Page 27

Ares comes out before Noa even reaches the door. He is tall with broad shoulders, and I wouldn’t want to face him in the dark. He looks at me first, then at Cave, which surprises me.

“Is everything good?” Ares asks.

“We need information,” Noa says. “Some men have been following Valli due to her brother’s debts. We need to know who we’re dealing with.”

Ares looks at me again, and I feel he is reading more into me than I realize. “After last night, Clay may not be inclined to help.”

“He’ll be here,” Kayla says matter-of-factly as Ares looks at her. “I already texted him—you know he won’t say no to me.”

Ares laughs. “He says no to you constantly.”

Kayla shrugs. “He says no, but then he shows up. Same thing.”

Ares is quiet for a moment, then pulls out a stool at the end of the bar and takes a seat.

We order some food, and within ten minutes Clay arrives. He is lean and dark-haired, with a resting don’t fuck with me expression. I honestly think I would be more scared of him than Cave.

Clay doesn’t greet anyone; instead, his eyes go straight to Cave, who stares back unblinking. Clay moves around the bar and stands beside Kayla, who places a coffee down in front of him.

“This is not tense at all,” Noa whispers behind me.

Cipher takes out a notepad and sets it on the bar, clicking his pen. “Tell us everything you know, Valli. Names, how much he owes, and how long this has been going on.”

I take a breath to brace myself; I have not shared this with anyone before now. “My brother’s name is Rowan Calloway. He has been running up debts since he was about twenty. I know of one when he was younger that our father paid off, but once our parents passed away, it was up to me to pay them. The man he owes now, his name is Dennis Hale—but he goes by Steedy. He’s a loan shark, and the money gets borrowed at a rate no one can afford to pay back. When you can’t clear it, they take other things. Last year they took his car, but that wasn’t enough.”

Cipher writes everything down without looking up.

I clear my throat and continue. “The man who took me the other day was Tommy. He was one of Hale’s collectors. He hasn’t reported back to Steedy since then, and now Steedy thinks I have something to do with his disappearance.”

“Did you?” Kayla asks.

“All I remember is Cave standing behind him. Cave hit him, and Tommy fell down. I passed out after that and woke up in the cornfield.”

“I buried him,” Noa says, and tears lace my lashes.

“You killed him?”

Noa shakes his head. “No, but when Cave took me to him, he was no longer breathing. If he was still alive, it was a shallow grave, so he could have dug his way out.”

“Oh no!” I lament. “This is so fucking bad. I’m going to die!”

No one rushes to tell me I am wrong, and I appreciate their honesty even if I hate it.

Kayla refills my coffee without being asked, which I understand is her version of I’ve got you. I wrap both hands around the mug as I try to get my breathing to slow down.

Cave puts his hand over mine. “Mine.”

I sniffle. “Your possessive act won’t save me, Cave.”

“I can run their names. I’ll know by tonight who works under him, and what the liability looks like,” Ares says, and Clay nods.

“And Rowan?” I ask.

“We’ll need to talk to him,” Clay says.

“He won’t talk willingly.”

“He doesn’t have to,” Noa says.