“This is the worst idea you’ve ever had.” I think about my brother, and tears fill my eyes. She can see it, and her features soften.
“He wouldn’t want you getting hurt,” she says softly before resting her hand on top of mine.
“I’m not going to get hurt.”
“You catch feelings far too easily, Anika. Don’t go falling for this guy,” she warns, making me laugh.
“I don’t even know him! How the hell would I fall for him?” she laughs and squeezes my hand before pulling away and sitting back in her seat.
“You barely knew Mack, either, and look what happened.”
“That was different.”
“How?”
“I don’t know. It just was. Besides, this is all for the greater good.”
“Is it?”
“You know I need to find out what happened to him, Ellie.”
“I know you want to, but let the cops handle it,” she says.
“The cops have nothing. Not a single thing. All they keep telling me is that he left on his own. I know that isn’t true. He would never just leave me, Ellie.”
“You’re right. He wouldn’t. You two were too close for that, but do you really think getting involved with the Soulless Bastards is smart?”
“It’s the last place he was. They have to know something about where he is.”
“What if they do? Then what?”
“Then I can finally figure out where he is,” I tell her.
“And if he’s …”
“Don’t say that. He isn’t dead, Ellie. He can’t be. I would know, wouldn’t I?” She shakes her head and grabs her coffee, bringing it to her lips.
“I don’t know about all this. Why can’t you just give the cops the information and let them check into them?”
“You think I haven’t brought it up? I have. They blow me off,” I admit to her.
“This is a mess.”
“Who are you telling? I just need to know what happened to him. Where he is.”
“They’re dangerous, Anika.”
“I know they are. But fucking him here and there isn’t dangerous.” She narrows her eyes at me, and I almost laugh. She knows me, and she knows I get attached to people far too easily, but this is different. I have a mission.
“What do you need me to do?”
“You’re in?” I ask, hopeful.
“I’m in. Don’t make me regret this, though.”
“I would never!”
“What am I doing?” she asks once more.
