Page 108 of Tear Me Down
Each day, it’s gotten easier. Serena checked out one of the hospital dopplers and kept it in the room so we could hear the baby’s heartbeat whenever she got too scared, which was often. A quick text to Mel, and she agreed to bring hers with her today, thank God, so we can take it home. Another will be delivered tomorrow, and I know she’ll feel better having one at home, and another in case we end up having to take one with us somewhere.
I need to get this over with so I can move on to the burden downstairs…Demonic piece of shit… I feel my anger grab ahold of me again just at the thought of finally getting my hands on him. The way his thick neck will feel in my grasp, the way his screams will bounce off the walls, and how I’ll paint the entire room with his blood. I can't wait to make him suffer, but for now, I need to save it. This kid hasn't done anything wrong, and walking in with murderous intent gleaming from my eyes probably isn’t the best way to introduce myself.
Carter sits at the desk in the viewing room, immediately turning on the mic and watching the kid through the one-way mirror. The all-white interrogation rooms were purposeful, intended to fuck with people’s minds after a few hours, and I feel bad that the kid has had to wait so long, but there was no way I was rushing our wedding. Everything was perfect, and all of the horror from the past few days faded away the moment she stepped into that courtyard. Was it everything she deserved? Absolutely not, but it was the happiest moment of my life, and neither of us would change it for the world.
Stepping into the interrogation room holds more emotions than I anticipated. Anger, caution, and hope collide as I stand across the table from this social sensation. I look at this kid, dark red hair, dark green eyes, freckles coverhis face, and he doesn't look a day over fifteen, even though he just turned eighteen two days ago. He looks terrified of me, which a part of me hates, but another part of me likes. The fact that he feels so close to our operation already, but still doesn’t know just who he’s dealing with, is a good sign.
I pick up his file at the end of the table and go over it.
“Adrien Vaughn. Eighteen years old—happy birthday by the way—top of your class, and just graduated. Your mom died four years ago from breast cancer, I'm very sorry to hear that. Your dad works two full-time jobs to support you and your siblings—one as a welder and one as a delivery driver. Your older brother is a police officer at the local PD? No wonder you know so much. My guess is he gives you intel?”
I finally take a moment to look up at him, and the moment our eyes meet again, he looks away. Clearly, I’m right, but the fear in his eyes feels like a vice on my heart. He’s still just a kid, and I actually can’t stand how I’m intimidating him. So, I continue, hoping he’ll eventually relax.
“You have a younger sister who’s still in middle school. You have a remote job for a bank in the evenings to help out. Is that how you paid for all of this DH merch floating around the city?” He stares back at me shakily, his hands and lip clearly trembling, and his forehead is actually misted over with sweat. His eyes don’t move from mine, and his skin is clearly flushed. I take a deep breath and set the file down as I sit down in the chair in front of me, trying to settle lightly to not seem like a threat. “You can talk, Adrien. You’re not in trouble.”
His eyes widen, and I can see his chest deflate with relief.
“I'm not?” he asks cautiously.
“No, you're just a kid, and you don’t mean any harm.” I shake my head casually and glance back at his file, surprisingly impressed by his transcripts. “It says you started a journalism club at the high school. Is that what you want to do? Be a reporter? Or do you just do this for fun?”
“I want to be a journalist. Reporters are swayed by politics and other media, and I don’t want that.” He shakes his head in quick movements, and I can’t help but grin.
“Smart kid. So why DH? You've witnessed how dangerous that is.”
“You guys dorealgood out there. It may not be pretty, but it’s necessary, and you keep civilians out of it. Plus, your…methods, are intriguing sometimes.”
“Intriguing? I'll take that as a compliment.”
“You should. A lot of the citizens in the city, hell the state even, admire what you do. They feel safe with DH around.” I nod my head at him, accepting the compliment. Carter’s sifted through the comments on his podcasts and he’s right—more and more people are backing us by the day, as if his merchandise wasn’t any indication of that.
However, that could also cause problems. Some of the comments have asked if he knew us, how to join up, wanting to know when and where we’ll strike next in hopes that they can catch a glimpse. That’s the part of it I don’t like, and the men and I have discussed how to stay vigilant with the wandering eyes.
“I’ll keep this short, Adrien. I don’t mind what you're doing as long as you’re careful with it. If someone thinks you know too much, they’ll come after you for it.” His face returns to its previous scared state, and his eyes widen so much I can see white around his entire iris. “All of it is just a big game, and there’s always someone bigger playing. You don’t want your family caught in the crossfire,” I choke out, clearly speaking from experience. He stays silent for a moment, and then I see his eyes glisten, the statement clearly hitting home. His face morphs into something more determined, and I can see his dedication through his curtain of fear.
“You probably don’t remember, but it was December, about six years ago, you saved a woman and a little girl from being abducted outside of the old toy store at the edge of town.”
“I remember that.” That isn’t a lie, I do recall that night. In detail. That was the night I really decided to take this further—to make this the way I help people. I called Kade right after I dropped them off at the ER entrance.
“You took them to the hospital to be checked out. That was my mom and sister,” he admits, and my heart falls in my chest, not realizing how connected we already are. “We found out that night my mom had cancer. You gave us months with her, when we wouldn’t have had any time left. My sister has a good life, a good mind, and still believes in knights in shining armor because of you. The people of this city, of this area, feel safe at night and I wanted them to know why they were. My family agrees and supports me, which is why my brother gives me the information, and my remote job pays for my equipment. The merch is mostly for fun, my little sister loves to use her Cricket.”
I smile at him and chuckle lightly, imagining a little girl doing arts and crafts, believing it to be for a better cause. There’s always some underlying reason for our actions, a tether tying us all together, and it’s moments like these that make the craziness worth it. We see so much death and decay on a daily basis that sometimes I forget we do a lot of good—save a lot of people. I’ve been so caught up in my anger and revenge that everything else has faded to the background. This is a nice reminder.
“You have a pretty big following now,” I point out, needing to really dig deeper into this kid’s mind. If we’re going to offer him a place at our side, then I need to make sure he can handle what comes with it, even if he won’t experience the worst parts of it. He just shrugs his shoulders and looks away, as if the attention sends flickers of anxiety through his bones. So, he really doesn’t like the attention? That’s a good thing.
“Almost the whole city, it seems, as well as across the state. Of course, some out of staters that caught wind. You know how the internet works.”
“I certainly do.” I nod and acknowledge his intentions, realizing that I’m already softening for this kid.Jesus Christ. “What college do you want to attend?”
“I'm going to wait a year and save up some money. My dad’s been working a lot of overtime to try and save up, but when his truck blew, he was so disappointed.” His brows furrow and his gaze drops to the table as he talks. Money is clearly an issue for him and his family. So much so that he almost seems ashamed by it. His dad does work a lot, and I can imagine with three kids, even though two are grown, that it’s hard to provide in an economy like this.
“What college?” I ask again, dropping my tone somewhat to show that my patience is wearing thin. He looks back up at me and takes in a small breath, knowing he’s not going to win this argument.
“VA Beach University,” he finally admits. “They have remote programs I can do from here and then travel in only a day for tests.”
“I would like to offer you something, Adrien. I want you to work for me.” His eyes widen again, and clear shock overtakes his features. “You do what you already do, cautiously. I can’t have what you post put my people in jeopardy.”
“I didn’t mean…”
