Page 36 of Vicious Deception
As far as I’m concerned, this is definitely not a trap. We’ve been sitting here for long enough, and Axel hasn’t made a move to take out Finn, nor has another team shown up.
Elliot was right—just as I knew he would be.
“When’s Ludo’s next meeting with King and Burbank?” Finn asks.
Axel glances at his phone. “In a few days. Three, exactly.”
“Is there any way you could convince him to move the meeting up?” Elliot asks.
“No,” Axel replies, a frown sliding over his features. “I’ve never done that before, and he’s too on edge because of the Grille. It would probably make him suspicious.”
The Grille.That’s right—Elliot told me they burned it down, and I saw it in the news today.
“You think waiting three days will be a problem?” Finn asks Elliot. “What’s going on?”
Elliot’s gaze falls to the floor, and his arm tightens around my waist. “Oliver . . . he . . .”
My stomach tightens with dread at the pain in his voice. “What happened?”
When Elliot looks at me, my heart stops. His eyes are brimming with tears, and his features hold more guilt and worry than I’ve ever seen on him. “It was my fault,” he whispers.
“W-what was your fault?”
“We weren’t supposed to see each other.” As Elliot scrunches his eyes shut, tears fall onto his cheeks. “Our rooms are right next to each other, and I was able to sneak over. But I got caught, and . . . Ludo punished him instead of me.” Elliot drops his head as he stifles a sob.
Silence fills the room, and Axel shifts uncomfortably. He’s watching Elliot with a guilty expression on his face.
“Ell,” I whisper. “Is he . . .”
But I can’t go on. I’m too worried that if I ask, I’ll be speaking it into existence—speaking Oliveroutof existence.
“Is he alive?” Finn asks for me. He’s gone pale, and his whole body is stiff.
He’s bracing himself,I realize.
“Yes,” Elliot says. “Yes, I’m sorry, I should’ve led with that. He’s alive, and he’s okay, but I can’t watch him go through that again. He was in so much pain.”
At the same time my body sags with relief, my chest aches for Oliver. This is what I was afraid of. Wehaveto get them out of there.
“Elliot,” I murmur as I wrap him up in my arms.
His head hits my chest, and this time, he doesn’t hold back his sob. My own tears well up in my eyes as I imagine what Oliver and Elliot had to go through.
When will all the suffering end?
“I’m sorry,” Axel says quietly. “I can do my best to keep Ludo busy for the next couple days. Thankfully, he has a mess to deal with since we burned down the Grille. He’ll have less free time than usual.”
“Thank you,” I reply when Elliot tries to speak but can’t.
He’s able to calm himself down within a minute or two. I wish I could tell him to let go and cry for as long as he needs, but we have to keep this meeting as short as possible. All I can do is hold him and let him cling to me.
“We can use this meeting to our advantage,” Finn says. He seems to be a little bit more willing to admit that this doesn’t seem to be a trap. “Axel, how much authority do you have over Holloway’s men?”
“Plenty,” Axel replies. “They take almost all their orders from me.”
“And how much do his men respect you?”
“Enough. They’ll obey me, and I think that’s what matters here.”