“Fine,” I huff.
Emmett lets out a puff of air as Callum and Knox take a tentative seat at the table. Emmett holds his arm out, guiding me to a seat before he sits down.
Knox and Callum eye me cautiously, while Emmett is moving with slow moves, like he’s ready to catch me if I try to run.
“You can all calm down. I told you. We can talk. I don’t want to wait a second, but I know that’s what we need to do. So please enjoy your food and stop thinking I’m going to run off.”
“You give us your word?” Knox asks. “Because a true fae’s word is everything.”
“Yes. You have tonight, but I can’t and won’t promise more than that.”
“We can deal with that,” Emmett says, sitting down beside me.
“Good, because that’s all you're getting.” I smile at him.
“When we get Jax back, don’t tell him you cooked this meal. You know it’s his favorite.”
“I’ve been trying to mindlink him about this meal tonight,” Knox chimes.
“What an ass.” I jab.
“What? I need to keep him pissed, so he keeps his fight. I don’t know what she’s done or is doing to him, but he needs to fight. So, I’m giving him something to be pissed about. I’m probably the only one that can do it.”
“That is true. You seem to have a knack for getting under his skin.”
“It’s a hard job, but someone has to do it.”
“Is he responding to you?”
“No. I don’t know if he’s even getting the messages honestly. I don’t know how far we can mindlink and I don’t know if there are any magical barriers in place between us, blocking the messages.”
We finish eating dinner and it’s very good. Probably the best meal I’ve ever had, but I can’t fully enjoy it knowing that it’s Jax’s favorite and he’s not here.
Because of me.
We move to the library, and Callum takes out a large roll of paper and swipes the contents off his desk. They clatter to the floor as he unrolls the papers.
“What is this?”
“This is the layout of Allure, Eden, and Infernus.”
“You did this?”
“Yes. We continually walk as much of the property as possible to build this out. I wanted to know every square inch of that building in case something ever happened. I knew it was only a matter of time.”
He flips to the Infernus drawings. “Why is this blank?” I ask, pointing to an open space on the drawing.
“That is her private room. We can’t get in there,” Callum says, running his finger over the paper, tracing it.
“Do you think that’s where he is?”
“Perhaps. As far as we know, there aren’t any extra rooms in Eden or even in Allure’s main level.” He flips to those pages to look over them, validating his theory before flipping back to Infernus. “The only place it could be, if he was being kept at the club, would be Infernus.”
“What if she’s moved him?”
Emmett chimes in, “She wants us to find him, so she won’t make it hard. She wants you.”
“Just because I show up doesn’t mean you get Jax back.”
