Page 11 of Succumbed

I’m getting fucking sick of playing middleman.

“About the same time you sat your ass on the couch?”

Linc throws up a middle finger, not turning from the TV. Shaking my head, I go to the basement stairs and jog down. The space is surprisingly quiet as I emerge onto the unfinished landing, the bare concrete cold under my feet.

“Dec?”

“In here.”

I wander toward his voice, ducking the plastic sheeting hanging from the ceiling and skirting the tools strewn across the floor. We’d lived in the house in Los Altos Hills for three and a half years after moving to the Bay from Seattle. It was close to our facility, with just enough wrong with it to keep Dec mostly sane. Anything home improvement related was his preferred outlet for stress. Linc liked to yell at sports on TV, and I ran. And we’ve all been using those outlets overtime this week.

I find Declan standing by a makeshift table built with sawhorses and plywood. He has a pencil in hand and a notepad in front of him with a rough diagram of the next section of framing to build.

“You’ve made more progress in the last two weeks than the two months before,” I observe. He ignores me. “I wonder why.”

“You come down for a reason, Dr. Phil?”

I drop my shoulder and throw it into his. He stumbles to the side, then rounds on me. His temper has always been on a hair trigger, but it’s only gotten worse since Anne-Marie blew up his dream. Dec’s entire focus has always been on achieving something great–for himself, for the family we’ve created for the three of us. Any deviation from the path he’s set in his head sends him into a tailspin before he recovers.

“This,” I point to his scowling face, “is a shit look on you, you know.”

Dec’s eyes flare in annoyance before he blows out a harsh breath. “Stop baiting me.”

“Take the bait and I will.”

Declan had been in a foul mood since Anne-Marie pulled her bullshit, but it had been decidedly worse since we’d all gathered to watch Lex’s interview. His attitude and unwillingness to get on board put our chances with Athena in jeopardy. I know he feels guilty for not seeing Anne-Marie’s duplicity, but it’s misplaced. We all played a part in failing to recognize her selfish ambition. But if he fucks this up, it’s on him. And I’ll fucking tell him so.

Some of the fight leaves him. “Not today, Shane.”

“Then when?”

“Excuse me?”

“When are you going to deal with all that guilt you’re carrying?”

His eyes narrow. “I said not today.”

“And I asked when.”

“You pushing Linc like this, huh? Or am I the only lucky one?”

I ignore his sarcasm. “You’re the boss.”

He stills and his expression pinches.

“And yet,” I continue, “the kid is the one who got us a second chance, then stepped up in the room to make the most of it.”

“I’m aware,” Dec growls. “But Athena isn’t our only option.”

My eyebrows raise. “What else you got?”

He’s breathing heavily despite standing still, tension filling his limbs as he clutches the pencil so tightly I wonder if it’ll snap.

“We could go to another VC.”

He’s grasping at straws, his pride getting in the way of admitting we’re out of options. It’s a familiar conversation. “None of them have reason to believe us about Anne-Marie. She’s got quite the reputation now.”

“Fuck that bitch,” he scoffs. “We don’t need to tell anyone about that. We can just pitch our product.”

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