“You don't need one. There is a computerized locking system. I hacked the system last night.” All her earlier anger was gone, replaced by something incredibly raw. After their argument, her speaking softly to Claire said something about how deeply this place affected her.
“Why did we come here last if it was the place you suspected the most?” Claire asked just as gently.
“Because I needed to work up my courage to it.” The admissions surprised us all. Victor reached out to comfort her, but she moved out from under his touch.
Mila sat on the railing and pulled a laptop from the bag around her shoulders. She typed furiously for a few moments. “I disarmed the system, and there's no one here. We can go in.”
Chapter 12
Claire
Whenwepulledupin front of the library, I had nothing more than a morbid sense of acceptance. It didn't come as a surprise, and I suspected we might be headed here when we were a few blocks away, but that foreboding feeling of coming home to something expected and awful filled every part of me. Then Mila pointed to City Hall, and that gathering dread turned into something far more twisted. It took everything I had not to empty the contents of my stomach.
Our city was old, historic, and lovely in a way very few places were—steeped in history, mixed up with new and daring buildings. I had always loved that, so I never thought much of the extraordinarily low crime rates, which I recently learned had more to do with the police force being under the influence of criminals than anything else.
I never thought about the symmetry between these two buildings outside their symbolic meaning in my life, but their history long outlived mine. They were twins, identical in every way besides the colors they were painted and their contents. It only took me a moment to realize I shouldn't be surprised that they were both used for nefarious purposes.
City Hall was under David Sharp's thumb, and in turn, the entire city. For the first time, I realized how important it was for Mason to take that position. This city wouldn't magically be able to operate without someone pulling the strings, and there was no one else we could trust to do it right. He told me this all started because calling in favors from his father's organization made him indebted to him. It took time, but I understood the gravity of that situation.
Mason and Mila continued to speak to one another while I processed our conversation along with those thoughts. They stepped away from each other, and she took out her computer to do some hocus-pocus. His hand on mine was the only thing keeping me steady.
“Are we going to stand here all day?” Mila's voice was much more heavily accented than usual, betraying how stressed she was in this situation despite her relatively calm exterior.
“Stay back with Claire. Vick and I will make sure no one is in there.” Mason told her, but she shook her head.
“I have the camera feed up right now. It's clear. I'm not staying out here and have no interest in spending time withClaire.” Mila preferring not to hang out with me meant nothing in comparison to the disdain with which she said my name.
While I understood her anger with the world, and more specifically the wicked men in this city, I couldn't let her prod at Mason the way she had in the car. Therewouldcome a time when he needed to prove a point to her. He couldn’t be undermined, and she had no intentions of stopping. I would prolong that inevitable blow-up as long as possible.
The two of them argued back and forth for another minute. Then, finally, Vick stepped forward, rolling his eyes at the both of them, and disappeared through the door to scope the place out. He returned a few minutes later, simply nodding that he hadn't found anyone inside. “The first floor is clear, at least as far as I can tell. I can go deeper if you want, boss.”
Mason looked at Mila, making a decision. “Check the lower level.”
Vicky was back a few minutes later, simply nodding as he held the door wide.
Mila gave Mason a self-satisfied smirk as she put her laptop away. She stepped toward the door, but Victor blocked her path, “You stay behind me. Mr. Sharp will pull up the rear.”
“When are you going to stop telling me what to do, Victor? I’m nineteen years old, not a baby.” She pushed his chest, not managing to get him to budge an inch.
“I'm not sure, kid, but it definitely won't be today.” He turned around, and she huffed in irritation but didn't try to fight him further.
City Hall smelled different than I remembered, but it was so familiar that it made me ache. The decor hadn't changed much in the near year since I'd been here. The open concept was interrupted only by a few desks, informational stands, and rows of benches for people to sit while waiting to be directed to various appointments. There were numerous offices, the building department, and one of the city's courts. Countless people had reason to come here throughout the day.
While my library saw a lot of traffic and community use, it was nothing compared to the number of people who came through here. It rankled me to realize just how many wicked things can happen under the nose of so many people.
Hector's men followed a few steps behind us. They never said more than necessary whenever we were with them. I didn't remember their names, proving how little they spoke to us. I suspected they held us responsible for what happened to Hector's brother-in-law, but when I glanced behind me and saw the way they glared at us, I considered my suspicion confirmed.
“Mason,” I reached back and gripped his arm, yanking him around so I could speak quietly to him, “You're not worried about them, are you?”
“No more than I usually am, no.” Well, that wasn’t exactly comforting.
We moved past a series of screened-off desks where you would go if you needed to pay a fine or plead on a traffic ticket.
“I'm not sure which way to go. I never saw anything when I was on this floor,” Mila said as her fingers trailed along the edge of a podium. The floor-to-ceiling windows let in enough light to easily see by, but it was still oddly spooky.
“What can you remember?” Vick asked.
“I remember the rooms they kept us in, the place they sold me, and my blindfold slipping when they brought me outside. That’s how I’m sure it’s this building. I got a good look.”