BEHIND THEIR MIEN

CHAPTER 17- NATALIE

"Luke! Don't you know it's not nice to eavesdrop and snoop on people?" Mr. Wild tried to do what I had no idea. We were caught red handedly.

" Oh. My mistake, I thought it was alright to stalk people, especially some strange man in his 30's to stalk merely a high school freshman girl." Luke said, clearly pissed but he should have known we'd come back to the diner to get information when he dropped off his brother. He didn't think it through because his focus was cut off to protect his younger siblings from us.

Luke narrowed his eyes at me as if he knew I was analyzing him and trying to see through his bullshit shield.

" I told you. Not getting anywhere near my kids.. they are merely children. No need to approach them and cause them any distress. I hope you are humane enough for that. If Natalie alone wishes to come then I might provide her some answer, only if she comes along with me. Not you Nathan. I'm not gonna tell you anything." He said and that caused both Mr. Wild and I get startled. Luke was ready to provide me with some answers only if I went with him alone. But leave Mr. Wild out of it.....

"That means even if i know ...i couldn't tell Mr. Wild.." I asked but Luke briefly nodded before I could even complete my sentence.

"I've heard enough to know you, Natalie is really smart. And maybe you can understand the gravity of the situation given your upbringing but ...I'm sorry Nathan, it's not that I am calling you stupid or spoiled but...I rather wish you to be away from it. You cannot be trusted. Right now it just feels like you are blindly following Natalie without any knowledge or thinking.. maybe you are used to people helping you to reach the top because of your name...you don't have it in you yet ... .the desperation to save and to know. I am sorry but I cannot trust you with any information yet. And I have to know that you will not provide him with any after I show you." He says with utmost seriousness and looks my way, leaving it up to me to decide where I stay. With Mr. Wild or with a person I just slapped because he was an asshole. But I need answers and my nephew desperately. But I just gained Mr. Wild's trust but to be honest he hasn't been of much help except the financial help and plane tickets. I can always play my part and betray Luke. It couldn't be that hard.

I gave Mr. Wild one look, hoping he could just use his brain this one time.. just this once and place his trust on me that I would say everything to him eventually. But when he realized that I was going with Luke, his face broke free of all the facade he was holding and showed the betrayal.

Please just once read my eyes or just see behind this mien I am putting up , my eyes cried out as I looked at him but followed Luke yo his car. Luke opened his car door for me to get in but Mr. Wild angrily shut it.

"I don't trust him with your safety" he said to me, trying to change my mind but unable to read it. I placed my hand in his. " I can protect myself. I don't need protection. I will be safe. TRUST ME. " I said and I hoped he got the trust me part because he dropped his hand and stepped back for me to get inside the car.

The first few minutes of the car ride was dead silent, hundreds of things going on in my mind. The way Luke acted till the evening, there is no way he was gonna tell me the truth, but why did he just choose me? And why not trust his own brother.

"You know Natalie, you are a very smart brave woman. You got that fire in you. You're single?" He asked with a smirk and it was at this moment I started questioning my sanity to go alone with him.

" Might I just remind you still have that very hard slap to happen across your other cheek still pending!" I snapped at him to which he chuckled. "Fierce, I like it but I still don't understand how you are Mary's sister. But you sure would make a nice Wild "

" You need to stop flirting, we are way ahead of that stage. You are words away from being murdered by me." I threatened him to which he only looked proud.

" Okay, was just trying to lighten up the mood given your non stop leg shaking and anxiety you my darling are miserably failing to conceal. So let's get to the point. You are really smart. That I have gotten information from and I heard you enough to know you are the brains here.. and my brother is muscle.. maybe you're the muscle too. But the point is we both know that you are going to tell Nathan everything I will tell you. You pathetic Trust me at the end gave it all away even if it was clear from the start you were going to betray me. My brother isn't smart in such thing if you noticed. More so reason to keep him away from this bullshit. He might be an excellent business man, no idea how but pretty sure the name wild plays the card. Him knowing will only get everyone killed. " He said and I couldn't help but notice the venomous tone at their surname when he talked about how Mr. Wild has everything he has due to his name.

" You know I am going to betray you and tell Mr. Wild everything yet you bring me along?" I ask him, unable to think why.

"Because you are not going to tell Nathan anything. What I am going to show you Natalie is way beyond a small baby's kidnapping. It's a fucking black hole. I know for a fact that driving you there you are all set to tell Nate everything but once you see ...things and what's actually happening and who is behind all these....you are not going to tell Nate a single thing and will lie to him. You will know the only way our nephew can be saved is by keeping things away from Nate. Now I'm not gonna tell you anything more, you won't be convinced unless you see and why waste time

So how exactly did you find Mary after all these years? Let's be raw here. I am taking you to the ultimate secret cave of secrets. Let's be honest and trust each other. That's the only way we can keep our families alive and safe" he said , suddenly turning playfully. I am beginning to think he either has personality disorder or he is a psychopath.

"How's that keeping our family safe?" I asked him to which he made a task sound from his tongue and disappointedly looked at me....definitely a psychopath.

" You'll see, but don't complain when you can't handle things once you are in the organization, you can't come out" he said but the moment he said organization, flashback started hitting me. Organizations secret hidden...no.. I can't be

"No! I am not going to be part of any organizations! Stop the car! STOP THE CAR LUKE!" I yell at the top of my lungs, trying to calm my panic. I can't afford to have a panic attack with an enemy at my side. Luke didn't stop the car, raising my panic

"Ok...you won't be. Calm down, I am not going to hurt you. I know I am not showing any reason for you to trust me but I assure you I am not in any disgusting organization or so you are thinking. I got a little sister for God's sake! Let's get out, we reached the base" he said as he finally stopped the car and looked at me differently, as if he figured me out or could see past me. He waited outside the car until I finally calmed down and got out of the car. For the first time I felt the need to have Mr. Wild by my side. He might not be the best at figuring things out but he provided me with something I never felt in my life before, something I never knew-safety.

The building we stopped in front of looked like a normal mansion. A really big normal mansion but all the windows from the garage were sealed and tinted. No one could see inside the house.

"Follow me and don't say a word" Luke said and I hesitantly followed him, not trusting him. For all I know he could kill me inside or do what. I chanted my mantra to stay calm. I could only protect myself if I stayed calm and alert. He opened the door with his finger print access and we stepped inside. It wasn't a normal house with a welcoming mat or tables with flower vases. The entrance was empty, The corridor split into two sides, people working on computers on either side, one side of the house was painted all white and other side all black, the big halls were built into cabins type offices, with 3 rooms separated with walls and glass walls. It looked like some underground hacking area. Right now there are 13 people working.

"Wild, new recruit?" One of the guys asked Luke when he noticed me but Luke shook his head, and the guy simply nodded back and went back to his work. Luke led me into a room with a table and computer system and asked me to sit on one of the 2 chairs. He closed the door and turned to me, contemplating where to start.

" Are you sure you are ready? Ready to digest the reality and truth. Because there is no going back once I start and I have plans that I never fail, that no one except one person can see coming..so are you in?" he asked with seriousness, making this darker, but I know myself better.

" I'm in"