I shrugged, keeping my expression neutral.
Rook crossed the room and sat on the stool across from me, leaning forward with a hard look. “We need to talk.”
My stomach dropped. I tightened my grip on the bottle, focusing on the bite of glass against my palm instead of his eyes. If he suspected what I’d done, I’d lose everything. Panic ripped through me, the ground tilting away. This was it.
I was really going to lose it all before I ever really had her.
“The threats are getting worse,” he finally said.
I had to take three deep breaths to steady my breathing.
“Fuck, Rook. How do you not know to not start a sentence with ‘we need to talk’? Has Regan taught you nothing?”
“Why is that a problem? Wedoneed to talk.”
I shook my head, my body relaxing as a smile finally broke. “Try that on Regan and let me know how that goes.”
His eyes narrowed, probably trying to decide if I was bullshitting him. “Is this a real thing I need to try, or are you trying to get me in trouble? What is the problem with talking?”
“Nothing, but twenty bucks says she throws something at you before you get to your next sentence.”
He calmed, tension falling from his shoulders as he grinned.
“Deal, but if it hits me, I’m not paying you.”
“Deal.”
“You good?” Rook asked, taking a closer look at me. “You look like shit.”
“How sweet of you, but I’m fine,” I lied, running a hand through my hair. “Didn’t sleep.”
Rook’s eyes narrowed again, like he didn’t believe a word I was saying, but he didn’t push it. Instead, he leaned back, folding his arms across his chest. “Back to the threats. I’ve been hearing some shit about the Vault being a hangout for Anderson or his guys, but I can’t get anything one hundred percent accurate on which. If he’s behind these guys coming after us, we can’t keep waiting for him to come out of hiding. We know Cross’s guys go there sometimes. Either way, I think we need to head down there and hang out for a few hours to see if we can get anything.”
I nearly snarled as I remembered my last run-in with Asher. I didn’t dislike the guy—but I hated that he wanted Evie. “It’s a good place to start. People are always talking there.”
“Either the people we need, or the people who know the ones we need, will be there. Drunk, and partying away their day. They always slip up. We go in tonight, get some drinks, hang out, and see what we can find out.”
“Have you told Asher our plan?”
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “I don’t see the need right now. Outside the pack, all anyone needs to know is we are going for a night out. That’s all. We don’t need whoever is watching us to catch on.”
I nodded, feeling the familiar pull of duty, of responsibility. This was what I should focus on—not Evie, not the fear of being found out, which was eating me alive. It should have been the only thing on my mind.
The threats. The plan. Keeping everyone safe.
“I’ll need you to stick to Evie like fucking glue, though. If weare going right into a mess of people filled with the ones going after her, I want someone on her the entire time.”
“You sure you want me doing it tonight? I’m sure Hero or Mason could.”
He shook his head. “I’m struggling not to lock her up to keep her safe, man. The only person I know who cares about her even a fraction of how much I do is you.”
I shook my head, trying to focus on the plan, but my brain seemed to stick on being on top of Evie all night. I knew my face fell, I knew I was doing a shit job at hiding anything I felt and Rook caught on fast.
“Are you up for this?” Rook asked, his voice low and cautious.
I forced myself to nod. “Yeah. I’m up for it. Not a problem at all.”
He gave me a look like he didn’t believe me, but he didn’t push it further. “All right. We’ll head over tonight. Just be ready.”
