8. Theo
EIGHT
THEO
Faint strains of dance music vibrated from the floor above us where we were down in the small, musty room hidden far below Kane’s office at his club dubbed by the same moniker.
Kane’s was set in an old church and was the most popular nightclub in Moonlit Ridge. It boasted fucking killer bands and had rotating specialty drinks most nights of the week.
It was the perfect cover for what we did.
This room that was buried thirty feet underground had undoubtedly been used for storage—for regular supplies or those of the illicit sort, I wasn’t sure, but it served as an ideal meeting place for us.
Locked away by the raw, rugged walls where not a soul could hear us.
A single, dingy bulb hung from above, illuminating the space in a yellowed hue.
River, the one who’d set this whole thing into motion, pushed a tattooed fist out into the middle of the round table where we sat.
We glanced at each other as we stretched out our left fists to meet with River’s.
Fists that were all tattooed with the same symbol on the back.
Two stacked Ss with an eye in the middle and a dagger running through, though mine had a skull at the top.
A reminder of who I was.
The destruction I caused.
“I call to order this meeting of Sovereign Sanctum,” River rumbled.
There were five of us.
River, our leader and the one who, until last summer, had done our extractions before I had stepped up to take his place. The job was dangerous, getting women and children out of the direct threat that ruled their lives.
In theory, we whisked them away unseen and brought them to The Sanctuary where they’d forever disappear. Their identities and appearances changed before we set them up in new homes to begin better lives.
It didn’t always work that way, though. Sometimes it ended in a battle with the monsters who brutalized them, and we made sure those monsters went down by any means necessary.
Since River had a family, we’d ruled his role as extractor had become too risky, not that he’d taken that change easily.
Bottom line, though, he knew what was important—Charleigh and Nolan who were waiting for him at home.
He’d begun to spend more time searching out connections. Making contacts we could trust so we could get more of the vulnerable under Sovereign Sanctum’s wing.
Then there was Otto. This big, burly, loveable motherfucker.
Our deliverer. The one who transported the families to their new homes.
Kane was our money launderer. He owned three dive bars and this club that we used as a cover. When River had stepped back from his position, he and I had paired up to take over, though now with Maci and Emery in his life, he’d stepped down, too.
Now that responsibility fell on me and Cash.
Cash who was also our hacker. The one who could make anything disappear or come to be.
Then there was me.
The protector.
The one who stood guard over those in our immediate care.
Honestly, though, we all stepped in wherever we were needed. Each of us willing to fight to the death for the people we brought under our wing.
For each other.
For this family.
It was done outside the law because our practices didn’t always fall into the abiding.
“What news do we have on Alicia and Lucy’s situation?” River asked, his pitch-black eyes darting to Cash for intel.
Cash scrubbed a meaty palm over his face.
Cash appeared more country than the rest of us, dude wearing worn jeans and a white tee and a cap on his head, brown hair curling out around his ears, though he was covered in just as much ink.
“Motherfucker is definitely digging deep,” he said. “Searching for ways that someone might make themselves disappear.”
A heavy sigh pilfered from River. “You think he knows they’re trying to escape him?”
Otto let go of a disgusted huff. “Of course, that piece of shit knows she split. The things he did to her…”
Venom flashed through Kane’s expression, and he sat back in his chair.
Dude looked every bit the beast, tattoos twitching as they crawled across his skin.
“Nah, man. Twisted fuck is such a narcissist, no doubt he thinks he’s in the right and he’s gonna have to teach her a lesson when he catches up to her. ”
“He’s not gonna fuckin’ catch up to her.” I spat it as I shot forward, a slick of aggression gritting through my teeth. “Won’t let him get anywhere near her.”
Cash shook his head. “He’s got nothing, so I don’t think we have much to worry about. Same as all the rest. He’s gonna dig and the only thing he’s going to come up against are dead ends.”
I inhaled a steadying breath. He was right, but fuck, I couldn’t handle the idea of that prick finding out where Alicia and Lucy were.
“But?” River pressed. Clearly, he knew Cash well.
“Think just as a precaution, we keep Alicia and Lucy at The Sanctuary for another month before we move them.”
They’d start their new lives in Florida. Their identities had already been changed. It wasn’t like we could go around calling them by their real names.
