“I can do some digging,” Theo offers, his eyes glistening with compassion.
“If we can help now, we’ll do it,” Galen says, staring at Ares with a strange look on his face.
My heart swells with emotion. “I appreciate that so much, but we can’t involve you. It’s too dangerous.”
“We have contacts,” Lo says.
“We know,” I say, smiling softly at my friend. “But that contact will tell you not to come a million miles near this, and he’d be right. You can’t get involved.”
“We have the best resources at hand,” Jase says before adding, “No offense, man. I know you’re a dope hacker, but we don’t want to put our friends in harm’s way.”
“We just thought you might know something,” I say. “That’s the only reason we brought it up.”
“I’m sorry we don’t,” Saint says, looking and sounding sincere.
* * *
“Are you sure we can’t do anything to help?” Lo asks an hour later as we say our goodbyes in the hallway. The guys are all shoving and pushing one another in good humor, riling one another over the competitive games of pool they played after our tense conversation ended. Lo, Bree, and I caught up over a few vodka cranberries while the testosterone-fueled idiots played pool and video games.
“I’m sure, but thanks for offering.”
Lo unbuckles a belt from around her waist and hands it to me. My brow puckers as I accept it. “I want you to take this.” She presses in on the center of the belt, and it pops open, revealing a hidden compartment inside. I remove the sleek, slim dagger inside, admiring the glistening steel and ornate handle with an etching of an angel on it. “Galen bought me that.” Lo smiles as she watches me trace my finger carefully over it.
“I can’t accept it,” I say, closing the belt over. “It clearly means a lot to you.”
“The dagger, yes, the belt not so much. I can order another one.”
Lo slides a different dagger out from the side of her boot while I watch with my mouth hanging open. My friend is a serious badass, and I need to take a page out of her book. I have never had to think about leaving the house with a weapon before, but it’s shortsighted. Things are scarily dangerous right now, and I should always have weapons on me. I make a silent vow to place my handgun in my purse and to wear this belt at all times.
Lo swaps the daggers around, placing the generic one in the belt and the angel one into her boot. She sets her hands over mine. “This belt saved my life during the showdown with The Sainthood. It will pass unnoticed through metal detectors, and no one would ever suspect it conceals a deadly weapon. I want you to wear it all the time. Promise me, Ash.” Her troubled eyes probe mine. “I know you’re deep in shit.” She holds up one palm. “I know you’d tell me if you could, and it’s cool. I understand. I truly do. Just promise me you’ll wear this permanently. I know you’ve been training, and you’re proficient with guns, but that’s not always enough. This will give you peace of mind. Me too.”
I throw my arms around her. “I’ll only take it off to fuck and shower, I swear.”
When I pull back, she’s grinning. “We are soul sisters, Ashley. I have never been surer of anything.”
“Love you, babe.” I hug her again.
“Love you too.”
The guys leave, and the last of the stragglers leave too. Baz returns to Chez Stewart with his father to check on progress, promising to call later with an update. We’re all on tenterhooks waiting to find out if someone has cracked the password to Jasper Baldwin’s flash drive and to discover what information it contains. My sixth sense tells me it’s the break we are looking for. We desperately need some good news.
Together, we clean up the place and then change into more comfortable clothes and meet back in the living room. The mood is despondent, and Ares is sinking into a dark hole. I perch my butt on his lap and offer him what comfort I can.
“I’m going to call Baz,” Jase says. “See if there’s any news about the flash drive.”
“I can talk to my mom,” Chad offers. “Ask if she remembers anything that might help.”
Warmth surges through me, filling me with hope we can make it as a foursome, because my guys are sincere. They hurt for Ares and what he’s going through.
“I don’t know how much more of this I can take.” Ares’s voice is strangled, his words laced with pain. “Lili is out there somewhere, surrounded by monsters and wolves, and I can’t do a damn thing about it.” Moisture pools in his eyes, and I feel his pain as if it’s my own. “It feels like I wasted the last two and a half years chasing false leads, and I’m no further along. It’s killing me.”
“We’re going to get her back safely, Ares,” Jase says. “I know my dad will come through for us.”
A loud pounding on the front door claims our attention. Ares swipes the tablet from the coffee table and checks the cameras. “It’s Baz.”
Bree jumps up and rushes out into the hallway.
I share a hopeful look with Jase, silently praying Baz has some good news because we sorely need it. Ares is close to his breaking point, and we need to give him something. If Baz has come back here, rather than calling, it must be urgent.
