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Liam scratches down the numbers, piecing together the order based on the decimal points and plausible directions.
39.7256 N, 104.9817 W
He plugs it into his phone. “Denver, Colorado,” he supplies.
“Yep,” I gasp, barely able to contain the emotion. “Ben mentioned he was going to Colorado. I thought it was for work.”
He pulls up a satellite image and several photos of a restaurant. “Do you know this place?”
I snatch his phone and swipe through all the pictures. “No. But look.” Enhancing one until we can see a small park behind the restaurant, I point to the screen. “Stepping stones. The bookmark.”
It feels like Ben is here with us. The smoke from the Dodge Viper that has fogged up so many thoughts and feelings instantly dissipates. Everything is clearer.
I scan the quote from Nietzsche again, noting the last line. “It all depends on how you use them.”
“It’s a hint for the geocache he left me.” It takes a second for all the pieces to move into place, but like a chess gameplay that unfolds before me, so does Ben’s directive. “The bookmark was in The Da Vinci Code, which was the third book in the stack. I’d bet anything that the black book is buried beneath the third stone.”
“Fuck,” the guys all hiss in unison.
Liam tugs me into his arms, burying his face in my hair. “You did it, baby girl. I knew you would. Looks like we’re going to Colorado.”
LIAM
“She’s out,” I inform Gage right as Rex saunters toward us from the plane’s restroom.
“What the hell?” he gasps. “How long was I fucking in there?”
Yeah. That was to be expected. Celeste is out like a light, the limp and drooling kind. I wipe her chin with a cocktail napkin and ignore him for another beat. I’m not a fan of explaining myself, and I’m guessing he’s going to be hoping for a hefty explanation in the next few minutes.
Gage waves him off with a cursory, “She’s resting,” which surely won’t hold for more than a few seconds, but it affords us a breath.
We’re on our way to Colorado. Gage and Rex flew one of our jets from New Orleans to Ohio, and then from Ohio to Tennessee. Which is good because driving out west would’ve been a bitch.
We binge-watched Queen Charlotte, as promised—four episodes. It was better than expected, although still not really my thing. But my girl snuggled up to me for all of it, and I’d watch anything with her in my arms.
After dinner, we set out on our journey west. There’s a lot that could happen now that we’ve left the refuge of the safe house, so that’s what I’m attending to now. Celeste is none the wiser since I slipped a sedative into her champagne glass after we boarded. When Gage and I noticed her eyes getting heavy, we divided to conquer. He distracted Rex with some bullshit conversation until Rex eventually excused himself to the restroom.
But his gaping mouth and squinted eyes suggest he’s not buying the resting bit. “Someone had better start talking. What the hell is wrong with Cee?”
“Wrong isn’t the right word. She’s perfect. And I’m going to assure she always is.” I pin him with a stern glower as I sweep her hair over one shoulder. “Let’s not forget, you work for me. Since we both love this girl, I’ll ignore your curt tone. But I’m making decisions with her best interest at heart, and that’s all that matters. Understood?”
Gage arches a brow, arms crossed over his chest, eyes flitting between the two of us, clearly eager to see how this will play out.
Rex exhales, standing his ground. “When it comes to Cee, I won’t blindly follow orders. I didn’t do it with her father, and I won’t do it with you. If you want my cooperation, you’re gonna need to sell me on whatever the hell you’re doing.”
A dark chuckle falls from my lips as I straighten and grip Rex’s shoulder. “If anyone else had said that fucking shit to me, I’d probably have killed them. But I like how fierce you are for my girl, so I’ll go with it. Watch and see.”
I hold my hand out to Gage, who plops the tools I need into my palm—that was the gift he brought me, along with the books. After setting them on the seat beside her, I turn back to him. “Antiseptic and numbing cream?”
“Right here,” Gage says as he hands me the antiseptic wipe first.
Rex rubs his forehead with a huff. “Give me a damn explanation first.”
I compromise, cleansing an area on the back of Ace’s neck, just below her hairline, while answering. “She needs a tracker. I’m not asking her because I don’t have time to waste convincing her and I can’t risk her refusing one.” My eyes shoot to his as I drop the wipe on the armrest and hold my hand out to Gage for the numbing cream. “Whatever danger you’ve been protecting her from all these years just got exponentially worse. I need to know where she is at all times.”
He ambles away to his seat across the aisle while I massage the ointment into her skin. “You could’ve led with that. I just lost two men. I was terrified we might have lost her too. I’ve got no problem with you tracking her. In fact, I’d probably support locking her the fuck up.”
I like Rex more every day. He’s got his priorities straight.
