“We need ice!”I sign, and a panic-stricken Elias nods.
“I’ll get it!” he yells as he runs through the open doorway.
“It doesn’t look too bad, hopefully ice will stop it from swelling. She probably smacked her head on the floor when she fell,” Sly says, sitting beside me, by her legs.
Dex takes a spot on her other side as we all rest a hand on her somewhere, watching her.
“I don’t like him,” Dex says, cutting through the silence with his grumpy pout.
“Well, we may need him, so we’re gonna have to get usedto him… for now,” Sly says, scowling as if he disagrees with his own words.
“What do we need him for? We can figure everything out on our own,” Dex says just as Elias comes back in with a clear bag filled with ice from the ice machine. He passes it to me, then steps back and crosses his arms, his eyes turning to Dex.
“Do you know where Robert’s warehouses are located?” he asks, knowing full well we don’t. When Dex just scowls at him, he turns to Pete. “Do you know how many men he has under him?” Pete flips him off, so he turns to Sly and asks, “Do you know every city he has infiltrated?”
“What’s your point?” Dex asks impatiently.
“My point is that you need me. Not only have I been studying Robert and Ivan’s business dealings for years, but I can hack into most systems to help us find where they are and get close to them. Not to mention you have the FBI on your trail. I can keep them off you.”
“I still think you’re the one who led them to us,” Pete grumbles, and Elias shoots him a narrow-eyed look.
“Look, you guys don’t like me, and I’m not exactly fond of this not-so-warm welcome you’ve given me. If it were my decision, I’d take Wren and leave you guys to fend for yourselves.”
I squeeze Wren’s hand and glare at him, daring him even to try. Dex literally growls as Sly flicks open his pocket knife and points it at Elias. “If you ever threaten to take her from me again, I’ll castrate you before you can even blink.”
Elias holds up his hands in surrender and takes a step back. “It wasn’t a threat. I’m just saying that for some reason, she seems to like you four. And like it or not, if you want to be free and not be on the run forever, then you need me.”
“Even if we kill Robert, we’ll still be wanted by your buddies at the bureau,” Pete says as Sly closes his knife and repockets it.
“I have a plan for that, too. If we can prove that you were framed, which you were, I think with the right attorney, we can get your names cleared.”
My eyebrows lift in surprise, though I don’t fully believe him.Is that even possible?
“Jagger?” Wren’s strained voice calls for me, and I quickly turn to look down at her precious face, cupping her cheek as I hold the ice to her temple. “What happened? I feel weird.”
“We were going to ask you that, angel,” Pete says, the light-heartedness returning to his tone as he speaks to her. “We found you on the floor in the bathroom.”
She looks confused for a second before her eyes widen a fraction. Then her eyes find Elias, before moving to everyone else in the room.
“I, um… I think I passed out.”
“How are you feeling now?” Sly asks.
“A little weak, but much better.”
“Are you sick?” Pete asks, placing a hand on her forehead.
I swat it away, shaking my head at him as I sign,“Anxiety attack.”
He shakes his head. “I don’t know that first word.”
“Anxiety,” Wren whispers, looking embarrassed and uncomfortable.
Pete’s eyes raise to meet mine, and I can see him finally putting it together, remembering what topic drove her to freak out so bad that she passed out.
His concern instantly changes to mischievousness as he looks back at her. “Well, angel cake, we have the rest of the day to do whatever we want! Shall we binge-watch some TV?Or maybe find a game to play on the tablet? We could order some room service? If you want, you could teach me some more sign language?” I know he must really be desperate to make her happy if he’s offering that.
She smiles at him and nods. “We can do any of those things. What does everyone else want to do?”
