Finn exits the room with a towel around his waist, and I stay back to use the bathroom, dropping the wet piece of paper in the toilet as I do. Then I flush the evidence away, get dressed, and climb into bed. My adrenaline rush is wearing off, and exhaustion is tugging at me.
Finn is worn out too, and dark circles reside under his eyes. We cuddle with each other, face to face, with our foreheads touching. Warmth seeps through my body as his body heat blankets around me.
“It said they’re getting us out tomorrow night,” I tell him in a hushed whisper, then inhale his scent, seeking comfort in it.
His fingers had been stroking my side, but they stop moving. He wants to ask questions, but it’s too risky, and he knows that.
“Goodnight, Maddy,” he says instead.
“Goodnight, Finn,” I say through a yawn, already plunging into my nightmares.
CHAPTER 23
NOAH
We’re meetingTheo at our rental place. It’s a risky move doing it in such a secluded place, but it’s also dangerous if Grey finds out we’re prying into business, especially if he is lying about being Maddy’s father. We also had Lily go stay with her aunt. She put up a bit of a fight about it, but in the end, she caved. I think she understood how dangerous it was for her to be around us. We promised her, though, that we’d keep her updated, especially about her mom.
Even with Lily being gone, River is stressing hard as he paces the living room with his arms crossed. Every so often, he wanders over to the window and peers outside.
“You need to chill,” I tell him from over my shoulder while staring at the view on my computer screen. Ever since I hacked into the satellites, I’ve been obsessively watching the aerial view of James’ island. I haven’t seen any sign of Maddy or Finn, but the society members are constantly wandering around in their clocks. I’ve figured out that most of them are surveying the island, but sometimes they hold gatherings where they drink and light fires, partying it up. I also catch sight of James' guards every so often. They wear distance outfits, black shirts, andmatching cargo pants and books. I can zoom well enough to sometimes be able to make out a face, but none that I recognize.
“I am chill,” River mumbles, letting go of the curtain. He glances at the clock on the wall that’s by the front door. “He’s late.”
“By a minute. Go take a shot or something, because if you’re this edgy when he gets here, he’ll be on edge.” I notice a man walking toward a cluster of trees. He looks familiar, so I zoom in. “And we need him to be comfortable around us or else he won’t tell us shit…” I trail off. “Shit.”
River is in the middle of pouring himself a shot of vodka over at the car. “What?”
I squint at the screen. “I think Aiden is on the island.”
River nearly drops the bottle of vodka, but manages to catch it before he does. “Are you sure?”
I swallow hard as I nod. “I’m positive. He’s walking toward the trees right now. I can see that reaper tattoo on his arm.”
River lifts the shot glass to his lips and downs the vodka without pulling a face, as I’m sure shock seeps through him.
Aiden is James’ bodyguard, at least to an extent. But he also takes care of things for James, things that James wants erased. Like one time, a man was blackmailing James after he took pictures of him at a whorehouse. River, Finn, and I were about fourteen at the time, and we overheard a conversation between Aiden and James about Aiden taking care of the problem. Aiden was fifteen at the time, but he’d been working for James well before that. In fact, when he was younger, Aiden would sometimes attend the Aversons’ family dinners, but he never spoke to anyone, and James was always weird around him, as if he were grooming him.
But anyway, the man who was blackmailing James ended up dead; his body was found in his car, which was submerged in the river. Finn, River, and I had questioned whether Aiden killedhim. Then rumors began to circulate that James had a trained, bloodthirsty assassin. We put two and two together that it was Aiden.
He became sort of like the boogeyman in the shadows of the Royal City, but no one ever talks about him because they're too scared. I’ve often wondered how James had Aiden working for him before he was even a legal adult, but I’m guessing he trafficked him at some point in his life.
River places the empty shot glass down on the counter. “My father wouldn’t kill Maddy or Finn, so even if Aiden is there, it doesn’t mean anything.”
“I agree with that to an extent, but it’s creepy he’s there.” I close my computer and set it aside. “The guy is a trained killer.”
“No, it’s speculated that he is.” He rounds the bar and flops down in the chair. “No one has proof. It could all just be rumors.”
Is he shitting me right now? Or just trying to live in denial? “Do you really believe that?”
Before he can answer, someone knocks on the front door.
River leaps to his feet and runs across the room to answer it.
“Stay calm,” I whisper to him. “Don’t look anxious.”
River nods, wiggles the tension out of his shoulders before he opens the door.
Theo is standing on the other side, wearing jeans and a hoodie with the hood drawn over his head. He’s sneaking glances around the quiet neighborhood that’s dusted with orange and pink hues from the sunset.
