“So, once Kyren texts me where the wolf is going, we’ll head out. Are you calling going to call the Guild for backup?” I met Julian’s eyes in the rearview mirror.
Julian frowned. “We can’t call them in until we know for sure that this is a rebel meeting.” He reached up to push his glasses up his nose, only he’d taken them off at the apartment, leaving him to rub his nose. “I can send a message to the president to have them be on standby, but it’s against protocol to just run in guns blazing without proof.”
“Bet you miss the good old days, huh?” Jack chuckled, her nerves coming through with the sound. “When the hunters could just break in anywhere they suspected supernatural activity?”
I snorted. “No, I don’t miss that. But I admit it would be helpful.”
My phone dinged.
Vamp Daddy:At Afterglow. Lots of movement.
“The wolf went to Afterglow.”
“To Afterglow?” Jack’s brows rose. “So that vamp dick who tried to kidnap me is part of this?”
I shrugged, staring down at my phone. “I guess. We won’t know for sure until we get in there.”
Not waiting for Kyren to give me the go ahead, I pulled out of the academy parking lot and onto the street.
There was a chance this was all a coincidence, and the wolf worked at the club. Or maybe he was meeting up with friends from school. However, his skittish behavior paired with the charmed note and the same club where Jack got attacked? That was too many coincidences to not be exactly what it seemed.
My phone dinged. I handed it to Jack while I drove.
She giggled. “Vamp Daddy? Really?”
I threw her a lopsided grin.
“Kyren says there’s lots of people going in, but the club’s sign is off like it’s closed.” Jack frowned down at the phone. “That’s a bad sign, right?”
Julian sighed in the back seat. “It definitely isn’t good.”
“Now can you call in the calvary?”
Jack answered me instead. “Not yet. We don’t have enough proof. So far we just have a bunch of supernaturals going into a closed establishment.”
“Even though their owner tried to kill you?” I shot back, keeping my eyes on the road. We weren’t moving fast enough, but I feared getting delayed by speeding. I didn’t want to leave Kyren alone for much longer. Who knew what he would end up doing?
Jack inhaled sharply.
“What?” I quickly glanced over at her, where she stared down at my phone. “Jack, what is it?”
She lifted her gaze from my phone, visibly swallowing. “Kyren just said Iris is there.”
My eyes narrowed. The devastation and confusion on Jack’s face being the final straw.
Fuck this.
I pushed the gas down until we were zooming through the streets. If any cops decided to come after us, then I’d handle it once we got to the club. But I wasn’t going to sit here and watch my girl’s world fall apart when there was something we could do about it.
“Maybe it’s a misunderstanding?” Jack murmured, sounding like she was trying to convince herself. “Maybe she forgot something? Xinyi’s always talking about how they love going to Afterglow. They go almost every weekend.”
“I’m sure it is.” Julian stroked the side of her head. “But you should prepare yourself for the possibility that your friend isn’treally your friend. She’s one of the people who are trying to hurt you and your family.”
Rage roared through me, wishing I could give Iris the benefit of the doubt, but I’d seen what happened when you refused to believe someone you trusted betrayed you. You ended up dead, and I wasn’t about to let that happen to Jack.
“Kyren’s asking our ETA,” Jack said, no emotion to her voice.
“Like ten minutes.”
