“I know things are desperate, but we could’ve found another way.”
“Diesel, I didn’t marry them solely to get Sinner off my back.” Saint squeezes my thigh. “I love them. They’re my future.” It’s as simple as that. My eyes meet Theo’s across the table, and he smiles.
“You’re so young,” Diesel says after a few tense, silent beats. “Too young to make that call now.”
“You don’t get to decide that for me, and I may be young, but I know what I feel in my heart is forever.” He sighs, and I know this has hurt him, because he still has feelings for me. “This is why I wanted to talk to you in person,” I say.
“I’m sorry, Lo. I’m being unfair. I know you love them and they love you. I’ve seen it. It’s just… You’ve been through so much, and it seems like an extreme solution, but I also know how mature you are for your age, and I know they’ve had to grow up fast too. I might not fully understand it, but I accept it. As long as you’re happy.”
“I am happy. Now all that’s left is to deal with Sinner. We need to stop The Sainthood before more women get hurt.”
The guys have drug deliveries to coordinate, so we separate after lunch with Galen, Saint, and Caz heading to take care of business while Theo comes with me to visit Emmett’s little sister.
I’m pleasantly surprised when Sean opens the door to Emmett’s house. “I didn’t know you’d be here,” I say, accepting his hug.
“We had practice earlier, and when Emmett mentioned you were dropping by, I decided to come too.” He steps aside, letting us enter.
“Hey.” Emmett rushes toward the door, pulling a sweater over his bare chest. His hair is damp, and little beads of water cling to his cheeks, confirming he’s not long out of the shower. “Thanks for coming. Lynn is so excited to meet you.”
“Are your parents here?” Theo asks, as we follow Emmett and Sean through the large entryway into a massive open-plan kitchen and dining room.
“They’re out of town for the weekend. It’s just us,” Emmett confirms, leading me over to the large wooden table where his sister is at.
Lynn is sitting in a comfy recliner chair with a blanket draped over her lap. Her dark hair is wispy and close to her head, confirming the growth is new. Emmett said the new drug she’s taking is helping, and her leukemia is in remission, but she’s clearly been through a lot. Her big brown eyes are exactly like her older brother’s, and they are bright with excitement as we approach. Her cheeks pinken when she spots Theo at my side, and she dips her chin shyly.
She’s got good taste. I like her already.
“Harlow, this is my sister Lynn.”
I take the seat beside her, smiling. “Hey, Lynn. It’s nice to finally meet you. Emmett talks about you all the time.”
“You too,” she says in a quiet voice. Her eyelashes flutter as she glances at Theo, and her cheeks redden some more. Someone definitely has a little crush, and I wholeheartedly approve. Sean looks at Lynn with an amused expression while Emmett’s face is as dark as thunder.
I smother my laughter, focusing on the sick little girl. “Emmett tells me you’re interested in kickboxing.”
She nods repeatedly, and her eyes pop wide. “I brought something you might like.” I hand her my cell with the video of Sariah and me performing at the annual state kickboxing event two years ago. I look over at Sean. “Sar is in the video,” I warn, because I don’t know if it will upset him. He moves his seat closer, looking over Lynn’s shoulder as they watch the recording together.
We spend a pleasant couple of hours at Emmett’s house, and I didn’t realize how much I needed this visit. It helps to do something normal. To spend time with people I care about, who have no agenda or ulterior motive.
Sean and I also talk properly for the first time, and though it’s upsetting for both of us, it helps to discuss our feelings and how much we’re missing Sariah.
I feel a little lighter as we leave although I’m sure it won’t last long.
We meet the guys at a local Thai place for dinner before heading back to the barn to get ready for our recon mission. The guys load the truck with weapons and a bunch of surveillance equipment, and then we set out, following the coordinates Bry sent us. He’s meeting us on the outskirts of Fenton, a couple miles from the meeting place.
“Isn’t it risky them meeting in Fenton?” I ask, quickly removing my dirty boots from the dash when Saint growls at me. He’s as anal as ever about this car, and no matter what we have going down, he always makes time to look after it. It’s so clean I could eat my dinner off the floor.