Their appearances had been altered as much as possible. Alicia’s long, light brown hair had been hacked to her shoulders and dyed as dark as possible.
Same as Lucy’s.
Colored contacts for them both.
Dr. Reynolds, our doctor on the inside who took care of the ones under our protection—who was, in fact, not my uncle—had injected a shit ton of filler into Alicia’s face to give it a different shape.
It sucked, but it was the way it had to be.
Everyone nodded, though River said, “Then let’s put it to a vote.”
A round of “ Ayes ” went up. It wasn’t like any of us would vote against it.
Then River’s attention slanted my way. “This brings us to our next order of business.”
I rocked back in the hard, wooden chair and tried to act as casual as could be when every-fucking-thing about Piper Whittman made me shake.
“Unit B,” he said, making sure we were all on the same page.
“Yup.” I let it go with a lift of my chin.
“You’re proposing that someone outside of Sanctum’s protection stay in one of our units?” he clarified.
Thickness tightened my throat. “Yeah.”
Cash released a harsh breath. “You know the rules, man.”
“And not one of you wouldn’t break this one if you were in my shoes. Doesn’t hurt anything for them to stay there if it’s just sitting vacant.”
Otto’s blue eyes appraised, searching me from across the table.
“Blurs the lines,” he said, no anger to it, just pointing out the fact.
We also knew that when you started bending rules they tended to fracture and fully fall apart.
River, Otto, and Kane having families was proof of that.
“Think they need a leg up,” I said.
Could feel the panic rolling off of Piper when Silas told her how much it would cost to fix her car.
And I knew the number he’d given her was total bullshit. Far less than it actually would cost for someone who just came in off the street.
That number had been given because I was standing there. A million favors owed because Silas and his crew had my back just the same as I had theirs. Our dealings deeper than even my crew knew.
Piper had acted like she was just going to whip that kind of cash out of her pocket and hand it over.
Had decided to let that argument go, but there was no way in hell I was going to let her pay for it.
Not when I could.
Not when I could do something that might make their lives better.
Because there was something about what was going on with them that didn’t add up.
Something that made me sure there was a ton more to her story than she was letting on.
“This a Sanctum situation?” Kane asked.
I hesitated, unsure, trying to put my finger on what was up with Piper.
“Don’t think so.”
My insides roiled, screaming out that was a blatant lie.
This thing inside me that promised she was in something bad.
But it didn’t feel right to give that to my crew until I was sure.
Not when she was trying to keep me in the dark.
I was going to have to win her trust first, and I had a hunch siccing these brutes on her wasn’t going to win me any points.
Besides, I didn’t have any proof, so I carried on, “Think the situation is she’s a single mom who’s down on her luck and she could use an extra hand while she gets back on her feet.”
“How long?” River asked.
I roughed an agitated hand through my hair, still rocking back in that chair like none of this was a big deal. “At least three weeks until her car gets repaired.”
“Shit,” Cash wheezed under his breath.
“Know it’s a bit, but if something comes up and it’s needed, I’ll figure out other arrangements. Just don’t see how it’s that big of a problem since it’s empty.”
Otto sighed. “Don’t like the idea of turning our backs on this. Sounds like she can use a hand, and just because her troubles are different than the ones we normally tend to, doesn’t mean we should ignore them.”
Kane nodded. “Yeah. Don’t really see the issue.”
“Except for the fact Alicia and Lucy are right next door.” Cash dished it out like proof.
It was.
This was totally against protocol.
Sitting forward, I blew out the strain. “I’ll make sure there aren’t any issues. Alicia and Lucy mostly keep to themselves, anyway. Doubt Piper will even notice they’re there.”
“You’re taking personal responsibility?” River pressed.
I figured that’s exactly what they’d become when I rolled up on the accident. When I’d seen the shock and fear in Piper’s eyes.
When I’d become a part of the chaos she emitted.
“Yeah.” I issued it without hesitation.
“Then we put it to a vote.” River looked around at everyone as he put his fist into the middle of the table. “Aye.”
Otto immediately sat forward and did the same. “Aye.”
“Aye,” Kane agreed with a hard nod of his head.
Cash was the only one who hesitated before he added his fist and grumbled, “Aye.”
“Then it’s settled. Piper Whittman and her family can stay in Unit B while their car is being repaired or until Sovereign Sanctum needs use of it.”