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It’d always worked before. It’d never felt suffocating before.
There’d never been Tree and a shit ton of kids before.
“What—” Maverick began, but Einstein spoke over him.
“Where would you hit?” she repeated. Looking up from her tablet, she focused on Dare and rapidly explained, “If this were you. If you’d been betrayed. If you were making a statement.”
“Home,” Dare said without hesitation. “I’d hit home.” His face paled and a breath of a curse left him as we all realized that this threat knew our home.
He hurriedly grabbed his phone and tapped on the screen before lifting it to his ear. His eyes hardening with each ring as he waited the few seconds it took for the call to be picked up.
“Kieran,” he ground out, then roughed a hand through his hair and forced a calming breath as his gaze darted to the other people in the café. “If I betrayed you now, after everything, tell me how you’d come after me.”
The mumbled sounds of Kieran responding could be heard for a split second before he audibly cursed as if he’d easily come to the same realization Dare had.
“Get the kids out,” Dare seethed before ending the call and slamming his phone on the table. His hands shook as he dragged them over his head and down his face before he met our anxious stares again.
“Is he—”
“Yes,” Dare snapped over Einstein. “He was already there. He’ll take the kids somewhere else.”
“Speaking of kids,” I muttered as my mind raced, trying to rationalize that the Borello house was no longer safe and trying to think of a place that was. “Ran into Jess’ sister-in-law this morning, and she’s asking a lot of questions.”
“Like?” Maverick prodded when Dare just shot a cold look my way.
“Wants to know why we’re around because she knows it means people are in danger. Wanted me to tell her that Lexi would be there today like she was sure Lexi wouldn’t be.”
“But Lexi’s at school,” Dare said confidently.
I reached for the container of sugar packets, nodding as I began mindlessly sorting them to help with the anxiousness that had been coursing through me since I’d walked away from Tree a couple of hours before.
I was well aware that Lexi was currently in class. I’d had to let Zara know that Jessica would be hiding somewhere within the school to keep an eye on our little Rebel so long as we were still following our routines.
“But Aurora practically shouted it at me in front of other teachers—Lexi’s included,” I informed them. “Also said her husband knew Jess was lying about why they didn’t show up for dinner last night.”
“They didn’t go to dinner because everyone agreed Jess’s brother would’ve been able to tell something was up,” Einstein said, and Dare gave an acknowledging hum as he watched me, waiting to see if there was more.
“They need to be talked to,” I said with a quick shrug. “Aurora’s going to become more of an issue, and we don’t need her husband getting involved.”
“I’ll talk to Jess,” Einstein offered. “I’ll make sure they’re taken care of. Appropriately,” she quickly added.
I held up my hands, letting her know I hadn’t been suggesting otherwise.
“Fine,” Dare muttered as his gaze made another sweep of the diner. “More pressing issue: Where are we moving everyone?”
“Anywhere we could hold everyone, a Borello would know about,” Maverick muttered, keeping his eyes notably off Einstein as he did.
A lie.
I wasn’t Dare by any means, I couldn’t sniff out a lie from just anyone, but Maverick? Yeah, I knew his tells just as he knew mine.
But before I could call him on it, I caught the haunting look that flashed across his face when he spared a glance in her direction and knew what he was seeing. Where he was seeing.
The Holloway bunker Einstein had been locked in, repeatedly drugged in, and almost died in.
There was no way any of us would make Einstein go back there, even if it was our best option.
Clearing my throat, I pushed the packets of sugar aside and said, “That’s not entirely true.”
