<h4>Chapter 127: Chapter ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN: Dexter’s Family</h4>


    Christy’s POV


    As soon as Mason asked me to go keep my motherpany in her hospital room, something inside me tightened.


    He said it calmly, so casually like it was nothing, yet his eyes kept flicking toward Kendrick as if they were sharing a secret written in anothernguage.


    They thought I wouldn’t notice and I would just nod and smile like some clueless child.


    Yeah... no.


    I had survived enough chaos to be allergic to people "protecting me" with silence.


    I stayed hidden behind the corner and watched the two of them through the ss. They looked tense, Mason pacing and cracking his knuckles, Kendrick leaning against the car with that cold face he only wore when danger was already breathing down his neck. Smoke curled around them as they talked, their lips moving quickly.


    Fine! If they weren’t going to tell me, I was going to find out myself.


    I narrowed my eyes and focused on their lips. Dexter had drilled this lip-reading thing into my skull until I wanted to scream, but finally... finally it was useful. Unfortunately, the smoke kept drifting into the way, and their heads kept turning.


    I caught fragments of their conversation but it was nothing solid.


    "Madam Michaelson..."


    "...old master ck..."


    "...prison..."


    "...visit..."


    "...attack..."


    I kept murmuring the little I could understand but the rest blurred like water on ink.


    Great,how am I supposed to make sense of any of these?


    I sighed in frustration as I continued staring at them but they were now quiet and focused on smoking their cigarettes.


    "Madam Michaelson visited old master ck in prison, so they are going to pay a visit to the Michaelson family. And they seem to have something to do with the attack at the mansion."


    Dexter’s voice came from behind me and I swear I nearly died from shock.


    I spun around so fast my vision blurred. "Can you try making sounds when you walk? You scared the life out of me!"


    Dexter didn’t even blink. "I can see I’m wasting my time training you. How could you not sense someone behind you?" He flicked my forehead like I was an unruly kitten.


    "If it was that easy, would you have spent years training in the military?" I muttered, while rubbing my forehead.


    He red at me and I gave him a smile but his face scrunched up in disgust.


    He stared at me. "Stop smiling, It looks hideous when it isn’t genuine."


    "Oops... I forgot my fake smile subscription expired for the month." I gave him a ridiculous grin on purpose.


    He rolled his eyes, but the corner of his mouth twitched.


    Then I noticed movements from outside and I turned to observe what was happening.


    Kendrick and Mason were heading out, Kendrick slid into the driver’s seat, Mason taking the passenger side.


    My heart dropped as they looked really tense and upset.


    With their current mood I hope they would be able to control their emotions, if they end up doing something brutal at the Michaelson family house, those evil people will definitely not let them go.


    Dexter must have seen the panic clouding my eyes because he sighed and leaned his shoulder against the wall beside me. "Come on...You really think I would let you stay clueless?"


    I blinked. "What do you mean?"


    "I know a way to help you find out where Celeste and the others are hiding without those two noticing." His voice lowered but he looked really serious.


    My chest tightened slightly . "Dexter... are you sure?"


    "I wouldn’t say it if I wasn’t." He jerked his chin toward the exit. "But we will need someone inside the Michaelson vi to call you when Kendrick and Mason leave."


    I already knew who to call, he wasn’t in the vi but would definitely have someone inside.


    I pulled out my phone and dialed Ashton. He picked on the second ring.


    "Please don’t tell me you are calling to rant about Mason again," he said.


    "Not today," I whispered. "I need a favor... A big one."


    His tone changed instantly. "What’s wrong?"


    "I need you to get someone to keep watch on Mason and Kendrick when they get to the Michaelson vi and call me the second they leave the vi."


    There was a pause, he always hesitated whenever I mentioned Kendrick ever since thest incident, even now, he was acting like Kendrick radiated ’do-not-touch’ energy even through a phone call.


    But Ashton finally exhaled. "Alright. I will call someone to do it."


    I thanked him before hanging up.


    Dexter nodded as if I had passed some test. "Good, Let’s go."


    "Where?" I asked.


