Corrupt Desires

by Jennifer Bene

  “I think Regan would like to live anywhere as long as she’s with you. She’s not materialistic, Easton, but if you want to grab one of these houses it would sure as hell be nicer than what we grew up in… or whatever bunker you’ve been living in.” Phee grinned at him, keeping her voice quiet in case Regan headed back towards the kitchen.

  “That’s the fucking truth.” He chuckled, and she wondered what was going through that shaved head of his. The scar that ran across his scalp, curving down behind his ear, used to be something that made her nervous — but now it was just a part of him. Just like his dark five o’clock shadow, and the deep brown of his eyes. She could see something in the way he lost focus on the items he was taking out of the bags, he was thinking, and she would have bet money that it was about Regan. Like she could feel his thoughts, Regan reappeared in the kitchen and Easton’s face lit up. “Hey Ray, want to help me put this stuff away?”

  “Sure thing, Danny,” Regan whispered in his ear, and Phee tried to stifle the grin.

  “Don’t think I’ve forgotten your punishment, babe, you want to add to it?” He arched an eyebrow at her, his voice all serious and stern, but the light in his eyes was pure affection.

  “No, sir, not at all.” Regan pretended to be appropriately chastised, but there wasn’t a person in the room falling for that — she did what she wanted, when she wanted, and they often had giggling conversations about the consequences of their behavior. Usually when they were both drinking wine, and a little more than tipsy, and happy to start discussing the unique situation both of their relationships had developed into. Dominance had always been something both of them liked, submitting in the bedroom was fun, but there was something about Bryant and Easton that made it different. Better.

  A few hours later, they had a dinner of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, most of a bag of potato chips, and two bottles of wine. Throughout the meal they reviewed the data that Easton’s team had gathered and it was disappointingly convincing.

  There was no question that the COF supporters had decided Phee was their best leverage for stopping the NDF’s plans in the southern districts, using Bryant as the lynch pin to the whole thing. It felt insane, but even Bryant was convinced long before the conversation ended. Phee was the only holdout towards the end, not wanting to believe that anyone would use her as some kind of bargaining chip just to stop a little bit of construction.

  Bryant had her leaned against his chest as he toyed with a strand of her hair, tugging it a little to get her attention. “Baby, it’s not like I’ve kept it a secret how much you mean to me. All of those news stories about us right after the coup certainly drew plenty of attention.”

  “Those were seriously romantic,” Regan added, more than a little tipsy, and Phee rolled her eyes.

  “But it’s not like Bryant could stop that on his own, he’s just Parks’ advisor,” she argued, but Easton scoffed.

  “You don’t even believe that bullshit, Phee. Everyone, both inside and outside the NDF, knows how much Parks listens to Bryant’s advice.”

  Swallowing the last of the wine in her glass, Phee leaned back on Bryant’s chest. Wishing that all of this were just some bad dream. Twirling the engagement ring on her finger, she felt like they were being cheated. Of all the times in her life, now was supposed to feel like a fairytale. She should be planning her wedding, looking at wedding dresses with Regan, and taste-testing every bakery in Lakehurst. Instead, she was in an old, abandoned house in the hazy northern reaches of the fog, being told that everything they’d worked for had just painted a target on her back. “This is bullshit,” she groaned.

  “It is, but we’ll catch these fuckers and make them pay. I promise, Phee.” Easton looked up at her for a moment, sincerity burning in his eyes before he looked down at Regan’s head in his lap.

  “They’ll take care of it, baby, and then life will get back to normal,” Bryant promised, kissing the side of her head, but his reassurances didn’t really help.

  What was normal for them anymore?

  “What do you want me to do?” she asked, glancing at Easton before shifting to meet Bryant’s turquoise eyes.

  “Just stay safe,” Bryant answered, cupping her cheek to kiss her gently. “That’s all you need to do.”

