Xavier squirms in his seat as his brows pull together in a frown. “If Ares is mixed up in this, it’s for a good reason. He’s not the bad guy.”
“How well do you truly know him if he didn’t confide any of this to you? You don’t even know what he does for a living, for fuck’s sake.” My knee bounces up and down. “He’s been bullshitting you, Daniels.”
Fire blazes in Xavier’s eyes. “I know Ares would never be involved in sending anyone into sexual slavery because his sister was kidnapped when she was a kid and sent to one of those hellholes and I was helping him find her.”
Tense silence bleeds into the air.
“Maybe he wasn’t involved, but he knows who was,” Charlie says, breaking the charged silence.
“Why was he trying to stop me then?”
“That’s if Ares was one of the men who ambushed you,” Hunt reminds me.
“Think about it,” Xavier says, drumming his fingers on the table. He stares off into space as his brain churns. “If this organization is some super-powerful secret society, isn’t it reasonable to consider they have their own traditions and laws just like the elite? What if there is an order to how things need to be done and you were getting in the way of that?”
“Hunt is right. There is too much guesswork to these theories. We need concrete proof, and it seems like Ares is our best bet,” Kennedy says. “If Xavier trusts him not to be the bad guy and him warning you off could have been an attempt to keep you protected from this, Manning, then I think you can at least ask him to tell it to you straight.”
“I don’t want your family placed in harm’s way.” I drill a look at Xavier as he’s the one I’ll have to convince. “You haven’t grown up in these circles like Charlie and I have. Loyalty is a transient thing in our world and theirs too I’m betting. You might think you know Ares, but if he’s involved in this organization, then you have no clue what kind of man he truly is.”
“He won’t hurt us.” It’s no surprise Xavier stubbornly defends him.
“I’m not taking that risk,” Hunt says, glancing at his husband with a look that says it isn’t up for debate. “We’ll go alone. Abby can watch the kids.”
“Okay.” Xavier readily agrees because he won’t take risks with their children, and if Hunt has concerns, he won’t disregard them as easily as he’d disregard them when I say it.
“One other thing,” I say. “Athena’s from Cali.” I’m trying to make the rest of the puzzle pieces work and wondering if that’s her connection to Ares. “My background check said L.A., but what if that’s a lie? What if she’s part of this other entity along with Ares and that other asshole in the photo? Given what happened with Ezra today, it’s not inconceivable the intel online is fabricated to throw me off the scent.”
“She was sent to spy on you,” Charlie says. “Probably because you were told to drop it and you didn’t.”
Xavier frowns, looking hugely troubled.
“Ares and Athena are not common names,” Hunt says. “Maybe they’re cousins.”
“Or maybe the society is descended from Greek gods and every asshole has a stupid name,” I blurt, unnaturally pissed off for reasons I don’t want to examine.
Xavier grins. “I think someone’s caught feelings.”
I flip him the bird. “The only feelings I have in relation to that woman are frustration and rage. For her sake, I hope I’m wrong about all this.”
“Drew, you need to get going unless you plan to reschedule our trip?” Charlie says.
“No. Everything’s all lined up in Bulgaria, and we may not get another chance like this.”
“Why don’t we see what we can dig up on Athena,” Keven says as Hunt and Daniels begin whispering with their heads bent, “and I could meet with my old SA. We’re on good terms, and he’s completely trustworthy. I can feel him out and see if he knows anything about this other group or Ares and the other man. I’ll also find out what the latest intel is on sex trafficking in Venezuela in case it offers any leads.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I say, pushing my chair back and standing.
“I’m coming with you,” Hunt says, getting to his feet.
“Fuck no.”
He smirks. “Funny you think you can stop me. I’m either getting on that plane with you and Barron or I’m hiring my own jet and coming after you.”
“And you’re okay with this?” I stab Xavier with a look.
“I’m not my husband’s keeper. Drill Sergeant is capable of making his own decisions. I’ll work with Keven and see what we can find out while you’re gone, and I’ll place a call to Ares and arrange a meeting for next week. Maybe we can all go.”
“It’s a solid plan,” Charlie says, “and maybe this Bulgarian play will give us the other answers we need.”
