fingernails on her sleeve. “Yeah, I’m that good.”
“While that’s all creepy in a way I never thought about before, where does that leave us?” Nat asked, eyeing Pixel, who still seemed impressed with her killer agent. Atticus answered, pulling our focus back on him.
“I don’t know. About fifty people have chosen our way of life within the family, but it’s not enough. He has the numbers and the capital now. He’s also been planning and scheming for months. I… I don’t know what he’s going to do next.”
I watched as Atticus admitted his uncertainty, showing his vulnerability to the people who’d chosen to stay. It made me love him even more.
“We got some information from the bag of shit. Once brat here fills him up with the gas, we can let him loose. Bitch #1 has already taken the bait. She won’t be found for months, I hope, and it won’t be pretty when she is. I doubt even the rats will want to feast on her.” Sax filled in, smiling at his words.