  The whole mess was exhausting to discuss, and even though there were bedrooms with dust-covered beds, they all settled down in the living room where Easton rolled out a few sleeping bags. They talked for a while longer, trying to lighten the mood, but the wine and the long events of the day had Phee falling asleep wrapped up in Bryant once again, and even if the environment sucked… it was exactly where she wanted to be.

  17

  She slept hard, and it was only the persistent hiss of whispers that slowly dragged her out of sleep. “What do you mean that this is the best solution?”

  “It is! I need to go in, Easton, and while I’m there I can get some information about these reports you have and we’ll be that much better prepared.” Bryant was whispering harshly with Easton in the kitchen, and Phee did her best to stay still and breathe deeply and evenly as if she were still sleeping.

  “Why do you need to go in, Holbrook? You keep saying you need to go in, but Parks already said that you and Phee’s safety is the priority.”

  “Exactly, and you want to catch these guys, right? Well, how weird is it going to be if I stop showing up at work, during a major time for Parks? And then if people investigate further they’ll realize they can’t find Phee either. Yeah, that’s genius.” Bryant sighed. “I need to go in to keep them thinking everything is okay.”

  “Everything is most definitely not okay,” Easton growled under his breath, mumbling what Phee imagined was a string of obscenities that only a guy like him could produce. “You’re really going to just leave her here?”

  “It’s not like I’m leaving her alone, she has her best friend, and you promised to protect her. You did promise to protect her, remember?”

  “God dammit, Holbrook. Of course I’ll protect her, but that’s your job too.”

  “And I am doing my part to protect her, I’m keeping the attention on me and away from her. They won’t even be able to find her, so she’ll be safe.” Bryant sounded a little closer and she made sure her eyes were closed in case he was coming to check on her. “When she wakes up, tell her I’ll be back tomorrow to see her.”

  “This is shitty even for you, Holbrook. Do you have any idea how pissed she’s going to be when she wakes up?”

  “I don’t want to attract any more attention than I’m going to have on me already after the press conference. I missed work yesterday, and you know that not showing up at all today would just be more fuel for the fire.” Bryant sighed and anxiety twisted Phee’s stomach. She knew that he wasn’t angry with her, but for the millionth time she felt so fucking useless. He was off to be a warrior for the NDF while she hid on the floor of a house waiting to be rescued. “I called Parks for a car, and he’s sending his driver. He should be here any minute, and I’m meeting him two blocks over just in case so I need to go.”

  “She’s going to punch me for letting you leave like this.” Easton’s voice was full of defeat and Bryant just chuckled.

  “Yeah, she probably is, but you’re a tough guy. She doesn’t hit that hard.” Their voices moved to the front door, and then she heard it open and close. Easton was mumbling as he came back into the living room, and Phee sat up against the couch.

  “I’m not going to punch you, Easton. Don’t worry.” She gave him a little smile when he jumped, but he just sighed and nodded his head towards the kitchen so they wouldn’t disturb Regan.

  “He’s only going in—”

  “I heard him, and he’s right. Him not showing up another day in a row would just be fuel for the fire. They’d eat it up and say all kinds of terrible things with him not there to defend himself. And if Parks speaks on his behalf it only makes him look weak.” Phee hopped up onto the counter and dropped her head into her hands
. “I really hate politics.”

  “I do too. I definitely don’t envy the issues you two deal with.” Easton leaned against the fridge and she sighed.

  “You said last night that they were going to try and take me in the next two days, right?” She sat upright and he nodded at her. “Where? Where was it supposed to happen?”

  “I’m not sure, that’s partly why I wanted you out of the way here. Easier to control the situation when they can’t follow your routine, and if they already know it…” He shrugged.

  “I don’t even think I have a routine.”

  “Of course you do.” Easton laughed quietly. “You may not be aware of it, but you absolutely do. Today is Thursday, tell me what you would have done today.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Yes, you do. Now, think about it. You woke up, Holbrook had already left for work — what would you be doing?” Easton crossed his arms and waited, and she thought about it.

