Page 37 of Road to Redemption

I tried to search my memory for General Callahan’s face — certainly if they were so close, I would have remembered him hanging around the house those summers. Dom had already confirmed that they came to the parties now and again.

But I couldn’t recall Keith either. And looking at this picture, it was terrifying to realize again just how spotty my memory was.

“They certainly seem cozy…” I frowned.

“This is the most I’ve been able to find, though.” Leo grumbled. “No matter how hard I dig, there’s nothing to see. I’m surprised this picture even survived honestly. Whatever they were up to, they’ve been pretty thorough about covering their trail.”

I could see in her eyes that she was still holding out hope that they weren’t involved. That they weren’t as far gone as Isaac. That they had a line somewhere.

But getting attached to that idea was a risky gamble. And I knew that Leo didn’t like dealing in uncertainty.

“Have you tried reaching out to the Oracle?” My voice wavered as she turned to face me, finally pulling her deep cognac eyes away from the screen. But I continued anyway. “Since they’re the ones who brought us all together, maybe they’ll tell you why if you ask.”

Is that even something we’re allowed to do? Or do they only answer the phone for Dom?

“I’m more likely to get another riddle from the Oracle than a straight answer,” Leo sighed. “Our little trip to the Summit was a one-off. Plus, we might be running out of favors from them. Whatever they’ve had to do to get us into a safehouse… I think it’ll be a bit before we can ask them for much more.”

“I feel like we hardly ask them for anything. What’s the point in being a part of their organization if they can’t scratch our backs every once in a while?”

But even as the words left my mouth, I could hear how silly they were. Because of the Oracle, we were sitting comfy in Washington instead of chasing Zeus goons off our lawn. Because of them, we’d gotten answers to questions that had haunted me my entire life, even if they were hidden under layers of riddles. Because of them, we were on the precipice of ending Zeus’ reign of terror for the first time in decades.

Maybe I’m being a bit harsh on them.

Leo seemed to think so, based on the eyebrow she raised in my direction.

But it was hard not to be when Leo looked so down.

“Well maybe…” I swallowed, too late to pull back the suggestion.

“Maybe what?”

“Maybe if you can’t find anything then there’s nothing to find.” I was desperate for some way to comfort her, to make this problem go away. But the reassurance rang hollow. So I shook my head and tried again.

“If there is something, I’m going to do everything I can to help you find it. We’ve gotten our answers,” I gestured to Dom, Spencer, and myself. “Now, it’s time for you to get yours.”

23

KIERA

She wasn’t kidding about those dead ends. After our conversation in the garden, I’d tried quietly digging into Leo’s parents’ history on my own. Over the course of several days, I’d learned the form numbers for all sorts of financial disclosures, a brief history of government contracting, and even which military class General Callahan graduated in.

Yet no matter how hard I dug, there was nothing incriminating online aside from that stupid picture. Maybe it would be easier to find records once we were back in New York— some paper trail of old government contracts at the town hall, or a newspaper clipping at the library.

But given how fruitless my attempts to dig through Valemont’s housing records had been, I doubted anything good would come of it.

There had to be something else we could do. But whatever that solution was, I wasn’t going to find it tonight.

Somehow, after several false flags from the bird-brains, it was officially our final night in Washington. I could hardly believe it. A part of me thought we might be here forever. And on some level, I might not have minded that.

But as idyllic as this place was, I knew I wouldn’t truly be able to rest until Isaac was taken care of, and Gabe with him. For years, they had been hunting me quietly, scheming to take away my power. And now, we would turn their game on them completely.

The weight of that rested heavily on all of us. Spencer nervously took inventory of the bags while Leo followed Viv around, desperate for some last way to be useful to our host. Dom, on the other hand, kept quiet and still until night fell and she had me alone in our bedroom.

She climbed into my bed like always, feverish and hasty in her movements. But tonight was different. She held me a little closer, a little tighter, biting into my shoulder as I rode closer to my climax. She knotted her hand into my hair, pulling me back slightly, looking deep into my eyes while she finished inside of me.

Once my body stopped quaking, I knew what to expect; Dom pulled out of me, took her strap to get washed, and turned off the lights on her way out the door. I knew what I was supposed to do too: close my eyes, pretend to fall asleep, and wait for her almost-caress over the topsheet.

And I tried. I closed my eyes and faced the wall, taking in deep, calming breaths. I waited for the usual sense of relief to flood my system, hoped the high of the endorphins would be enough to draw the tension from my muscles.