Page 31 of All The Darkest Truths (Second Sons Duet #2)

“I appreciate the concern, but I don't need three bodyguards monitoring my every move.”

“Four,” comes a rough voice from the hallway.

We all turn to see Alex leaning against the wall. He looks almost human without his usual sharp alertness, softer somehow. Vulnerable in a way I've never seen him.

“I thought you were asleep,” Vesper says, surprise evident in her voice.

“I was until I heard voices.”

“Sorry,” Talon offers, not sounding particularly apologetic. “We were just discussing our...arrangement.”

“So I gathered.” He pushes off from the wall and makes his way toward the kitchen, his movements still slow with lingering fatigue. “Coffee. I need coffee before whatever this is.”

I watch him carefully, searching for any sign of what transpired between him and Vesper. There's something different about him. Something I can't quite place that sets my teeth on edge.

"How long was I out?" he asks, measuring coffee grounds with meticulous precision.

"About six hours," Vesper answers. "Not nearly enough, but it's a start."

Alex grunts in acknowledgment, his focus on the brewing coffee.

The domesticity of the scene feels jarringly out of place.

Alex in his rumpled clothes making coffee while Vesper watches him with something that looks like fondness.

The coffee machine hisses and sputters, filling the awkward silence that's fallen between us.

I can feel Oscar's stare on me, a silent warning to keep my emotions in check.

He's right. This isn't the time for jealousy or territorial bullshit.

Not when we're all off balance waiting for the pickup instructions that will lead us to Luca.

He stalks back to the living room, coffee in hand, and plops on the couch on the other side of Vesper, who shifts away from my brother, settling between them both.

“Let’s get this over with.” Alex stares at me over the rim of his coffee mug as he takes another sip. “The sooner we get through this territorial alpha male showdown you're all dancing around, the better.”

His directness catches me off guard. The Alex I know avoids emotional confrontations like they're contagious diseases. “There's nothing to address,” I lie, crossing my arms. “We're good.”

Vesper snorts. “Sure you are. That's why I could feel the tension from down the hallway.”

Alex sets his mug down, his expression surprisingly open.

“Look, I get it. I'm the outlier here. You three have your.

..arrangement with Vesper. I'm not trying to disrupt that. It’s simple.

I care about Vesper. You three care about Vesper.

We all want to find her brother. Everything else is secondary. "

“Everything else, meaning what exactly?” I press, needing him to spell it out.

“Meaning whatever happens between any of us and Vesper is her choice,” Alex calmly offers. "Not yours, Z. Not Oscar's. Not Talon's. And not mine either.”

“Well,” Talon chuckles, clapping his hands together. “That was refreshingly direct.”

Vesper leans forward. “Each of you gives me something different, something I need,” she continues, her fingers squeezing mine gently.

“With Oz, it's understanding. With Talon, it's laughter.

With Alex, it's...space to breathe. And with you, Z, it's safety. Protection. I need all of that. All of you.”

I swallow hard, fighting against the possessive instinct that's been my default for so long. “And that's enough for you? This...arrangement?”

She shakes her head. “It's about what makes me happy. And right now, having all of you in my life, in different ways, is what I want. The only thing I want, besides finding Luca.”

Something shifts inside me as I look at her—this fierce, beautiful woman who's somehow become the center of our fractured world. She's not asking for my permission or my blessing.

“Okay,” I say finally, the word feeling insufficient, but it's all I can manage. “Okay.”

Vesper's smile is like watching the sun erupt through clouds after a storm.

Oscar shifts beside her. I see the same understanding on his face that I've always counted on—my twin, my other half, knowing exactly what this costs me without a word being spoken.

“So, now that we've established this very modern arrangement, can we get back on track and focus on finding Luca?”

Alex drains the rest of his coffee and sets the mug down with a decisive click. “Sounds good to me. Let me grab my laptop.” Alex pushes himself off the couch and heads toward his room, his movements still showing traces of the exhaustion he's fighting.

I watch him go. This new understanding we've reached feels fragile, like a freshly formed truce that could shatter with one wrong move. She settles into Oz's side, her head resting against his shoulder as we wait.

Talon gives me a small nod of approval. Maybe he's right. Maybe this arrangement isn't as impossible as it seems.

The floorboards creak as Alex returns, but the moment I see his face, everything else fades. He’s clutching his laptop like a lifeline, fingers locked so tightly around the metal it looks as if he might crush it.

“They sent them,” he says. “The pickup instructions. They just came through.”

Vesper bolts upright, suddenly rigid with tension. “When? Where?”