  “I would have got up, got dressed, and then I’d probably go to the NDF gym? There’s a cycling class I like, they broadcast video of—”

  “Right, whatever, I really don’t care about your girly workout class. What would you do after the gym?” He grinned at her irritation.

  “Grab breakfast.”

  “Where?”

  “Kronborg Deli, I guess. It’s around the corner and they have coffee and breakfast stuff.” Suddenly Phee realized that she almost always did that. Any morning she went to the gym she went to the deli right after. Then, if she was out of books to read, she’d stop at the bookshop that was on the walk back to the apartment, and she did that so often that the owner of the shop never even commented about her to-go coffee she brought with her despite the clearly posted sign about ‘no food or beverages’. “Fuck,” she mumbled under her breath.

  “No routine, huh?” Easton raised an eyebrow and she growled to herself. “It’s okay, most people don’t notice that they do the same things over and over, but it’s exactly what makes it easy to target people.”

  “I can’t believe I’m that predictable.” A subtle nausea crept through her as she realized how quickly someone could have grabbed her if Easton hadn’t come for them. She forced a small smile and met his eyes. “Thank you, Easton. I know we were both smart asses to you yesterday, but I am grateful you were looking out for us.”

  “Eh, it’s my job.” He brushed off the compliment and then turned to pop some bread into the toaster. “Listen, I’ll make some calls, send my guys out to the places you can think of and see if they can locate any of the COF supporters. Just grab a pen and start writing down your routine while I make some breakfast, it’s the only way I can wake up Ray without risking a kick to the balls.”

  Phee grinned. “I usually just called her several times while I was walking to her apartment, it got her up while I was at a safe distance.”

  “Yeah, that shit doesn’t work when she’s sleeping next to you, just an FYI.” Easton chuckled, and Phee laughed too, hopping down to find paper and a pen to make the list.

  As he started scrambling eggs, Phee looked over the list of places she tended to visit. Some of them she couldn’t remember the name of, like the smoothie place with the green and blue logo off Barrel Street, but it was a decent list. “So, how are you going to prove anything? I mean, none of these places are off-limits to anyone. Any of the COF supporters could just say they were shopping or grabbing something to eat, how can you—” The look on Easton’s face was answer enough, he couldn’t prove anything. “You’re just trying to scare them off, aren’t you? A show of force to let them know I’m not an easy target?”

  “It’s the best solution.” He turned back to the stove and Phee groaned.

  “That’s not enough! We have to get them, we have to take them down before they go after someone else.” She’d raised her voice and he waved a hand at her, glancing into the living room to make sure Regan was still sleeping in the early morning hours. Phee continued more quietly, “I’m not just going to shove this problem into someone else’s lap and hope that they don’t get hurt. That’s bullshit.”

  “What do you want me to do, Phee? If I had my way, I’d track a few of these fuckers down and kill them. Leave their bodies out in the open as a lesson to the rest, but your fiancé keeps telling me that I’m not allowed to do that. So…” Easton shrugged, sneering as he shoved the spatula through the eggs. “This is the only option. We’ll scare them off without putting a fucking bullet through one of their limbs, like the wholesome NDF employees we are.”

  Rolling her eyes, Phee crossed her arms and leaned against the counter. “Then all of this is pointless. If they were scared of you guys, we wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place.”

  “Oh, they’re scared of us. They run and hide in their little holes whenever one of my guys gets near but being scared doesn’t stop them from planning shit.” Grabbing the pepper, he shook it way more violently than necessary. “Eventually one of them will fuck up though, and we’ll catch him in the act and he’ll be squealing about the others before we ever put his ass in the interrogation room.” There was a gleeful edge to Easton’s voice, a bloodthirst, but it was what he’d said that caught her attention.

  “Wait… if you caught them in the act, caught them trying to take me, you’d have them then, right?”

