Shadow

Chapter 33

"What the fuck were you thinking?!" I boomed, pushing him backwards. 

He was lucky I hadn't punched his face yet. Although... the idea did sound appealing now. Maybe if I hit just right he would end up with a concussion...

"Aaliyah," Vivian warned, "You aren't exactly innocent here either."

I furrowed my brows at Vivian and looked back at Fraser, "Why did you do it?"

"I didn't orchestrate it!" His hands flew upwards, "The guys did, and then I had to cover up for them."

"But you..." He growled, "You lied to us."

"I didn't know what to do," I blurted, "I was going to tell you both soon."

"How could you not tell us about such an important decision!" He said lowly, "We wouldn't even have known if you weren't there with them."

"How long have you been part of this?" Vivian questioned, her eyes suspicious. 

"Not long," I quickly said, "They asked me to join recently, and I wasn't sure what to do."

"So you said no?" Fraser chipped in.

"No," I answered, "I told them that I needed some time. But seeing how you both are reacting, perhaps I should tell them no."

Fraser turned to Vivian, giving her a look that made me feel that I was missing something.

"Tell them yes," Fraser announced. 

"What?" Vivian and I spoke at the same time. 

"Say yes to them," He repeated. 

"Why?" I questioned, "You're seriously considering kicking me out?"

"No, Aaliyah," He sighed, "Think about it, it'll be like you're our insider in the whole situation. Sure, we'll have to be careful but..."

"You're saying that I should join the Riverwells so that I can tell you all their secrets?" 

"If you want to put it that way, sure," He shrugged. 

Fraser's calm voice made the whole situation seem a whole lot easier than it was. Sure, being an insider seemed like a tempting idea, it would give us extra leverage, but we were looking over the hard parts. 

The Riverwells weren't stupid, they were cunning, they were smart. If they even did as little as suspect the truth, I would be fucked. 

"If they find out, I'm dead," I pressed. 

Who was I kidding? 

I never gave a shit about my life, why would that suddenly change?

"We'll make sure they don't," Fraser promised, "You should have nothing to worry about."

"Unless..." He continued, "There's something else bothering you?"

I glanced towards Vivian briefly, and the disappointed look on her face made it clear that they knew exactly why I was acting the way I was. 

"You care for them."

"They're not like the others."

"How?" Fraser insisted, "How can you be so sure? Do I have to remind you of what they did?"

"They weren't the ones who did it!" I asserted, "They don't know what they're taking part in..."

Fraser pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, "Aaliyah, as the current head of the Shadows, I'm giving you two options: either do what I've told you to, or leave."