She set this up. I haven't given her the credit she deserves, and now I'm about to pay for it. I make the mistake of getting up from the bed as the devil’s flames seep from Harley's blue eyes, burning a hole straight through my forehead.
"Tell me why we're here," she demands. For the first time since I found her, I feel as though I'm her prisoner. She has never lacked confidence or shown much fear. Even at this moment, she snatches her black lace panties from the edge of the bed and pulls them up with one swift move.
"I can't tell you anything," I say, as if it would make a difference.
"You're going to tell me, one way or another," she replies.
It's less than a minute before her dress is pulled back on and secured in place. It doesn't have the same effect it had earlier, but she's still drop-dead gorgeous. Even her hair is a mess, but it looks tussled, as if on purpose.
She makes her way around the bed, stalking toward me as if she plans to do damage, so I don't move from where I'm standing. In the time she's taken to dress, I've managed to get my pants on, but I'm too enamored by whatever is going through her head to move any quicker.
Her hands slam into my chest without concern, and I'm taken aback by her strength as my back meets the wall. "Tell me why the fuck I'm here."
She's at least a foot shorter than I am, staring at me with doll-like eyes but at the same time, there’s a defined fierceness I've never seen within her. "Isabelle—”
"Don't," she says. "You were turning me in, weren't you?"
"It's not like that," I tell her. My words aren’t backed with confidence. They sound like a lie because technically this started with a mission to find her and hand her over as if she were merely an object. She wouldn’t understand, but what the hell was I supposed to do? I was following orders. My orders weren't to fall for the woman, but I didn’t know this was going to happen. I didn’t even know it was her I was looking for until after I accepted the job from Agent Roberts.
"It's exactly like that," she says. "You think I’m stupid?”
"Everett has a big mouth," I tell her. "That's all this is."
She laughs with her teeth clamped together. Her hands are still pressed into my chest, and she's breathing heavily. "Everett didn't say a word about your past, but have you ever considered what might happen when you found out you're the one being used?"
My muscles weaken in response to her statement, and the pressure from her hands aches, as they press into my diaphragm. "We should stop talking," I tell her. I’m doing everything I can to pause the trouble either of us could cause, and I think the only way to keep her from doing something stupid is to try and calm her down.
"Of course we should stop talking. We wouldn't want any more of your secrets to slip out tonight, would we?" she asks.
"Why fuck me if you knew all that?" I finally snap back. Fuck keeping calm, fuck everything right now.
"The same reason you fucked me, knowing what you know," she responds faster than I would have thought. "What's funny is, we think we know the truth about each other, but I'm smart enough to know there's more to your story. I'm just not sure you're smart enough to think the same about me."
"If that's what you think," I tell her. The thought of her innocence has passed through my mind countless times, but it's apparent how accustomed she's become to acting guilty. "If you're done psychoanalyzing me now, we need to get going. Everett could be on the phone with—”
"Who?" she questions.
"It doesn't matter."
"Everett wouldn't be on the phone with anyone. He actually cares about me. I'm not sure I can say the same for you, though. The word selfish comes to mind when I look at you, Axel. How far off am I?”
That hurts a bit. This whole ordeal was presented to me in a barter for my innocence, and now I'm considered selfish for it. Nothing is free. I knew this, and now I’m acutely aware of what the cost can be. This lifestyle has always come with a hefty price tag, but this time it's too much to bear.
I wrap my hand around Isabelle’s wrists and forcefully release her grip from my chest. I move her to the side as I make my way into the connecting room where Everett is sitting on the edge of the bed with his head buried in his hands.
"Let's go,” Axel says.
"Whatever,” Everett says.
"You're just as bad as I am," I tell him. "If she chose you tonight, she'd be hating you right now too, wouldn't she?"
"I'll call it a win, Axel," he says with a sneer.
25
Harley
Well, this is awkward. It's not that I didn't expect to cause disdain between the two of them, I just didn't quite imagine being stuck in a tight space with them for several hours following our fall out. I need sleep so badly. I believe it’s after midnight, so technically we are into tomorrow. We climb aboard the jet and settle into the seats. With the window seat again, I gladly hold my stare out the window, but I'm still able to see their reflections thanks to the inside cabin lights. Axel is looking out the same window as I am, and Everett's head is resting on the seat's back, staring up at the small fan and light.
I've never flown in a jet before today, or today and yesterday, depending on how you look at it. The ride itself isn't entirely different from a regular commercial flight, but I appreciate boarding and taking off within minutes. It could be a luxury I’d easily become accustomed to if I weren't going to be either kicked out on my ass, or turned in tomorrow morning, not that I didn't quit three times already in the last day, but still.
As we ascend into the air, the cabin lights dim to a slight orange glow. It doesn't change anything, but it feels like less of a spotlight at least.
My plan didn't exactly work the way I wanted it to. I was close—within reach, even—but they have more control than I thought. It's my turn to carry this situation home, though.
I turn my head and twist my body to face Axel, finding his gaze closer than it appeared in the reflection. "Which one of you is going to tell me what Everett said you were hiding?" I ask him.
He leans over and places an unexpected kiss on my cheek, which is inappropriate after everything that just happened, but it wasn't for me. It was for Everett who's sitting directly across from us. It's clear Axel is trying to drive the final nail into the coffin.
Whether Everett saw the sentiment or not, I don't know, but I do know that regardless of everything happening right now, there is still a fluttering in the bottom of my gut when Axel does anything gently to me. It's like he knows he can control every part of me, and it's something that has to stop immediately.
"You wanted me to find you," Everett speaks up, still holding his gaze on the ceiling.
I'm not sure if he's speaking to me or Axel, but he knows one of us set up the door to give him easy access. I was hoping their argument would leave me with the information I needed before that part came out.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Axel asks Everett.
Everett looks over at me next, staring with a type of intimidation that should make me want to sink into my chair, but I've been through this type of training. Staring contests don't influence me. "Nothing," Everett says, which surprises me. It's the perfect way to rat me out, and he doesn't.
"Because I texted you to tell you I found her?" Axel scoffs.
"Yeah," Everett huffs with a raised brow.
"What did you want Axel to tell me?" I ask Everett. I'm not giving up on this until I have my answer. We're all stuck on a jet, there's nowhere to hide, and I'll know if one of them is lying. It's their turn for a stare down, and it's very obvious that there's something I need to know.
The idea of their hidden secret was the motivation I had to leave earlier, and that hasn't changed. In fact, my motivation has dramatically increased. "I'm going to tell you both right now … if I don't find out what's going on before we land, I promise you I will be gone by the morning."