“Tomorrow. 8 PM. Martha’s Vineyard. They've sent coordinates for a dock on the north side of the island.”

"That's not good," Oscar mutters, already on his feet. "The island is only accessible by boat or plane.”

“It’s not, but that’s not the biggest issue we have right now.”

Vesper stands, her body vibrating with a barely contained energy that mirrors my own. "Show me," she demands, moving to Alex's side to peer at his screen. Alex turns the laptop toward her, the screen illuminating her face in a harsh blue glow.

Congratulations on your acquisition. Sample LR-0723 will be available for pickup tomorrow at 20:00 EST. Coordinates attached.

Buyer must be present to complete the transaction.

Authentication protocols will be in place.

Any deviation will result in immediate termination of the agreement.

Storage container will be provided. Payment has been processed. This concludes our business.

“Buyer must be present," Talon repeats slowly. "Meaning Charles Blackwood. Me.”

“This feels like a trap,” I say, moving closer to examine the details.

“We don't know that,” Alex counters, setting his laptop on the coffee table so we can all see the message. “Think about it. At Vesper’s auction, all potential buyers appeared in person. It may just be their business model. You can’t dispute a transaction if the buyer picks it up personally instead of by courier. ”

“But it's not just verification they're after," Oscar says, leaning forward to study the message more closely. "They're adding authentication protocols. They want to make sure Charles Blackwood is who he claims to be.”

“Which he's not,” I point out, the reality of our situation becoming clearer by the second. “He's a digital ghost we created.”

Vesper’s fingers curl around the edge of the laptop. “Can we fake it? Create some kind of physical documentation for Talon to present?”

“Possibly. But we'd need to know what kind of authentication they're planning to use. If it's just basic ID verification, we can handle that. If they're cross-referencing with other databases or contacts...”

“Then we're screwed,” Talon finishes bluntly.

“Not necessarily. Remember, Charles Blackwood has already shown up in person for a high-value purchase. This may just be a formality,” Alex continues, fingers already flying across the keyboard.

“Sixteen million is a drop in the bucket compared to what they think we spent on Vesper. They'll be expecting the same face."

“But even if that's the case,” I interject, already seeing the next problem, “how the hell do we get there? Martha's Vineyard is an island. We don't own a boat or a plane.”.

“We could charter something,” Talon suggests.

“Too much of a paper trail,” Oz argues back.

Alex looks up from his laptop. “I have that covered. I can get us a plane.”

“And the pilot?”

“You’re looking at him.”

“You can fly a plane?” I stare at Alex in disbelief. The tech genius keeps revealing new layers like some kind of Russian nesting doll.

“Got my license when I was sixteen,” he shrugs as if it's the most natural thing in the world. “My father insisted. Said every man of means should know how to pilot his own aircraft.”

“And when was the last time you actually flew?” Oscar asks, ever the practical one.

Alex hesitates just long enough to make me nervous. “It's been a while, but it's like riding a bike. Once you learn, you don't forget.”

“A bike doesn't plummet thirty thousand feet if you wobble,” I point out.

“We won't be at thirty thousand feet,” Alex counters with a smirk. “Small aircraft, low altitude. Besides, I've logged the over two hundred hours necessary. Trust me, I can get us there.”

“What about the rest of us?” Vesper asks.

“The rest of you aren't coming,” Talon states. “Just me and Alex.”

“The instructions were clear. Talon is the only one who can do the pickup. I have to go to get him there. The rest of you need to hang back,” Alex demands.

Vesper crosses her arms, her stance widening as she plants herself firmly in the center of our group. "I'm going." Her voice catches slightly on the word, but she powers through. "I'm not sitting this out."

"It's not up for debate," Talon says, his tone gentler than mine but no less firm. "You're the one person who absolutely cannot be there. Alex and I will go and get the sample. It’s the safest option.”

I hate that we're doing this to her, forcing her to stay behind while we chase the one lead that might bring Luca home. But I hate the alternative more—her in the clutches of The Collector again, or worse.

“We leave at noon,” Alex announces, pushing away from the coffee table. I watch as he disappears down the hallway, his footsteps fading as he descends the stairs towards the basement. Talon nods to Oscar before heading to his room, presumably to pack.

“I want to go,” she insists. “Please.”

“There’s very little I would deny you, solnishko, but please understand, you need to stay back with Zaire and me. It’s for the best.”

For a moment, I think she's going to argue further, but instead, she just shakes her head and turns away. I expect her to retreat to her room, but instead, she heads for the basement stairs.

After Alex.