Page 5 of Enter if you Dare: Part Three

He nods and then looks at Nixie. “Walk me out.”

She slides out and they exit the bar together as I look down at the card in my hand, then close my fingers around it.

Hang on, Cave, we’re coming for you—no matter what it takes.

CHAPTER THREE

Noa

I’ve had to give myself a new rule. No plans involving the police, mental institutions, or anything Valli would not agree with me doing. I wrote it down on a Post-it note and stuck it to the inside of a coffin lid—it’s where I keep all my important things. Every time I get an idea on how we can get Cave back, I look at it and ask myself if it involves any of those things. If the answer is yes, I scrap it and start again.

But I’ve already accepted I am absolutely going to break this rule.

I don’t know exactly when or how, but I know myself. Unfortunately, past me had more faith that current me would stick to it. I hate watching Valli try to be strong, while Cipher throws himself into whatever it is he is working on today to shut the world out. To block out the knowledge that Cave is locked away like an animal when he doesn’t need to be. He needs to be at home with his people. I can’t bear him thinking we forgot about him or worse, abandoned him, because we never would. We are simply trying to do things the right way, so we don’t make things worse, but I think Nixie knows there is a time limit on our affability.

Tonight the mood in the tent feels off. Most people don’t get along with Cave, or I should say he doesn’t get along with them, but he is one of us. When something like this happens, we all feel it. Cave rarely attends these briefing sessions, and if he does, he lingers in the doorway and is gone before they end. I keep looking over, even though I know he isn’t coming.

Valli sits beside me, her hair falling loose from her messy bun, the tendrils framing her face. She looks sad, and I hate that I cannot fix this for her. Cipher sits on her other side; he also isn’t taking part in tonight’s chase, but he will stay with Valli the whole time. Vero drops into a seat two rows in front of us with a bag of something that crinkles every time he moves. Brawley sits beside him, while Clay stands at the back with his arms across his chest, and Vesper sits as far away from Vero as possible but still close enough that we are all in the same section.

Nixie runs through the briefing quickly. She wants no incidents tonight, so that makes the process easier.

The Jester appears from the side entrance, dressed up in his costume, his bells jingling as he walks. He drops into a seat in the front row, then turns to look at us all.

“So,” he says. “I’ve been thinking.”

“Did it hurt?” Vesper sneers.

The Jester ignores her and turns his attention to Valli. “I want to go in.”

Valli looks up from her phone. “Go in where?”

“The facility,” he says, as if we should have known what he meant. “I’ll get myself admitted. I can’t imagine it’s hard. Once I’m in, I’ll contact Cave and find out what’s happening, maybe even move things along a little from the inside.”

I bite down on my lip, capturing my words. I can’t; I have a rule to not do anything stupid. The look on Valli’s face says it’s a stupid idea for sure, even if I think it’s genius. Unfortunately, my brain and my mouth have never been great at working together.

“That is either the best or the worst idea I have heard,” I blurt out.

The Jester laughs. “The best, of course.”

“Worst,” Valli says, confirming my suspicions.

“I agree it’s the best,” Vero adds, now balanced on his knees facing us. “No one has had a better idea since I had a life-sized wax figure made of Kayla.”

“The wax figure is creepy,” Clay interjects.

I’ve seen the thing, and it looks scarily similar to their girlfriend. Vero likes to move it around, and I’m surprised she still has a head.

“Just think about it. Vincent is working the legal angle, which is slow. This is faster. I go in and find him to tell him you’re coming. I’m not suggesting we break him out . . . though I think the two of us could take them.” The Jester’s grin widens with his last words.

“So you would only pass on a message?” I ask, and he nods.

I think about it, and it sounds like a great idea. “It solves the issue of him thinking we abandoned him.”

“Noa,” Valli says in a scary mom voice.

“But—”

“No.” Her no is firm, leaving zero room for negotiation.