Kiera's eyes went wide for a brief moment, then she gave a subtle smile. She would have even burst into proud laughter if they were alone. 'Smart as ever, my Lessie!' She thought, cheering Alessia on inwardly.
The rest of the group looked taken aback at Alessia's confession. Coyle was the first to recover enough to speak. He laced his fingers together and studied her carefully.
"Are you… really being serious?" He asked, his eyes never leaving her face.
Alessia nodded without delay as if she was telling nothing but the truth. She couldn't afford to hesitate, Coyle was too perceptive.
Kiera rolled her eyes, swinging her hand over Alessia's shoulder. "Oh please…" She boasted. "Does my Lessie look like someone who would lie about something like this?"
Alessia pressed her lips together as she clasped her hands together on her lap. Technically, she wasn't lying. Dervan had indeed told her to contact him, only, it was under different circumstances…
Walter couldn't stop staring at her. "That's… that's insane!" He trailed off, then flinched as if he just came to a realization. "Was that what you meant when you said you could slip into his apartment?"
Coyle reasoned, nodding along. "You want to use his invitation as leverage... you should have explained better."
"That's brilliant!" Walter clapped. "We could easily figure things out without making him suspicious."
Vince clicked his tongue, staying away from the conversation. He might as well have burned a hole into Alessia's head with the kind of piercing stare he was giving her.
"But that's strange…" Coyle mused, shooting her a questioning look, almost suspicious. "Why would he ask you to meet with him? He's not the type to invite women over. In fact, there are even rumors that he's infertile."
Kiera almost cursed out loud. '...I didn't think of that when I started this…' She thought, as cold sweat ran down her back. 'What excuse is Lessie going to give now…?'
Alessia swallowed. "Well, the thing is… I… I asked him for a job..."
Walter and Coyle shared bewildered looks and even Kiera was taken aback at her bold lie.
Vince's brows furrowed. "You asked him for a… job?"
Coyle nearly sprang up from his seat. "Have you lost your mind?! Why would you do that?! You know–"
"I know!" Alessia cut in before he could finish, feigning a pained look. "But what could I do? He started finding me suspicious the moment he noticed I couldn't eat any of what was on the table…"
Walter nodded as if to support her argument. "Right… rich people eat strange stuff."
Coyle leaned back into his chair and sighed, rubbing his forehead. "What exactly happened that night?"
Alessia began to pick at her nails. "Well, He noticed that I was out of place at the party and threatened to involve the authorities…" She explained slowly. "I begged him not to. I told him I only snuck into the party to find a job because my mother was dying at the hospital… I tried to look as desperate as I could…"
Kiera pressed her lips together, silently encouraging her in her heart. 'There's no way they won't believe her now. Heck, I'm even starting to believe her too...'
Coyle rubbed his chin. "I don't think Salviati believed you at all, he couldn't have been that easy. He's probably trying to look into you a bit more."
Walter hummed. "But his suspicions will have to work against him, right? Because we'll use that to our advantage."
"Right." Coyle agreed as he leaned forward in his chair again. "So Alessia, when do you think you'll go to see him? The sooner the better."
Alessia froze. "I'm… I'm not sure. I don't think I'm ready yet…"
Coyle let out a sigh. "You'd better make up your mind." He glanced at Vince from the corner of his eye and they both nodded. "We're supposed to finish this operation before Friday and be at base early next week."
Alessia's chest tightened. She only managed a small nod. "I... I get it. I'll think about it and get back to you before tomorrow."
Coyle smiled lightly. "I'll be expecting a response by tomorrow morning."
Alessia nodded again. It was times like this that made him seem more like the leader of the group than Vince. Sometimes, She felt that Vince was just the figurehead only because he was stronger than the rest of them.
But usually, Coyle influenced the majority of their decisions.
She almost let out an exasperated sigh. 'Well, thanks a lot, Kiera.' She thought in her mind. 'Now I'll have to go see Mr. Salviati even when I don't want to!'
* * *
"What was that, Kiera?" Alessia asked after a few minutes of silence on their way home on a public bus.
"Huh?" Kiera answered looking up from her phone. "What was what?"
Alessia turned to her friend sharply. "Why did you tell them that Dervan asked me to meet with him?! You're the same person who said–"
Kiera only shrugged. "Because he did, plus, I had to create an opportunity for you to go see him without making the guys suspicious."
"Kiera!" Alessia yelled, drawing most of the passengers attention to their direction. She then lowered her voice. "You know I was never planning on meeting him so soon!"
"Then it seems like you're overjoyed to return to Xandro then."
Alessia stiffened, then she slumped in her seat with a pained look on her face. "You didn't have to do that. I… I was going to make up my mind."
"No, you weren't." Kiera told her flatly without looking in her direction. "I don't know about you, Alessia, but the three years I was away from that place… away from that man… were the best three years of my miserable life."
Alessia bit the inside of her cheek, lowering her head. "I… don't want to go back too but–"
"You're being a coward." Kiera finished for her.
Alessia flinched, pursing her lips. "You're… being mean to me today."
"Because I'm angry." Kiera said plainly. "If I had such a chance, I wouldn't even waste time thinking about it!"
"That's because you're strong, Kiera!" Alessia croaked, her eyes clouding over. "I'm not as strong as you, I've never been!"
Kiera's eyes widened for a second before she sighed. "I'm really sorry, Lessie. My emotions got the better of me."
Alessia roughly wiped at her eyes to stop tears from flowing down her face. "I'm scared, Kiera…" she confessed. "What if he catches me or… or something happens to you because of my decision to run away? I won't be able to forgive myself."
If only there was a way for Dervan to take them both in…
Kiera's expression softened and she pulled Alessia into a gentle hug, patting her back gently.
She smiled. "Now, now, Lessie." She started softly. "There's always an easy fix for that."
Alessia's ears perked up immediately. She looked up at her friend hopefully. "There is?"
Kiera looked her dead in the face. "Of course. You can always just hide me in a place where that d*mned organisation will never find me."