Shay Warner ran away from her adopted family as soon as she found out what they truly were: criminals. They lied, they killed, they betrayed her in a way that scarred her forever. It isn't until the police catch up to her that she's forced to go bac...
Val's section of the house took up a third of the entire downstairs.
As Shay glanced around, looking from the master bedroom to the master bath to the walk-in closet and private office, she couldn't stop her jaw from falling open.
"I wanted to start with being more open with you." Val began. "I kept too many secrets before and I don't want to do that again."
Shay was speechless. Had anyone else ever been invited in here or was she the only one?
"This is my private office. As you know, we have cameras in every room of the house besides the bedrooms. This is where I keep an eye on things." Val declared.
Shay stepped inside, admiring the oak desk that was as wide as the side wall with three monitors on it. The two on the sides slanted inward while the middle was flat against the wall, each of them about forty inches wide. The screens were all divided into individual panels showing different areas of the house, from the kitchen to the library, and various areas outside. A blur on the trail camera grabbed her attention and she saw Noah running with Summer not too far behind, and her eyes followed them on the screens as they jumped from one panel to another.
"What I really wanted to show you, though, is in these files." Val was standing in front of the file cabinet that stretched halfway across the opposite wall, each of the drawers labeled with a code that Shay couldn't decipher. "I want to show you what we do here."
Shay's hand subconciously went up to her arm, rubbing the spot of the tracker before she could stop herself. Val's eye caught the movement but she didn't acknowledge it, instead reaching into one of the drawers and pulling out a file. Laying it on the desk, she opened the manila envelope to reveal a picture of a man that looked to be about thirty, with black tattoos scattering his neck and face.
"This is Diego Guerra, known associate of Dominic Marconi and murderer of six people. We took him down just a couple of weeks ago." Val informed her.
"Who's Dominic Marconi?"
"He runs one of the most infamous gangs in the city of Cori."
Shay stared at his picture for a moment before flipping the page. Behind it sat a photo of a girl that looked to be fourteen, and behind that was a boy of six. "Who are they?"
"His victims."
Shay's mind was whirling with this new information. By all definitions, and if this information was accurate, Diego Guerra was a bad guy. Since they took him down, wouldn't that make Val the good guy?
"Who paid you to kill him? And why didn't the cops get him?" Shay asked.
"Sometimes, the justice system isn't enough. Either the punishment doesn't fit the crime, there isn't enough evidence, or some other form of corruption makes it so guys like him roam free." Val took a deep breath and continued. "We were paid by a rival gang to take him down."
"So you don't do it out of the kindness of your heart." Shay muttered.
"No. We do get to pick and choose which cases we take on, though, and only the people that are deserving of punishment receive it."
"Even if it's bad guys that are paying you?"
"Yes."
Shay stared at the photos of his victims once more, torn. Their faces looked so innocent and pure, their souls too young to have been taken away so early. Maybe Val had good intentions, or maybe she just wanted money. Shay didn't know yet. She wouldn't, not until she saw one of these cases play out herself.
"Thank you for showing me." Shay replied, her tone just as monotone as Val's.
"You're welcome. I just want you to know that I see you as an equal, and I apologize for keeping you in the dark for so long." Val closed the file and put it back in the cabinet before turning back to her. "Don't hesitate to tell me if you need anything, ok?"
"Will do. Thank you."
Shay walked back to the door so thick that no bullets could penetrate it. Val followed her to the entrance and stopped. "I have some work to do but I'll see you for dinner, right?"
"Yep."
Then Val closed the door and Shay walked away, headed back to the library.
On her way up the stairs, she passed Noah. Dressed in jeans and a leather jacket, his hair styled so the middle was up instead of hanging in his face, he was sprinting down without a glance her way. She stopped and watched as he walked out the front door, confusion and irritation clouding her head. Since she came back, he always seemed to be mad at her.
Heaving a sigh, she went back to the library and read for most of the afternoon.
***
Noah didn't come back until after dinner. Hours after, actually. Shay was in her room when he came bounding upstairs before slamming his bedroom door behind him. Perturbed, Shay stayed on her bed until ten, when her eyelids started to grow heavy. She stood at her sink and splashed warm water on her face before washing it with a coconut oil based cleanser. Then she rinsed, splashed cold water on her face to close her pores, and started brushing her teeth.
The way Noah's and her bathroom worked out was strange. It was situated between both of their rooms with no door leading to the hallway, so it was private in the sense that only they could access it. On the far wall was the double sink, with a counter that stretched the entire length of the seven foot wall. The toilet and shower were in a separate room behind that, with one door that led inside to separate it from the sinks.
Shay had been used to living on her own for so long that when Noah's door opened, she yelped in surprise. With her toothbrush still in her mouth, she looked wide-eyed at the shirtless man who walked into the door behind her to use the toilet. She had just spit and rinsed her mouth when he came back out to wash his hands.
"We missed you at dinner." She tried, coyly looking at him from the the mirror that stretched the entire length of the wall.
"I was busy." Noah wasn't looking at her, keeping his head down as he lathered soap between his fingers.
Despite herself, Shay's eyes wandered past his abs and other muscles she didn't know the names of until she ended at his neck. There were red and purple splotches scattered right at the base, and one near his collar bone.
"I can see that." Shay commented.
Noah's eyes slowly came up to meet hers, the smirk on his face also growing. Drying off his hands on the towel hanging on the rack beside him, he raised his eyebrows suggestively. "Who's the jealous one now?"
Not her. Before she could find the words to say it out loud, Noah turned his muscular back to her before stepping back into his room, the door closing behind him.
Prick.
WIth a huff, Shay turned the light off and went back into her own room, slamming the door behind her before jumping into bed.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
