34. Little Secrets #2
I grimaced. That would explain the missing furniture and antiques around the house. “Who is he gambling with?” I asked.
Theo sat back in his chair. “I believe you’re already well acquainted with the organization, actually.
” Before I could comment on how he knew anything about The Society, Theo turned to his computer, clearly done revealing his intel.
“Is there anything else you need?” he asked, and I shook my head no, pondering Brad’s situation.
“Then I’ll set up a detail for each of the Devereux’s.
Is this protection only, or surveillance as well? ” He asked.
I hesitated. Part of me wanted to know what Sara was up to, who was in her life on campus, but it wasn’t my place, and I wouldn’t betray her trust like that. On the other hand, she wouldn’t even have to know… I could eliminate problems like Isaac before they ever crossed her path.
Tempting as it was, protection was one thing; surveillance was another. Besides, while I trusted Theo to place a team that would keep her safe, I knew he would gather as much intel as he could for his own benefit anyway.
“Protection only.” I sighed.
“Your loss.” Theo said with a smirk. “Just so we’re clear, I always surveil. It’d be irresponsible not to. It’s just a matter of whether or not you want to know about it.”
“I won’t betray her trust like that.” I grimaced, hating that I had to keep this from her, but she was still so fragile, and she didn’t deserve to walk around in fear.
She needed normalcy in her life as much as possible.
She’d already had so much taken away, I wouldn’t take away her sense of safety too .
“Very well. I’ll only inform you if anything seems out of the ordinary.” He turned to his computer. “Precautionary courtesy.”
I nodded, that would be fine, I supposed. “What do you need from me?”
Theo pursed his lips. “Nothing. I’ve already got a file on all of you, so this should be pretty seamless.”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course you do.”
“I’m the best for a reason.” He shrugged. “You need a detail for yourself?”
“I’m good.” I stood up and headed for the door.
“Is that why you’re carrying?” He was looking at the computer when I turned.
“I’m not.” I lied.
“Right.” Theo rolled his eyes, reaching into his drawer, and he thumbed through a file before plopping a stack of photos down on his desk.
Even from across the room, I could see the blood in the photos, and my heart started to race as I walked towards his desk. I picked up the stack, realizing they were photos of me, one after another, of me unconscious, the night of the attack.
“Where the fuck did you get these?” I demanded.
“I know a guy,” Theo said, not even mildly concerned as he typed away on his multi-screen surveillance setup.
“ What guy ?” I demanded.
“Hacker guy.” He shrugged uncouthly. “You know the type, and you also know I protect my sources.”
“Did you know they were coming for me?” I growled.
“Of course not. You know I would have warned you.” He shrugged.
“A contact offered me the information after the fact, and I’m never one to pass up intel.
You, of all people, should know that.” I was fuming.
“I waited for you to reach out after the whole thing, but you never did.” Theo shrugged.
“And I’m not one to stick my nose where it’s not invited. ”
“Oh, you’re not, huh?” I growled.
He steepled his fingers together, expression totally unbothered. “ You know , I have other services.” Theo mused. “Off book. Untraceable.”
“You’re going to land yourself right back where you started.” I snapped, tempting as that offer was.
“Perhaps.” Theo shrugged. “Perhaps not.” He leaned forward on the desk. “The only question is Kensington, when it comes to her safety, how far are you willing to go?” His eyes darkened.
There wasn’t a question in my mind. All the fucking way. Which is why it could never come to that. “If anything happens to her, it’s your neck I’m coming after.” I threatened as I stormed towards the door.
“Easy, Carter.” Theo warned. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
“If so much as a hair on her head is touched, I will buy this whole goddamn building, just so I can burn it down with you inside.” I said from the doorway. “You have my word.”
“And you have mine.” Theo nodded, completely unbothered. “As long as my team is watching, nothing will happen to her, or to Liam, for that matter.” He stared at me as I hesitated in the doorway. “Carter, I’ve got her. I’ll keep her safe.” He offered more gently.
“Thank you.” I said, my eyes shuttering at the dark reality of the situation.
“Anytime, old friend,” Theo said, already picking up the phone as I closed the door behind me.
Fucking prick.
Jules shot me a look as we waited outside The Inferno. The security team was running my ID because?—
“Why the fuck do you have a gun?” Jules hissed under her breath.
