He puts up his hands in surrender. “Whoa—calm down, Ro. Cedric caught me on my way out. He’s been extra attentive lately.”
I sigh and roll my eyes as a shiver runs down my spine. “A heads-up would’ve been nice. I’ve had to listen to Jennifer talk shit the entire time.”
He chuckles as he slams his truck door shut, pulls on his mask, and strolls past me toward the rest of the group.
When I move behind him, Jennifer’s eyebrow is raised at the sight of him. “Is the mask really necessary?” she asks him with her arms crossed.
He nods. “It is.” He doesn’t give her an explanation or plead his reasoning. He just moves on to his next argument.
“I don’t have time for small talk. I’m not being an asshole, and your time is valuable, but if you don't mind, I would love to just tell you my plan, and then you can tell me what you think about it.”
“You’re the one asking us for help, and that means you don’t control this,” Jennifer cuts in. “Try not being such a dick about it.”
Ryven shrugs. “Are you ready to hear what I have to say?”
I nudge him—just enough to remind him he’s not in charge here.
He tilts his head to the side. Then, his chest deflates and he starts again. “Okay, I’m sorry. Would you like me to continue?”
Jennifer nods.
We spend the next thirty minutes going over every aspect of his plan, focusing on how he is going to give us information to use in order to trap other cult members and take them out one by one.
Once he is done talking, Jennifer raises her brow. “What is your part in all of this?”
“I just told you the entire plan!” He throws his hands in the air.
“Yeah, you told us all about howwewere going to be the ones doing all the hard work whileyougot to sit back and relax.” She shrugs. “I don’t see how that’s very fair.”
“I work beside these people. They track who’s assigned to what. If I step out of line, they’ll know. I can’t exactly take them out myself—but I can hand them to you gift-wrapped.”
Jennifer squints her eyes. “I’m sorry that I’m skeptical of a cult member being willing to off his own kind. You don’t find that repulsive?” she asks, turning to me.
I shake my head. “Not really. Who cares who he wants to kill as long as we get what we want?”
She thinks about that for a moment and then lets out a breath. “Fine. We will help you. When will we be getting our first set of instructions?”
Ryven stands up straight and walks toward his truck. When he returns, he is carrying a briefcase. He holds it out. “Right now. Full list of targets and who’s been assigned to each.”
Jennifer takes the briefcase and gives him a hard look. “This isn’t small. This is war.” She looks at me as if to say we don’t know what we’re getting ourselves into, then back at Ryven. “We’ll be in touch.” Then she leaves us by ourselves. Two of the others linger near the edge of the park watching. Just in case.
“What the hell was all the attitude right off the bat?” I question him as soon as the coast is clear.
He shrugs and takes off his mask. “I’m just grouchy, I guess.”
I squint my eyes. “There has to be more. You’re the one who wanted this meeting and then you came to it with a terrible attitude. It doesn’t make sense.”
He stares at me for a moment and then lets out a breath. “Cedric invited me to a council meeting.” The air changes.That name always does it.
I gasp. “You’ll get to see the other members and know who’s a part of it?”
He shakes his head. “No. That’s the stupid part. I’m not allowed in. Just close enough to eavesdrop.”
I raise my brow. “Why would he invite you to a meeting you can’t even attend?”
He groans. “Beats me. I assume he wants me to hear something, so I’ll go, I guess.”
I place my hand on his arm. “Why would this information have you in a bad mood?”