“Meeting anywhere around Lowell or Prestwick is riskier, so I guess that’s why they chose this location,” Saint says.
“I hope The Bulls aren’t facilitating it,” Galen pipes up from the back seat.
“They’re dead men if they are,” Saint adds.
Saint blares music while we drive, muting conversation, and my mind wanders to my mother’s date. I’m ready to wash my hands of her. Truly, I am, but I’m still sick to my stomach at the thought of her being anywhere near that sick bastard.
We turn into the entrance of Fenton Forest a few minutes later, and Saint cuts the music as we pull up alongside Bry’s black Chevy Silverado pickup. Saint lowers the window, resting his elbow on the door.
Bry steps closer, and he’s similarly dressed to us in his black cargo pants, black boots, and black hoodie. He’s wearing a black skullcap on his head, and the bulge of his gun belt is obvious under his hoodie.
“What’s the update?” Saint asks in a barely civil tone.
“The meeting is still going ahead as scheduled, which gives us an hour to get into position.”
“We’ll tail you,” Saint says, and Bry nods, sparing a quick glance at me before he hops back into his truck.
We follow behind him, along an old, bumpy road that winds around the perimeter of the forest.
“You see anything?” Saint asks, looking in the mirror at Theo.
“The coast is clear so far,” Theo says, without lifting his eyes from his tablet. “I don’t see any evidence of an ambush or anyone following us.”
“You can tell that?” I ask, swiveling a little in my seat so I can see his face.
“This new software Diesel hooked me up with is the shit.” He looks up at me, and excitement lights up his eyes. “And he’s promised to get me some other stuff that is way cool. It pays to have contacts in the right places.”
Caz snorts. “Careful you don’t cream your pants.”
Theo elbows him. “Don’t pretend like tinkering underneath a car doesn’t get your rocks off.” He shrugs, smiling. “It’s good to have a passion.”
“Yeah, dude. It is.” Caz drills him with a heated look, and my eyes meet Galen’s in understanding.
It’s dark in the car, so I can’t be sure, but I think Theo’s blushing.
I turn back around in my seat, leaving them to their moment. Saint spares a quick look at me, and I grin at him. I love that the tension between the guys is giving way to something else, and I love that we’re doing something. It feels like I’ve spent months sitting on my butt, and I’m itching for some action. Itching to put our plan into motion and take those assholes down.
“I really hope we get some answers tonight,” I admit, as Saint pushes the Land Rover up an incline.
“We better, because I’m ready to end this,” Saint says, articulating my thoughts.
“We’ve got to stop him before this new truckload of girls arrives in Lowell,” Galen adds. “If other members get a taste for this business, it might not cease when Sinner goes down.”
“It will,” I say, turning around to look at him. “Diesel will make sure of it.” The only reason VERO—the covert organization he works for—hasn’t shut it down is because they want to give Sinner enough rope to hang himself. Plus, they are trusting in Diesel, in us, to help nail his ass to the wall.
We drive higher and higher up the mountain, passing an isolated house plunged in da
rkness, before the road levels out. Bry parks behind a one-level structure made of corrugated iron, and we pull up beside him.
We congregate between both vehicles, and I lean back against the hood as I scan our surroundings. You can see so much from this height, and familiar sprawling towns are spread out below us on one side, lights twinkling for miles. On the other side is the less well-known part of Fenton Forest, where the meeting is taking place.
“Is that it?” I ask, pointing at the small derelict wooden structure in the near distance, at ground level. The property has clearly seen better days, and it’s obviously uninhabitable. Half the roof is missing, and the back part of the structure has been torn down. The front door is missing, and all the windows are boarded up. It’s surrounded by thick trees on all sides, and the only access point is the dirt track leading from the front section of the woods.
“Yep. I did a little digging, and it’s an old cabin that’s been in Diego’s family for generations. Very few people know about it.”
“We should set up,” Theo says, opening the trunk. “We need to be in position before they arrive.”