“No reason.” I avoided her outraged expression .
The bouncer checked my gun, informing me I could pick it up afterwards.
I rolled my neck as Jules and I headed through the dark velvet tunnel towards the club entrance. “Jesus fucking Christ, Carter.” Jules groaned as we walked through the darkness.
“Jules, it’s really no biggie.” It wasn’t and after yesterday, I wasn’t taking any chances.
“Do you always carry?” She asked, bumping into me in the dim light—it was next to impossible to see in here. “When the hell did that start?” She demanded, “I thought you were a freaking pilot.”
I wondered what exactly she thought I did when I went up in the air, because I certainly wasn’t doing loopty-loops just for fun.
Okay, fine. Sometimes yes, I did do loopty-loops for fun, but that wasn’t all I did up there.
“Just do me a favor and don’t mention it to anyone, would you?
” I asked, hauling the heavy curtain open.
“Fine.” She rolled her eyes as we stepped into the club. “But you owe me.”
“Consider me indebted.” I shouted over the thundering music as it hit us, the bass pulsating through my entire body.
“I really, really hate guns.” She muttered just loud enough for me to hear as she trailed along behind me.
I cut through the tightly packed crowd and took in the scene, realizing The Inferno was insane. I’d heard about it, but I’d never been. Tonight, it was decked out in Halloween decor that was as outrageous as you’d expect for the city’s most notoriously sexy nightclub.
We neared one of the four columns that were planted at each corner of the massive dance floor—each pillar had a different fanged animal carved into the marble.
I eyed the cages hanging above the stage where the DJ was and peered over the sea of dancing bodies, wondering how the hell we were going to find the group in here because tonight, it was jam-packed.
“This way, Kensington,” Jules chimed, her dark auburn hair glinting under the orange and red strobe lights as she ducked around me.
We broke through the crowd on the other side of the dance floor, and I spotted our crew at a table in the reserved section.
Liam stood at the edge of the table, drink in hand, and next to him, I was surprised to see Cade.
Jules squealed and slid into the booth, throwing her arms around Ariana and Riley.
Meanwhile, tucked away in the back of the booth, looking happier than I’d seen her look in a damn long time, was Sara.
The moment our eyes locked, my heart stopped beating. Sara offered me a shy little smile, and then quickly made herself busy talking to Riley Kingsley, Theo’s younger cousin.
She’d only looked for a split second, but the way Sara’s eyes lit up when she saw me had me doing internal somersaults. It was the best feeling in the world. God, she was so fucking gorgeous.
Sara looked back at me, and suddenly her eyes went wide, and I realized Liam had been talking to me while I’d been busy drooling over her. I quickly recovered and cleared my throat, clapping Liam on the back. “So loud, I can hardly hear.” I joked. “Surprised you got a spot, it’s packed tonight.”
“Yeah, they go all out for Halloween.” Liam motioned to the table, explaining over the music. “I’m doing the menus for the club.”
“Gotta love a hookup.” Cade drawled, hanging one arm over the tall booth.
Liam shrugged and sipped his beer.
“Cade fucking Blackthorn.” I clapped him on the back. “Who let you in here? Long time no see.”
“That’s your own damn fault.” Cade shook his head. “What’s the body count up to these days?”
“It’s high enough.” I shrugged. “I don’t keep count.” Except I did. Every single one. I did.
“Sure you don’t.” He looked me over and was smart enough to read between the lines. “You headed overseas anytime soon?”
“Probably.” I nodded, adding, “I rarely know until the last second, though.” I looked at Sara, who quickly looked away when I caught her eye. We had so many things we needed to talk about, to plan for. “It’s not so bad, usually a few months at a time, and then it’s back stateside for a while.”
“If you wanted to fly, you should have gone commercial.” Cade drawled. “We could have gone into business together.”
I shook my head. “I don’t even want to know what shit you’re smuggling around.”
Cade pursed his lips. “No, you probably don’t.”
“Besides, flying an F-16 isn’t even remotely the same as flying a jumbo.” I chuckled. “Being up there, flying that fast—there’s nothing like it.” Although, as of last night, there was one thing that might even be better than flying at mock speeds.
“Adrenaline junkie.” Cade muttered.