“We all know you won’t come back,” Lanie says, and I hear the sadness in her tone more than the bitterness.
“You don’t know that,” Nina says, but it lacks conviction.
Lanie’s probably right. Chase attends Tulane, and Ian works there. They’re settled, whereas Nina isn’t. It would only make sense for her to move to them.
“I’m happy for you,” I say, offering my most sincere smile to my best friend.
She leaps forward, crushing me to her chest. “Thank you, Ally.”
When we’ve all had a moment to process the fact that Nina is leaving, it’s finally time to discuss what’s happening and why I called Nina in the first place.
I’m sitting across from my two best friends, sharing what I learned from the brief encounter with Chelsea Grayson. The entire time I share what she said, Nina sits enraptured and visibly shocked by it all, whereas Lanie seems tense, almost paranoid, and it occurs to me that this isn’t the first time she’s gotten strange at the mention of the Order.
“I need to ask you something, Lanie. But I need you to not get defensive,” I say, holding her gaze. Her eyes narrow in on me, and she bites her cheek. “Do you know something about the Order of Providence?”
She runs her tongue along her bottom teeth, hard eyes trained on me.
She’s not happy with my line of questioning, which just further proves she’s keeping secrets.
Nina peers at the side of Lanie’s head before turning to me, a look of confusion marring her face.
“Why would you ask something like that?” Nina asks, but I don’t address her, refusing to look away from Lanie’s cold stare.
Never in my life have I been on the receiving end of that glare.
“Because two different times when the Order has been mentioned, Lanie has gotten weird,” I explain, turning away from my stare-down with Lanie. “We have the ability to save a young girl, but we can’t go running into this with a half-assed plan that could get us all hurt. If she knows something, she needs to speak up.”
“Do you know who this group is?” Nina asks.
Lanie takes a deep breath and huffs out a humorless laugh. “I am familiar with the legend of the Order of Providence, but I only know it from whispers among criminals as being a society that pulls all the strings on the East Coast. If they exist, they have been said to have had a hand in some of the biggest events that have occurred on our side of the US.”
My head moves back slightly, not following Lanie.
Lanie sighs. “If something happened in Washington or New York that was big news, we as civilians might not know the truth behind that event,” she explains. “Maybe certain things didn’t play out the way the public was led to believe. Maybe there is truth in the crazed conspiracies that float out there on numerous happenings.” She shrugs. “The Order of Providence was positioned as a thing of myth…not reality.”
“And how were you hearing about it?” Nick asks, voice smooth, but I don’t miss the subtle hint of accusation as he enters the room carrying a tray of coffees. “I’m a detective. My father is former FBI, and this is the first I’m hearing of such a society.”
Lanie’s eyes close on a long exhale. “Pre–Knox Harbor, I was a different girl. I ran in a bad crowd and got pulled into some shit I never meant to get involved in.” She takes a deep breath and looks at me and then Nick. “I’m asking that you don’t press on the specifics, as they’re not relevant to this. But mark my words—if the people I was tied to were scared of what they deemed lore, the knowledge that it’s real should scare the shit out of all of us.”
I see the way Lanie’s hands shake and the sudden concern in Nina’s eyes.
“If this changes things and you don’t want to get involved, knowing the risks, I understand,” I say to both my friends. “I don’t want to put you in harm’s way.”
“I said I’d help,” Nina states. “Just tell me what I need to do.”
“Me too,” Lanie parrots.
We spend the next hour running down everything that Nick knows about Haven’s Bard, the bar we believe is one of the drop points.
“Every dream or vision I’ve had, it’s been dark outside, so we need to be there and in place before nightfall,” I say, picking lint off my black joggers. “Nina, your objective is to locate a spot at the barnext to the man with the tattoo sleeve, assuming this plays out like my dream.”
“Got it. Touch him and concentrate on uncovering who he is and who he works for,” she recites her part for tonight.
“If you’re unable to make it happen for any reason, just protect Ashley. Keep her in the bar at all costs. As of right now, we have nothing to hold the guy on, which means we need to focus on keeping Ashley alive.”
Lanie and Nina nod.
“Lanie, you don’t have to do this,” I say, because she still looks a little pale from all the talk of the Order.
