Giving Sebastian and Newt false hope only to immediately snatch it away would be cruel, but I also couldn’t let them start making drastic plans, like leaving the country, without knowing that they had another option.
“I might be able to get us a safe house.”
Sebastian and Newt’s conversation abruptly died, and they both turned toward me with a mix of shock and confusion.
“What do you mean? The DA already said they can’t arrange a safe house for us.”
I shook my head, still staring at my phone. “No. Not the DA.Me. I might be able to arrange a safe house. Before I joined the DA’s office, I worked for a private law firm. Many of our clients were... powerful people. A few of them owe me a favor, which I might be able to use to get us a safe house.”
Newt looked delighted, clasping his hands together like he was offering up his prayers for me to answer.
In contrast, Sebastian’s expression narrowed with clear suspicion.
“These clients that owe you a favor… are they powerful enough to be outside the bell ringer’s influence?”
His suspicion was warranted. The bell ringer case was already being attacked from so many different sides, and from very powerful people. None of us could be too cautious right now. Although I was certain that none of my past clients were directly involved with human trafficking, I couldn’t be one hundred percent sure that they were completely above the bell ringer’s reach.
Nothing short of one hundred percent accuracy would do.
“There is one,” I said after analyzing the names on my mental list.
Sebastian still didn’t look relieved.
“And who is this person?”
Picking up my phone, I shook my head. “For confidentiality reasons, I can’t tell you. But they can definitely get us a safe house and they should be beyond the bell ringer’s reach.”
Sebastian just stared at me, clearly waiting for me to elaborate.
Our gazes met in a silent battle of wills. He wanted me to talk, and I wouldn’t say a word. Neither of us made any movement, but the struggle for dominance between us was as fierce as if we’d actually traded blows.
Eventually, Sebastian sighed and looked away. “I guess we don’t have much of a choice. You’re certain this person is trustworthy?”
Trustworthy was not a word I would ever use to describe the person I had in mind. In fact, I didn’t trust them at all, but I did trust my evaluation of them. Of course, I couldn’t say this to Sebastian.
“They...” I hesitated for a moment, very carefully picking my words. “They value honor, and their word is as good as law. Most importantly, they are powerful enough that the bell ringers can’t touch them.” Holding up my phone, I waggled it in Sebastian’s direction. “So, should I make the call?”
After another moment of consideration, Sebastian sighed again. “Yeah. Go ahead. It’s our only option right now. But the minute anything looks sketchy, I’ll feed you to the wolves, take the witnesses, and flee to another country. Understand?”
He probably expected me to get angry, but instead, I just gave him a sharp-edged smile.
“I’m good at handling wolves.”
With the decision made, I stepped out of the office to go see if I could even make good on my promise.
Up on the roof of the building, where I was certain that no one could overhear me, I dialed a number into my phone that I had honestly never planned on using. As it rang, I couldn’t help chuckling to myself.
Good at handling wolves, indeed.
Then the phone picked up on the other end, and my smile was replaced with a look of serious determination.
CHAPTER 5
Kitt
“When you saidwe were going underground, I thought you meant figuratively. Not literally.”
Although Sebastian was speaking to me, he didn’t bother looking at me, too busy staring at the doorway in front of us.