  Easton groaned and shook his head. “No, Phee, that is not what I’m saying. I mean, it is, but you are keeping your ass in this house. We’ll spook them, get them off your tail, and then wait for them to fuck up later.”

  “You mean when they try to go after someone else? Like Carol Evans? Or her daughter?”

  “If there were a threat against them, I’d have them in this house instead of you, Phee. Just drop it.”

  “No! Be honest with me. If they tried to take me, and you guys caught them, that would be enough, wouldn’t it?”

  “Dammit, Phee.” He shoved the pan of scrambled eggs off the burner and flipped off the heat, taking a deep breath. “If, and I mean if, we were able to catch them in the act — yes. That would be enough proof for anyone involved. We’d have surveillance, we’d have security cameras, we might even have some eyewitnesses that would testify. That could get them arrested and prove the COF-rebirth people are a threat, but it doesn’t matter because we’re not fucking doing it.”

  “But you and your men know how to do stuff like this! I mean, you used to be in the security forces back when the COF was in power, and—”

  “And the COF would’ve let you get taken, even killed, if it meant they could take out even one of their opponents.” He shook his head, running his hand over the stubble that marked his need to shave. “Shit. There’s a reason they discharged me, Phee, and it was because I refused to sacrifice innocent people just to complete the mission.”

  “Because you’re a good guy,” she replied, smiling, and he huffed.

  “Sure.”

  “And you’re a good soldier, a good leader. I’ve seen how the other guys look at you, Easton. Hell, even Parks listens to your strategies.”

  Shrugging a shoulder, Easton turned to grab some plates, scraping the eggs onto them. “It’s just years of experience, Phee, and keeping a really good team of guys around me. That’s why they listen, because I’ve made enough mistakes to know how to avoid them.”

  “Which means you’d know how to do a mission like this one. The right way, so that nothing would go wrong.”

  “Well, yeah, but knowledge and expertise are different than actually doing it, Phee. I’m not going to put you at risk like that.”

  “There won’t be a risk! Just use me as bait.” She lifted the list of her usual haunts from the counter. “I’ll follow my routine, you’ll have your guys backing me up and we’ll let them try and take me. As soon as they try it, bam! You’ll have them.”

  “No fucking way, that’s too risky. If they took you before we could move in, or they hurt you when they realized they were caught — fuck no. Holbrook would kill me, Phee. Ac
tually kill me.”

  “He won’t kill you because he won’t know about it. I’m not going to tell him, and you definitely won’t tell him.” Phee growled in frustration, refusing to back down.

  “I won’t tell him either, to be fair.” Regan yawned as she stepped into the kitchen, her blonde hair a beautifully diffused halo around her head. For a minute Phee wanted to shove her friend for even making bed-head look good. “Did you make coffee too, Danny?”

  “You’re both fucking crazy.” Easton threw his hands up and grabbed the carafe of coffee to pour a cup for Regan. Phee smiled to herself as she watched him make her a cup with the habit of memory, and then hand it across the kitchen to her.

  “I’m not crazy, it’s smart. You’ll have your well-trained, experienced guys to protect me, and like you said, this is the only way we’re going to take them down.” Phee moved over to the coffee when she realized Easton’s gentility only extended to Regan and made her own cup. “Come on, this is the best plan and you know it.”

  “You don’t even understand how dangerous this is, Phee.” Grumbling, he turned to face her as she added cream and stirred.

  “It won’t be dangerous because you are going to use all your years of experience, and your team of well-trained, awesome guys, and we’ll catch them.” Taking a sip of the coffee, she bit back the urge to smile as Easton’s glare seemed to waver.

  “I can’t believe I’m even considering this.” Easton pressed his fingers against his eyes and Regan walked over to rub his back.

  “Phee is tougher than she looks, Danny. Remember, she saved all of your asses the night of the uprising.” Regan grinned at him.