Claude

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

I make my way slowly to my room and take off the short dress that has stuck to my body. The heavy earrings come off and the makeup that had made me both beautiful and grotesque is wiped away in seconds. The red circle on my neck shows the beginning of a hickey and I sigh. I throw on a tracksuit and a hoodie and walk into the dining room.

Raph and Opium are sitting across from each other, a bottle of vodka between them. I sit beside Raph and he grins at me.

"What's up, trooper?"

"I hate you," I tease.

"You look like you need a drink," Opium speaks up and I nod.

He pours some into a shot glass and I go to pick it up before Claude enters the room.

"Don't drink that," he snaps at me before sitting down at the head of the table.

He is right of course. You really aren't supposed to drink on medication. I wonder if he knows that or if he is just being a dick like usual.

"Brief us," he demands with his hands clenched in front of him.

I have nothing to tell him of course so I sit in silence as they stare at me.

"Diana?" Raph asks in a sing-song voice after a few minutes of silence.

"You know that restaurant by the harbour? South-Side Bay or whatever it's called? There's a man there called Zeke Turner. You might want to get in contact with him," I say confidently.

I realise that this makes me an awful person. It's a guess, grasping onto the only piece of information I was given and if it's wrong then I've just ruined someone's life. I might have also sacrificed mine by feeding them false information but they seem satisfied.

"Good," Claude nods his head. "He didn't do anything to you, did he?"

I hesitate. "Nothing life threatening."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Raph asks, shuffling to look at me.

I shake my head. "It was fine."

He doesn't like that answer but he doesn't say anything else, he just takes another shot.

"If that's everything, then I'm heading to bed."

I leave the room and do my night routine. Tonight's movie is 10 things I hate about you. Even though the point of the movie is to take my mind off of everything, I can't stop thinking about Leith's hands touching me. It was what I was supposed to do, I had to do it. Why do I feel like this?

I switch off the movie and go to sleep.

***

The next morning at breakfast, it's only Claude sitting at the table. Raph wasn't there for our morning workout but I didn't think anything of it instead doing the workout myself.

"Where are the others?" I ask Claude stiffly. I don't like being alone with him but sometimes it can't be helped.

He ignores me, as I suspected he would so I roll my eyes and peel my banana.

"On a mission," he finally says gruffly.

"Are you wanting me to go on another mission anytime soon?" I ask cautiously and he puts down his phone and looks at me.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why?"

He's looking at me, really looking at me in a way that sends shivers down my spine.

"You may have Raph and Opium fooled but not me."

"What on earth are you talking about?"

I'm genuinely baffled.