Asch grimaces. “Can we really trust her not to turn on us immediately?”
“Can I trustyounot to?” Bobbi counters. “It’s a stalemate.”
Pandora lets go of me and goes to crouch in front of Bobbi. She places her hand on Bobbi’s jaw, and to her credit, Bobbi doesn’t even flinch.
“We’ll tell you what we know about your sister. And if you still want to kill me after that…” Pandora smiles. “You need to consider whether rescuing your sister is more important than killing me. Because I don’t think you can have both of those things.”
“She can’t,” I say. “Because she can’t haveyou.”
No matter what happens, I will protect Pandora. I will keep her safe.
Even from someone I thought could’ve become a friend.
23
PANDORA
When she’s done looking over the files, Bobbi wipes a tear from the corner of her eyes.
“Fuck,” Bobbi says.
The basement isn’t the best place for a tactical meeting, but we’re not about to let Bobbi upstairs where she could potentially come across Samantha.
Blaze takes the tablet back from her. “Yeah. Asch noticed the connection. Roberta, Bobbi—and the dates match up with when the sister pair got taken. Not to mention,Lynxgetting sent down to NewVa only a year later.”
I still don’t get it, but I wasn’t looking for anything that was unconnected to Rachel.
That’s where singular focus gets me: completely ignoring everything else.
I snuggle against Asch while Blaze and Bobbi discuss all the details. River sits in a fold-up chair across from us, scowling the entire time.
Maybe I should be snuggling with him? He has a bruise on his jaw that needs to be kissed better.
Or maybe my own tender face needs soothing. Blaze said my nose isn’t broken, but every painful inhale makes me think he’s a liar.
“Fuck!” Bobbi shouts. She gets up and kicks the side of the sofa, sending it—and Blaze—sliding a few inches.
Wow, no wonder she was able to lift me up so easily.
I’m probably lucky I don’t need facial reconstruction.
“That bastard!” Bobbi clenches her fist. “I believed him. I believed him! But this entire time, he’s known? He was the one who…”
Bobbi lets out a frustrated sound, one that’s so familiar it echoes in my own chest.
“Yeah.” Blaze gets off the couch. “My dad’s a dick like that.”
“That’s putting it lightly,” Asch comments.
Asch is really not taking the whole human trafficking thing well, judging by how he shuts down every time it comes up.
Bobbi kicks the couch again, which slides farther without Blaze’s weight. Then she takes a deep breath and stands tall. “Fine. Yeah, I’ll help you. Anything to take that dick down.”
Because at the end of the day, it’s all his fault.
He’s the one who did this.
Well, he didn’t start it. The fraternity is older than him, and the secret networks it created have existed for almost a century.
