“How are you?” Matteo asked as I stepped into his office the following day.
“Little like hell,” I muttered, looking over at Alessio. “Guess you visited there as well last night, huh, brother?”
He grunted and drank deeply before wiping his mouth. “I suppose you could say that.”
I nodded grimly. It seemed we were all struggling in one way or another. I still didn’t know what to do about Rosalie. All I knew was that I missed her, and the distance was killing me.
“I called you both here so we could talk,” Matteo said as I settled at the bar next to Alessio and looked at Matteo.
“Alessio already knows. This is for you, Klaus.”
I frowned and leaned forward. “What’s going on?”
Matteo sighed. “I—we—have been keeping a secret from you. Sylar was here and told me it was time to tell you. It’s why I called us together today.” He paused, his focus fixed on me. “I want you to know that I did not like keeping this secret. I don’t know what to say to it other than I am sorry. To me, it didn’t make sense to not tell you since you didn’t have any direct ties tothe situation outside of me, but here we are. I listened, and now it’s time to tell you.”
“OK,” I said slowly, wondering what the hell this could be about.
“I think it’s better if we show you,” Matteo said softly, gesturing for us to follow him. I got up with Alessio, and we both walked with Teo past countless men to a doorway that led to the lower levels of his estate.
I didn’t often venture down there unless someone was injured in a gunfight, so this was already interesting to me as we descended the stairs. When we reached the first level of the basement, we followed Matteo to the elevator and got in.
“Should I be prepared for something huge?” I asked as the elevator moved us lower.
“I suppose that depends on how this affects you,” Matteo said.
I looked at Alessio, who shook his head, looking lost and a little sad.
I didn’t let the rush of concern take over. Instead, I inhaled deeply and mentally prepared myself for what could possibly await me at this level.
The elevator dinged, and we stepped out. This part of the estate was finished with hardwood floors and rich colors that felt warm and not at all like a dungeon. It was a safe space, so to speak, and I knew it was completely stocked with food, water, its own energy source, and weapons. We could easily survive an apocalypse or war down there. It was where Matteo kept a lot of his medical equipment too.
We walked until we reached a heavy wooden door. Matteo turned to me and gave me a smile.
“Sylar told me to tell you. Someone is waiting for you in this room. I am sorry, and I do not know what it means, but I trust Sylar. I know you do too, or you’d have killed him long ago.”
I glanced from Alessio to Matteo, feeling completely confused.
“My son… Stefan. I have seen him. Spoken to him. Do you have Levin?” Had he, I assumed I’d have already heard about it.
“No.” Alessio muttered, shaking his head. “Teo is right. Neither of us knows what it means, only that you need to face it alone.”
“Feels like one of those dungeon crawlers we’d play in college,” I muttered, remembering the good old days when we weren’t killing people.
“I assure you what’s behind this door won’t be a threat,” Matteo said with a soft laugh.
“It better not be an animal. I told you guys that I don’t want to get a damn dog.”
“Just go in,” Alessio said as Matteo stepped aside. “We will wait upstairs, right, Teo?”
Matteo nodded. “We will.”
I frowned at their cryptic words, the anticipation rearing in my chest as they left me standing there alone.
“What the fuck is going on?” I muttered. I was already having issues in life. I sure as fuck hope they didn’t get me a goddamn dog that had to be locked away because it was a biter.
Sighing, I pushed open the door and stepped into a lavishly decorated apartment.
I continued through the entryway and stopped dead in my tracks when I saw Fox Evans sitting up in a bed, a notebook in his hand. He was the same, yet he wasn’t.
