“I think so,” Xavier agrees with a wicked grin.
“I’m sorry I said anything,” Sawyer drawls, sliding a mug to Kaiden. His expression is thoughtful as he looks at me. “I checked your background that day. You covered your tracks well.”
“Was that something Vincent taught you or Mathers?” Kaiden’s jaw clenches, and his hands tighten around his mug.
“My dad ignited my interest in technology and taught me everything he knew. Mathers showed me the rest.”
“Course he did,” Kaiden hisses, looking like he just swallowed a lemon.
“Why give us the file on Hamilton? You must have known what we’d do with it,” Xavier asks.
“And how did you get all that intel?” Sawyer adds.
I figure there’s not much risk in telling them this. Maybe if they think I’m starting to trust them, they’ll trust me with the things I need to know. “It was Denton’s idea. He told me to apply to Techxet and gave me the file.”
Kaiden barks out a laugh as he exchanges a look with Sawyer while Xavier stares at me intently, and Abby pours batter into the pancake mold on the skillet. “Of course, he did. He got us to do his dirty work for him,” Kaiden growls. “He wanted Hamilton out of the way.”
“Double-crossing people you call allies is the name of the game for the elite,” Drew says, entering the kitchen. “And we all know Mathers was working several different side hustles.”
This place is like an open fucking revolving door.
“What was Mathers’s endgame?” Kaiden asks.
“I don’t know. He told me what I needed to know and nothing else.”
Kaiden arches a brow. “And you were okay with that?”
“No, but I knew better than to bite the hand that fed me. Denton had given us an apartment, money in the bank, and he reenrolled us at our private school. I knew he could take it away as easily as he’d given it. So, I did what he asked. It was the best way to protect Roman.” That’s only partly the truth. Denton promised me he’d help me to get revenge on Atticus and my brothers, and that was equally the driving force.
Tense silence greets my statement.
“I guess I can understand it,” Kaiden says after a few silent beats. “I’d do anything to keep my brothers safe too.”
“I’m sure Mathers didn’t have you intern at Techxet purely to slip us a file.” Sawyer’s gaze is boring holes in my skull. “What did he want?”
This is my chance to test the waters and feel them out. “He said your father had stolen important intel that compromised the elite and it went all the way to the White House. He wanted me to find it, but I couldn’t find any trace of it at Techxet.”
The guys all share looks, and my gaze dances between them. “You know about it. You know where it is.” Excitement bubbles in my veins.
“It’s safe.”
“Here?” I force my eyes to pop wide.
“Are you insane?” Kaiden’s disbelief radiates from his expression and his tone. “I would never risk my wife by keeping anything like that here.”
Good to know,brother. Thanks.
I want to ask where, but I think that would raise suspicion, so I let it drop.
“Zayn,” Abby says, flipping pancakes. “Can you go get Roman? Tell him breakfast is ready.”
I slide off the stool and go to my brother’s bedroom, knocking on the door.
“Who is it?” he calls out.
“It’s me.”
“Come in.”