“I spotted that little hilly section there when I was staking out the place a couple days ago.” Bry points at a raised section at the front of the mountain. “It’s deep enough to conceal us, but we’ll still have a good vantage point.”
“It’s perfect,” Saint agrees.
We won’t be seen up here, but we are close enough that we should be able to make out the identity of the mole with the use of the binoculars Theo procured for us.
Galen and I sit on top of the hilly ledge with Bry while the others unload two boxes.
“Has Darrow said anything to you?” I ask, purely to make conversation because the tension in the air is brutal.
“Nothing. He’s keeping me at arm’s length. We barely even talk these days,” Bry admits.
“That’s odd,” Galen says. “Do you think he suspects you?”
Bry shrugs. “I honestly don’t know.” He leans forward on his elbows. “But I’ve been thinking about what went down last night, and it’s time I made my move. Sinner must know my position is compromised if The Arrows warehouse is taken out, so there isn’t anything more I can do. That will neuter the bastards, and while they’ll retaliate, it won’t be immediate because they won’t have enough firepower to come back at you.”
“He’s expecting you to hand him the rat. What do you plan to do there?” I inquire, remembering Bry’s initiation tasks.
He shrugs. “I guess it depends on who he is and how forthcoming he is with us.”
“We offer him up to Sinner on a platter if he refuses to play with us, and if he does, we’ll need to find a scapegoat to offer in his place,” I suggest.
“You’re all in now?” Saint asks, dropping one of the boxes on the ground.
“I am.”
“That’s good,” I say, when no one else speaks. We have to give Bry the benefit of the doubt at this stage.
“I expect the bullshit to end.” Bry drills Saint with a loaded look. “I’m one of you. Period.”
“You need to switch schools,” Caz says, dumping the second box.
“I know,” Bry agrees. “My parents won’t approve, but I’ll smooth things over.”
We help Theo unpack the boxes, and then we get in position. Theo adjusts the coordinates of the infrared surveillance software so it’s fixed on the meeting point down below, testing that the recording mechanism works. Satisfied, he hands us a set of binoculars each before Caz helps him to prop up a large stabilized binocular on a stand.
I set my AR-15 on its stand and set it off to the side. No one expects I’ll need it, but we felt it was best to come prepared, in case this is an ambush and we come under fire.
I switch on my burner cell, to check for updates from Diesel, and my heart rate kicks off when I see the urgent text, asking me to call him ASAP. Something must be wrong, and fear creeps into my veins at the thought something has happened to Mom. My finger is hovering over the call button when Theo speaks up. “We have movement. I see vehicles approaching. Be on guard.”
I could step away to call Diesel, but if Diego or the mole are using any tracking software they might pick up on the signal. Theo has gone to huge lengths to mask the software he’s using so there’s no trace if they are smart enough to run any checks, and I can’t blow this operation, because it’s too important. It’s too risky to return Diesel’s call right now, so I power off the phone and repocket it.
“Will we be able to hear them from up here?” I whisper as we watch a car and a truck pull up in front of the dilapidated old cabin.
“No. I didn’t want to risk using a drone in case they spotted it, and the only other way it could’ve worked was if I planted a recording device somewhere in the vicinity of the meeting place. While it’s unlikely they have any cameras on the place, I didn’t think it was a risk we should take.”
“We don’t need to hear them anyway,” Saint says. “We only need to confirm the identity of the rat. Then we’ll follow him, take him when he’s not watching, and interrogate him.”
I nod, because it’s a solid plan.
We’re deathly quiet as we watch two figures climb out of the vehicles. I squint through the binoculars, but it’s so dark down there I can’t distinguish the features of the people meeting.
“I can’t see shit,” Caz says, adjusting the lens on his binoculars.
“Hang on a second,” Theo says, moving to the larger binoculars set up on the stand.
I move my binoculars from the first figure to the second, and while I can’t see the features, something else becomes apparent. “Is that—”
“Holy shit,” Theo hisses. He jerks his head back. “You need to see this, Lo.”
