Uncontrollable

➳ chapter fifteen

The building between Market Street and Highgrove Way was a tall six-story structure close to the bustle of the city. Its red bricks had long since fallen victim to decay with chips in the stone and graffiti drawn across the outside, and several windows were cracked as you looked further up. It was a respectable building, but it didn't compare to the headquarters of Davis & Co. Still, it was the spot where the Soldiers' original operation had gone wrong, and it was where it all began.

Astrid had begun to fall in the same hole as Aaron, the same pit in which she became irritated by her inactivity, and as long as she was doing something, her idleness didn't bother her. It hurt knowing that while each day passed, they became further and further away from rescuing Nik. Even though the information they collected was meant to help, it was starting to feel more and more like a lost cause, and Aaron thought the same.

It was why she'd texted him that morning and told him to meet her here. According to Vincent, he'd been in a worse mood than usual, and if dragging him out of his apartment brightened his spirits, then she was willing to test the theory. Besides, she needed his help. Not Vincent's. Aaron was the one who had been listening to Nik when the cops had captured him.

When the Attacker finally arrived, it was with a milkshake in hand and a bored expression on his face. "Hey, As—trid," he greeted her.

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Did you just try to give me a nickname?"

"Yeah," Aaron said, chuckling. "Then I realized that the shortened version of your name is 'ass'."

She couldn't help it. She joined in laughing. It was such a simple thing to laugh at, but when there were so few reasons to nowadays, even the small stuff meant more than she imagined. "Mmhmm."

Aaron came to stand by her shoulder and stared up at the length of the building, his milkshake clutched in his right hand. "Why have you called me here?"

"Why did you get yourself a milkshake—and not get me one?"

Aaron frowned down at his drink. "I wanted one. Sorry."

He held it out to her, and Astrid took a small sip. She could hardly bring herself to care about potential germs he had. When you spent so long living with people who weren't your biological family, it mattered less.

The creamy liquid melted on her tongue, and even though she had the sudden urge to keep the shake to herself, she passed it back over, and Aaron slurped loudly.

"I called you because I need you to fill in the gaps of the story," she explained. "I'm tired of doing nothing, and I know you are too. So we're going to start from the beginning, and you're going to tell me everything that happened that day, and we're going to see if we've missed anything."

Aaron paused his slurping to cast a doubtful look at her. "Really? I don't see the point. Nik is behind bars, and that's all that matters."

"Fine." Astrid placed her hands on her hips. "Then we go back to our places and wait until Theo gives us the opportunity to do something. Is that what you'd prefer?"

He frowned, his lips around his straw. "No," he said, his voice muffled by the plastic.

"Okay, then let's start from the beginning. Tell me everything."

"Well ..." He glanced back up at the building. "I was on the top floor. There was meant to be a Soldier on every floor, and I'm fairly positive there was. Vincent was on the second to bottom one. We were meant to be collecting all of the drugs that they were basically robbing us of, and then, I heard the cops."

Astrid had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. She had wished that Teresa added more detail when she retold the past, but Aaron was another case. He got straight to the point when there was nothing in the middle. "Did Nik get into the cameras beforehand?"