Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 78598 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78598 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Of course he did. My Cairo didn’t know a law he wasn’t happy to break.
“He’s not living there,” Cairo said. “Sure there’s furniture, electricity, cable, and shit, but there’s no food in the fridge and dust is covering everything. These guys aren’t stupid. During the day, Davidson is sitting pretty in a sheriff station with cameras, guns, and witnesses. He knows we can’t grab him there. And at night, he’s sitting at who the hell knows.”
“We’ll find out where he goes. Tail him.”
“A cop will know how to lose a tail.” Two heads swung to me. “Especially when he’s expecting one.”
“We don’t have a choice,” Cairo said, “and you don’t get a vote.”
“Wait.” I darted in his path as he made to leave the kitchen. “I know you don’t believe this, but I really do want to help you find your father. I may not know who Dante is, but I know what he and his followers do to people. They don’t give a shit about innocent people. They’re just sacrifices for a greater good.
“If you take a swing at Davidson and miss, Dante will find out and punish you for it. That punishment will be taken out on the sheriff. All I'm saying is your plan has to be foolproof. It has to work fast, the first time, and Dante has to stay in the dark.”
“She’s not wrong,” Jacques said. “Davidson is the one member of their group that’s known to us. They know we want him, and they know the consequences if we get our hands on him. A decoy house? They will not make it easy to get him.”
“Do you think I came here to listen to you bleat that we should give up!”
“No,” Jacques replied in that even, lazy way of his. “I’m saying I will assess the issue from every angle, and create that foolproof plan. Fast, the first time, and with Dante none the wiser.”
“Wonderful.” Cairo mockingly bowed. “You have twelve hours.”
Jacques said nothing to that improbable deadline. He just cast me one final unreadable look and left us alone. I watched Cairo as his footfalls faded up the steps.
“There’s some other things you should know,” I began.
“Then I’ll find out from someone else.” He brushed past me.
Teeth gritting, I followed hot on his heels. “Roan and I got a visit in the hospital today. Three guys with crows on their necks came in to tell us they’re enrolling at Bedlam U for the new semester. They claim they come in peace and have nothing to do with Steven Ellis or Foundry.”
Cairo didn’t slow his stride.
“They also said they don’t have beef with us, but they will if we come at them.”
I could’ve been talking to the wall for all the response I was getting from him.
“I had a thought while you guys were talking about Davidson.” Cairo burst into his room. I threw myself inside despite his attempt to slam the door in my face. “Jacques wants to track down the descendants of the Men of Honor. Cavendish told me that’s how Ellis made contact with him.”
Cairo rifled through his closet, ripping out clothes. He was about to slam another door in my face. I got comfortable on his bed all the same.
“I don’t think that was a lie. It makes perfect sense that descendants of the Men would join in with Ellis. Technically, they are the rightful heirs of the land and the riches that go with them,” I said. “But at some point, Cavendish split from him to do his own thing with his little cult. When he started preying on the bullied and vengeful Blake Jensen, was that because she was descended from the Men or because she was easy to control?”
“What’s your point?” he snapped.
I loved him too much to smirk at my victory. I forced him to acknowledge me, and Cairo didn’t make that easy for anyone.
“What I’m saying is Davidson is a grown, middle-aged man. He took a job that’s high stress, but not for the cowardly. I don’t see him bawling his eyes out on Cavendish’s shoulder while he whispers in his ear that he can give him the strength to stand up to his bullies.”
Cairo shifted to me, frowning. “Okay...?”
“I’d bet anything that Davidson is just one of the descendants. He’s in this for the money and doing whatever it takes to get it. But Zoey?” I shook my head. “It’s way too much of a coincidence that one of the descendants would be someone Cavendish was already grooming. I think she proved that too by going rogue and offering to kill you guys for Jeremy. She’s not about Bedlam or the Men. She just likes hurting people.
“What I’m saying is tracking down the descendants will take a lot of time, and if I’m right, it’ll only help us find some of them. But if we want to find the kind of people who’d throw in with a man like Cavendish. Who’d k-kill innocents like my sister, and stand by while Zoey murdered Bella and shot Binari with an arrow, then... you need to be looking for people like me.”