Page 86 of Shattered Jewel
“And provide evidence to whom?” Kaspian asks, slowly raising his gaze from his glass to me. “Did your father have an outside savior offering to help him? Because no one escapes the Court. Well, they do, but … not kindly.”
His eyelids lower after that statement and he glances away.
“I don’t know,” I answer honestly. “Maverick thought maybe there was someone in the FBI, but he had no evidence and couldn’t say who.”
“Show me the letter.” Cav points through the wide double-doors and to the staircase. “I’d like to see this in Maverick’s words.”
My throat constricts at the thought. I didn’t tell them everything.
Their collective focus presses in on me, demanding answers I’m not ready to give. The missing half of the Heart is in Sarah Anderton’s vault, and I have no idea where that is. I reason that I can delay giving that information to the guys because I want to talk to Clover first, who has basically become a historian on Anderton lore, and see what she has to say. Not that I trust her over the others, but…
Okay. I do. She’s a woman who was in the exact situation I’m currently in, with four intimidating, primal, trained men who always expect to get their way, yet she somehow managed to get hers to heel.
Now that’s magic.
I lick my lips, my mouth suddenly dry.
“That’s all he mentioned about our father,” I lie, the words bitter on my tongue. “The rest was ... personal. About how much he’ll miss me and that he wishes he could’ve protected me more.”
That much is honest, at least.
Cav’s eyes narrow further, twin flames of suspicion in their depths. He opens his mouth to press, but Axe cuts him off.
“We’re already wanted men,” Axe points out, his steel unwavering, even with the fresh knife cut down one side of his face. “Especially now that we’ve decided to ignore any further summons from the Sovereigns until we possess both halves of the ruby and figure out what they want with it and how to bring them down. Maverick was on our side. Darian Wraithwood was, too. And they’re both dead. We need to stay focused on our mission before we’re next.”
It’s the most Axe has said in weeks.
Cav purses his lips, a muscle ticking beneath the stubbled skin. For a moment, I think he’ll argue, but then he nods.
I release a breath. Axe’s intervention bought me a reprieve, but it won’t last. I have to get my answers, and soon.
Kaspian finally stirs.
“And you had no idea?” he asks me, his voice rough with an emotion I can’t quite place.
I shake my head. “None. Maverick never told me, and I never suspected.”
The admission tastes like betrayal, like I’m somehow at fault for not knowing, for not seeing the signs.
Kaspian rises from his chair, his movements fluid, graceful, and sling-free. I wonder how he’s really doing with that wound in his shoulder, even though he refuses to treat it as nothing more than a scratch.
I’m able to muse for a few more seconds before Wilder tilts my world upside-down again.
“Better get to giving us a tour of all the traps on the first floor, sweetwitch, because we’ll be staying here for a while.”
I blink at him. “I’m sorry. What?”
“Yep.” He grins. “We live here now.”
Live here? In this crumbling mansion filled with ghosts and sadness and … me?
“You can’t be serious,” I manage. “This place is falling apart. It’s not safe.”
Wilder’s grin only widens, a flash of white against tan. “Dead serious. This place is a fortress, the Court’s hunting us, and we need a base of operations.”
I look to the others, searching for any sign that this is some kind of twisted joke. Kaspian’s expression remains apathetic, but Axe gives a slight nod, confirming Wilder’s words.
“But... this is my home,” I protest, my voice cracking. “You can’t just decide to move in.”