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But Isaac doesn’t stop and instead lets out a soft snicker. “Sorry, Cy,” he says, his tone all kinds of apologetic as his hands flex on the steering wheel. “I’ll do better at pretending to be afraid of you when you get all hot and bothered.”
“Please do.” He sounds frustrated and beyond vexed. “Call me when you’re done. And if anything goes wrong, let me know, all right? I’ll do what I can so that things don’t go to shit.” Without a goodbye or anything else, Cyril hangs up, the phone going dark in my hand.
Still, Isaac grins as he drives. “You really aren’t afraid of him being mad at you?” I ask, surprised at his absolute amusement at Cyril’s response.
“Not at all,” he assures me. “I knew he’d be pissed when he found out. Cy ishotwhen he’s pissed off, and the sex is great when he wants to teach me a lesson.”
“Wow.” Those were absolutely not the words I was expecting to come from his mouth, and I shake my head a few times in disbelief before sitting back against my seat with a sigh. “So where are we going? What are you doing? What am I about to witness?” Using the word witness makes me pause, and a frown touches my lips. “Will I need to lie to the cops after we’re done here?”
“What? No,God, no,” Isaac assures me, turning off of the main road and onto a smaller, less busy street. “Even if something did happen, and we had to explain ourselves to the police, Cyril takes care of shit like that.”
It takes a moment for it to click, but when it does, I sigh. “Because his uncle owns the entire fucking city?”
“Yeah, absolutely that. The cops aren’t going to do anything with Nathan’s family involved, and with the last name of Chancellor…” Isaac shrugs. “Pretty obvious, I would think, that he’s in the clear. So, by extension, we are as well.”
Unbidden and unexpectedly, my mind drifts back to the phone calls I’ve gotten regarding the Lost Boys. To the people asking if I know Cyril. I don’t know why it occurs to me now, but I want to ask Isaac about it. I want to know if it’s some kind of test to see if I’ll break under the slightest bit of questioning.
But if it is one, then I don’t want Cyril to know that I cracked. I don’t want him to think that I’m weak or that I’m going to go running to the nearest police officer at the first sign of danger. I’m not. I’d never do that to Isaac oranyof them.
“We’re going to find out why the Roger family has decided to start buying up property in Solen City,” Isaac says after a moment of quiet.
“Roger?”
“They’re kind of like…well they consider themselves to be competition to the Chancellors.”
“So? There’s no law against them buying property here, is there?”
“No. And that’s the problem.” He pulls the car to a stop outside of a large, gorgeous office building, and I’m surprised to see Ashe standing outside, sunglasses on and hair pulled back into a short ponytail. He wears all black, from his blazer to his tight-fitting pants, and I glance at Isaac to see his reaction since I don’t remember him saying we’d have company.
Isaac sighs as he parks. “We have ababysitter,” he informs me, getting out of the car as I follow. “How close were you when Cy called?” he asks, pitching his voice loud enough for Ashe to hear. “Or did you jump on your bike andzoomon over here?”
“I was pretty close,” Ashe admits, and by the turn of his face, I’m sure he’s looking at me. “Cy’s a little worried. You sure it’s a good idea that you brought her?”
Isaac slings an arm over my shoulders. “Ezra and Arlo wouldn’t think it’s a bad idea,” he points out as I let him draw me close. “They’d like her being here.”
“They’re also full of shit sometimes,” Ashe mutters and scuffs his boot along the sidewalk. “She know why we’re here?”
“She has a name,” I point out. “One that Iknowyou can say.”
Ashe pulls his sunglasses down enough to meet my eyes, his blue to my hazel, and I see a small smirk twitching at the corner of his mouth. “You’re rightprincess,” he teases in a low, husky tone. “Idoknow how to say it.” But he doesn’t.
“I was just getting around to telling her,” Isaac admits. “Long story short, Ari. Declan Roger’sfamily, or associates, aren’t welcome here.”
“So…sue them?”
“Legally, they can be here all they want,” Ashe cuts in. “But again that’s the problem. We’re the solution.”
It clicks when he says it, and I don’t know how I didn’t see it before this. “You guys…do illegal shit for Nathan Chancellor?” I ask, half sure about my own assumption.
“Very illegal shit,” Ashe assures me, reaching out his tattooed hand to cup my jaw momentarily before letting it fall. “We’re going toremindthem after we’re done asking why they’re here, why Declan Roger isn’t welcome here.”
Declan Roger. I know that name, and it takes me the work of a second to recall the articles I’d pulled up about the man they killed.
“That’s…the boss of the man you killed, right?” I say stupidly. None of them know I’ve been doing any research, and when they both give me alook, I wish I would’ve kept my stupid mouth shut.
Finally, it’s Isaac who chuckles. “You can’t expect her not to be curious. And Google is free,” he points out as Ashe looks away.
“Cy didn’t think you’d bother caring who it was. Or remember anything about him,” he points out. “How’d you do it? We never told you his name.”