I scoot over, pressing my eyes to the lens, and all the blood drains from my face.
“What is it?” Saint asks, impatience evident in his tone.
“Mom,” I whisper, taking another look in case my eyes are deceiving me. I sit back on my heels, staring at Theo in shock.
“You don’t mean…” Galen says, his voice trailing off.
“It’s Mom,” I say, finding my voice. I stare at Saint in horror as a million different thoughts swirl through my mind. “Giana is the mole. She’s the one who’s been selling The Sainthood out.”
CHAPTER 26
“THIS IS SO fucked up,” Caz says as Theo places his eyes back on the large binoculars.
“And dangerous,” I add, as my brain struggles to comprehend the revelation. “What the fuck was she thinking?” I climb to my feet and stalk off toward the cars. My chest tightens, and panic has a vise grip on my heart. My breath oozes out in strangled spurts, and I can’t breathe, can’t think, over the sheer terror racing through my body, replacing the blood flowing through my veins.
If Sinner finds out about this…
“Breathe, my queen.” Saint places his hands on my shoulders, peering intently into my eyes, concern etched upon his face. “Nice and slow. In and out.” He breathes with me until the panic subsides and my breathing levels out.
“What the fuck has she done, Saint?” Tears stab the backs of my eyes. “It’s a suicide mission. He will slaughter her when he finds out, and he will find out, because if we could uncover the truth, so can he.”
“I know.”
I appreciate that he doesn’t baby me, giving it to me straight. Mom is in even graver danger than I thought.
Saint pulls me into his warm body, and I go willingly, resting my head on his chest and banding my arms around his waist. The steady, strong beat of his heart under my ear is comforting.
“She has to leave. Get out of the country. Go into hiding.” My words are muffled against his hoodie.
“We’ll convince her,” Saint says.
I lift my head, shucking out of his embrace. “She’s going to go back to him. That’s what this dinner is about. She’s not finished whatever she’s planning to do. She won’t agree.” I bite down on my
lip hard, drawing blood. “I can’t believe my dad thought she was ignorant to everything. That’s clearly not the case.”
“No. Giana knows a lot more than she’s let on,” Saint agrees, rubbing his thumb up and down the side of my neck. “And we’ll fucking kidnap her and force her to leave if we have to.”
I nod, because Mom is getting the fuck off US soil whether she likes it or not.
Footsteps approach, and we turn around. “You need to see this,” Bry says, lifting one shoulder.
We run to the others, dropping to the ground and getting into position. “What’s going on?” I ask.
Caz hands me my binoculars. “I fixed them so you should be able to see.”
“They’re arguing about something,” Theo explains as I lift the binoculars to my eyes.
Mom is pacing the ground in front of Diego, and from the speed her lips are moving and the agitation in her limbs, I can tell she’s shouting at him. She waves her hands animatedly in the air, before grabbing his arm. Her eyes widen as she talks. He shakes his head, removing her grip and backing away. Diego says something else, and Mom shakes her head, reaching for him again, imploring with her eyes. Whatever she wants, he’s not agreeing to. He flings up his hands, shaking his head sadly as he steps back.
Mom’s shoulders lift, and she juts her lip out. Her eyes blaze with a ferocity I’ve rarely seen. She says something else, and it’s a parting shot before she strides to her car, gets in, and peels out of there, tires screeching as she leaves little dust clouds in her wake. Diego stares at the departing car, shaking his head as he pulls out his cell and places a call.
“We need to go after her.” I jump up. “She must be going to meet Sinner now.”
Caz and Theo are already dismantling the large binoculars and the stand.
“What do you think that was about?” Bry asks as Saint and Galen start packing up one of the boxes.
“She’s planning something, and my guess is she asked The Arrows for help and they’ve said no.” I rub a tense spot between my brows. “Or maybe they want her to lay low for a bit, and she’s fed up waiting.” I sigh. “I don’t know, and we won’t until we confront her.”
The Sainthood : A Dark High School Romance (The Complete Series) Page 75