    "You will see." He started walking, and I followed because curiosity was dragging me like a leash.


    Outside, his bike rested under the streetlight, matte ck and mean-looking, just like its owner.


    "You are taking me on your bike?" I raised my brows.


    "Unless you prefer running."


    I red at him before climbing on, and gripped his jacket as the engine roared to life. The night wind pped against my face as the bike sped out of the hospitalpound, slicing through traffic like a shadow with no patience.


    I had no idea where we were going, but Dexter rode like he had a map etched into his bones.


    After fifteen minutes, he stopped in front of a quiet restaurant tucked between two abandoned buildings. The lights inside flickered like they were dying.


    I frowned. "Dexter... why are we at a restaurant?"


    He didn’t answer but simply grabbed my wrist and led me inside.


    The ce looked empty except for a bored-looking waitress wiping tables. Dexter didn’t even look at her. He walked straight toward the back and right into a storage room.


    I opened my mouth to ask how food supplies were going to help us find Celeste and the others , but Dexter pushed aside a stack of crates, revealing a narrow passage behind them.


    My heart thudded.


    "You have got to be kidding me," I whispered.


    Dexter smirked. "Wee to the real city."


    He stepped in first and I followed. The passage was dim and cold, the air smelling faintly of metal and damp concrete. Our footsteps echoed as we descended a spiral staircase I hadn’t expected to exist under a restaurant.


    At the bottom, we arrived at a huge metal door.


    Dexter knocked twice, paused, then knocked three more times. Then the door suddenly swung open.


    The room before us was nothing like the world above. It was bright, loud, and filled with people who looked like they could kill someone with a spoon. Tattoos, scars, knives clipped to belts... It was danger in every direction.


    My stomach twisted, but I forced my shoulders back. I wouldn’t let Dexter think I was scared.


    A tall man with a bald head and a thick beard grinned when he saw Dexter.


    "Look who came crawling back," the man boomed. "Did the military kick you out for being too annoying?"


    "Still funnier than your haircut, Uncle," Dexter replied calmly.


    Wait. Uncle?


    Before I processed that, the man pped his hand on Dexter’s back, then looked at me with a slow, assessing gaze.


    "And who is this?"


    "My responsibility," Dexter said simply.


    Something warm flickered unexpectedly in my chest.


    The man’s brows lifted, but he didn’t argue. Instead, he nodded to one of the guards. "Take them to the back."


    We followed down another dim hallway until we reached a room thick with cigarette smoke. A middle-aged man sat behind the desk, a half-burnt cigarette dangling from his lips, his eyes sharp and unreadable.


    He looked up, recognized Dexter, and smirked.


    "Thought you forgot your roots."


    "Not possible," Dexter said lightly.


    His voice changed, it was now deeper and more respectful.


    The man’s gaze drifted to me. "Do you trust her?"


    Dexter didn’t hesitate. "Yes."


    The man leaned back, took a drag, and exhaled slowly. "Good... Then say why you are here."


    Dexter reached into his jacket and pulled out his phone, showing the man pictures of Celeste and Piper, Callie and Mark.


    "We are looking for them."


    The man stared at the photo so long I thought he didn’t hear what Dexter said.


    But then he stood up abruptly. "Wait here."


    He walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.


    My pulse hammered as we were alone now. Just me and Dexter in a ce thick with danger.


    I finally spoke. "You... know the gang leader?"


    Dexter brushed a hand through his hair. "Yeah... He is my uncle."


    My jaw dropped. "So, this is your family?"


    "Most of them," he said quietly. "I grew up around these people before I left."


    Everything suddenly made sense. The way he moved,the way he fought and the way nothing surprised him.


    I breathed out, stunned. "You never told me."


    "You never asked," he said with a small shrug.


    Before I could respond, my phone vibrated sharply in my pocket.


    When I saw that Ashton was the one calling, I answered immediately.


    "Christy," he whispered, breathless. "Kendrick just left the Michaelson house."


    My throat tightened as I immediately hung up. They were moving and now, we have to leave as well.


    "We need to wait for my uncle, I promise to get you back to the hospital in time" Dexter assured me.