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“That just proves my point,” Kaige said. “You can’t trust anybody. How do we know the kid didn’t set up the attack on Rowan and Mercy?”
Every part of me balked at that suggestion. I didn’t know if Beckett’s plan was solid, but I couldn’t believe he was trying to get us killed.
“That doesn’t make any sense,” I said. “We weren’t attacked until we got back to the Bend—which is where Xavier’s been watching for us and attacking us all along, since before Beckett was ever in the picture. If going to that gala was a setup, then Beckett would have arranged for the ambush to happen before we got a chance to talk to Anderson and mess up the Storm’s business arrangements.”
Gideon gestured to me. “I agree with Mercy on that point. And from what I’ve seen in the street cam footage, the ambush appears to have been a spur-of-the-moment attack that was launched because several Storm men happened to be nearby when you were coming into the city. My best guess is that a sentry spotted your car and called them in just a few minutes ahead of time. That doesn’t fit with a larger conspiracy.”
“Fine,” Kaige grumbled. “That still doesn’t mean we should go along with some kid’s plan.”
“Do you have a better one?” Wylder asked dryly. When Kaige just glowered at him, the Noble heir exhaled roughly and looked at me. “I think that unless we hear something in his plan that sounds off, we should give it a shot. It’s better for us to go down fighting until the end than to wait around to get slaughtered by the Long Night’s people. The question is, are you and the Claws going to join us?”
I hesitated. Was I going to stake both my life and those of my men on this kid? Maybe I was being swayed by my instinctive sympathy because of his age, and he really did have malicious intentions.
I closed my eyes, and the flames in the old warehouse flickered up in my mind. I could still feel how helpless Rowan’s body had felt in my arms as I’d dragged him to safety. See how broken he’d looked lying on that hospital bed. He hadn’t come out of his coma yet. We didn’t know if he ever would.
But he’d trusted Beckett. He’d been the first of us to speak up for the kid, recognizing something in him that he related to himself.
And I wanted to trust the kid too. I could see some of myself in Beckett: the rebellious teenager who’d spied on the Claws’ moves and stored up my resentment of my father’s treatment while wishing I could have earned his respect. Back then, before Dad and Colt had totally beaten any idealistic sense of hope out of me, I’d been able to imagine a future where conflicts could be solved by making deals and negotiating rather than through bloodshed.
What if I hadn’t been wrong? What if we could make that teenage idealism real after all? Wasn’t it worth trying?
“I’m in,” I said. “I meant to set a different course for the Claws than the men who came before me did, and I’m going to start on that right now. I’m choosing trust over paranoia. The kid’s been here for us the whole time, he’s risked his life more than once to help us, and now we’re going to be there for him.”
Wylder smiled, and even Kaige’s stern expression relaxed a little. Gideon stood up, brandishing his tablet. “Let’s go hear this plan, then.”
We found Beckett in the kitchen, scarfing down teriyaki chicken from the plate in front of him while he chatted with Anthea. She caught my eye with a sly glint in hers as we came in, and I had no doubt that she’d managed to find out a few more things about him without Beckett even realizing. Nothing that bothered her, though, because she simply tipped her head in acknowledgement.
“All right, Beckett,” I said, tugging back a stool to sit next to him. “Tell us about your plan.”
Beckett’s face brightened. He set down his fork and looked around the island at all of us. “I know you’re putting a lot of faith in me, and I’m not going to let you down. We’re going to set up a meeting early tomorrow morning.”
“First things first,” Wylder cut in. “Everything else apart, what guarantee do we have that the Storm will leave Paradise Bend alone after this, even if the meeting goes in our favor? What’s to stop him from changing his mind after a few days of peace and attacking us again once our guard is down?”
Beckett gave him a pained smile. “You don’t have to worry. I know exactly how to take care of that.”
