Game over.
Chapter 22
?
IRIS
The room is cold and empty. White walls close in around us, sterile and blinding under the overhead lights, and a sheet of reinforced glass stretches across the space in front of us, separating us from whatever lies beyond it. Its only furnishing is a metal table and two chairs where Tessa and I sit, while a huge mirror covers one whole wall to hide the eyes I know are watching us.
They have the kind of technology that takes away all our privacy, and as I sit here with Tessa beside me, I can feel their stares pressing against my skin.
Tessa sits with her arms crossed tight against her chest as she glares at her reflection in the glass like she wants to break it just by looking at it.
"This is so stupid," she mutters while shaking her head. "I don't even know anything. Why am I here?"
"Because you were with me," I answer softly. I feel sick to my stomach because I know she is only in this mess because of my choices.
"Great," she sighs and rolls her eyes. "Guilt by association. I love that for me." I almost smile, but then the heavy metal door opens.
Two men walk inside and change the feeling in the room right away. The first is Roman, one of the redheaded twins, who leans against the wall looking bored but dangerous as he watches us with eyes I cannot read.
The second man is an older man with a fighters build and close-cropped brown-grey hair. His face is square and weathered, the kind carved by years of taking hits and giving them back, a small scar by his lip. He does not sit down. He just looks me square in the eyes. "I am Andrei," he says, gruffly. "That is all you need to know."
He pulls a notepad from his pocket and looks at me with cold eyes. "How old are you?" I scoff and lean back in my chair. "You kidnapped me and didn't even know how old I was? You just picked a random person off the street, didn't you?"
That shuts him up for a second. His jaw tightens, but he keeps going. "Where is your mother? Who is your family? Where do you live?" I lock my jaw and stare at the wall refusing to give him a single answer. He sighs and turns his attention to Tessa. "What about you? Where does your family live? Give me an address."
"Nope," Tessa says, popping the p like she does not care at all. "That is not happening." Andrei steps closer to the table. "You are in a lot of trouble, girl. You need to talk."
"And I keep telling you, I literally don't know anything," Tessa says while looking him right in the eye. "I am an NGO worker. I help people for a living. I was just helping my friend, and that is it. I don't know anything about your mafia business or whatever shady crap you have going on."
Roman pushes off the wall then. He stares at her with a look of surprise. "You expect us to believe that?"
Tessa turns her glare on him. "I don't care what you believe. It's the truth."
Roman stares at her for a long moment and looks like he is actually impressed by her attitude before he looks away. Andreitries again. "Where did you meet Ilay? What do you know about the case? What were you doing in Montana?"
We stay completely silent like stone statues.
Eventually, Andrei sighs and snaps his notebook shut. "This is going nowhere."
Roman nods toward the door. "Let's go. Give them some time to sit in the quiet and think about their future."
They walk out, and the heavy lock clicks shut behind them to leave us alone in the silence.
Time feels like it is moving in slow motion as we wait. It stretches ten minutes into an hour while they play mind games with us. I stand up and start pacing around the small room to burn off the nervous energy in my body, while Tessa drums her fingers on the table. The sound echoes like a clock ticking down.
"This is so messed up," Tessa mutters while staring at the table.
"I know," I say as I stop to look at her. "I am so sorry I dragged you into this."
"You didn't drag me into anything," she says firmly and looks up at me. "I chose to come with you. And I would do it again."
"But look where we are," I say and gesture to the cold room. "You could get hurt because of me."
"We will get through this," she says and reaches out to squeeze my hand. "We are tough, remember?"
I smile at her, grateful that she is so brave. "Yeah. We are."
