“I would never let Lo go through with this if I thought it’d place her in graver danger,” Diesel continues. “I would take a bullet for her before I’d let anything happen to her. You can trust me on that.”
My eyes plead with Saint. “You know it’s the truth, so unless you have a better plan?”
Silence engulfs us, and we wait while Saint thinks it through.
“Okay,” he says after a couple of tense minutes. “We’ll do it, but we keep those in the know to a minimum.”
“You have my word.” Sincerity drips from Diesel’s tone.
My shoulders slump in grateful relief.
“It doesn’t necessarily mean Sinner will stop looking for the evidence,” Galen says. “But it’s got to relieve some of the pressure.”
“And if we give him some shit on The Arrows and push him toward escalating the war between both crews, he’ll be distracted enough while we try to find that fucking evidence,” Saint says. He stares at Diesel. “Will your boss go for it?”
“He wants that evidence as badly as we do, and he wants to end Sinner, so I think I can sell it to him.” He scrubs a hand over his prickly jaw. “It would help if I had something to sweeten the deal, because he won’t like crawling into bed with the junior Sainthood.” Diesel rubs the back of his neck. “Asking him to trust all of you with something like this is a big ask.”
My chair scrapes as I stand. “I’ll be right back.” I glance at Theo. “I need you.” Theo rises, following me out of the open living space, down the back hallway, and into Dad’s study.
“You’re giving him the coded files,” he says, correctly guessing where my mind has gone.
“It’s all we’ve got to offer, and, let’s be honest, we’re never going to crack that code.” I’ve spent months going through them with no success.
“I might be able to find something on the darknet,” Theo says. “But it’ll take time, and even if we uncover the code, there is no guarantee whatever is in those files will be of any use. We have no clue where your dad got them. If he knew what was on them, or if he knew there was something important on them, he would’ve used them himself.”
I gather them up, dumping them in a paper box. “Exactly my thoughts. Let’s see what Diesel thinks.”
Theo carries the box out of the study, placing it on the table, while I explain to Diesel.
“Trey had those files,” he says, disbelief underscoring his tone, when I’ve finished updating him.
I nod. “You know what they are?”
He stands, lifting the top of the lid and pulling out a couple files. He rifles through them, cussing under his breath. “These are highly classified Homeland Security files that were stolen from an operative’s house in January. Guy was found dead. His house ransacked. The head of Homeland Security reached out to VERO to help recover the stolen files.”
“What’s on them?” Theo asks, plonking into the seat beside me.
“Intel on terrorists that had national security implications. That’s all I know.” He puts the files away, replacing the lid.
“Why did my dad have them?”
He leans his elbows on top of the box. “It was widely believed The Sainthood was behind the killing and the theft, so my guess is your father stole them from Sinner.”
“Is this why they killed him?”
“Honestly, Lo. I don’t know.” Strain is etched across Diesel’s face. “I can’t help feeling there is more to this than we think. That it’s way more complicated and it goes deeper than we suspect.”
“Should we keep them here?” Galen asks.
“Fuck no.” Diesel vehemently shakes his head. “That’d be like sitting on a volcano that’s about to erupt.” He stares at me. “Handing these to VERO is the right call, and it will buy us goodwill. I’ll say you only just found them, and you came straight to me.”
“Are you sure this is the right play?” Saint asks, worry etched upon his handsome face.
“I wouldn’t suggest it otherwise.” Diesel drills him with a look.
“Okay. Do it. Set it all up, and we’ll keep you posted as soon as Sinner puts things in motion,” I say.
“What about your other tasks?” Diesel asks.
“Lowell Academy is done, and Sinner won’t be getting his grabby hands on Lo because we have a solution,” Saint supplies.
A solution I still know nothing about.
Diesel arches a brow, and Saint smirks. “You don’t need to know the specifics,” he says. “Trust we have it handled and focus on doing your part.”
A muscle clenches in Diesel’s jaw, but he refrains from lashing out, which I guess is progress. “Walk me out?” He stares at me, and I nod.
“You sure you want to do it like this?” he asks after he’s put the box in the back of his vehicle.
“I don’t see how we’ve any other choice. Things are escalating with Sinner. He’s reckless and unpredictable, and he’ll hurt Mom even more if I don’t look like I’m playing ball.”
“He’s hurting her?” Diesel asks, concern blazing in his eyes.
“He’s hitting her, and she’s letting him.”
He shakes his head. “You want me to talk to her?”
“No. She won’t thank me for interfering. What you’re doing now is the best way to help.”
“Okay, but if anything changes, you let me know.” He wraps his arms around me, and I rest my head on his chest. “Take care, sweetheart.” He kisses the top of my head before letting me go.
“You too.” I step back, waving as he drives away. I turn around, unsurprised to see Saint standing in the doorway.
“I hope we’ve done the right thing,” he says, looking even more worried than before.
“Me too,” I concede, because there are no guarantees.
He opens his arms, and I fall into them, closing my eyes as he cradles me to his chest. “I can’t bear the thought of anything else happening to you,” he admits, holding me close.
“I feel the same way about all of you.” I look up at him, palming one cheek. “But our world is a dangerous one. There will always be risks and times where we’re gambling with our lives.”
“Not if I can help it,” he says, pressing his lips to my brow, his mouth lingering there.
“What do you mean?” I slide my hands up his chest, holding him closer.
“Have you thought about after this is all over?”
“Not in a while,” I truthfully admit. “Before Dad died, my goal was to graduate with a strong GPA and attend college at Brown. I couldn’t wait to see the back of this place, but now there’s a lot more at stake, including you guys and my mom.”
“Wherever you go, we go,” he simply says, pulling my mouth to his for a kiss. “None of us want to stay here anymore.”
“You don’t?” I can’t contain my surprise. He shakes his head. “I thought you wanted to take over The Sainthood and mold it into a legit organization?”
He shrugs. “That was always the plan, but plans change, and it’s not like we couldn’t join a different chapter if we move or rejoin the Lowell chapter if we return at some point in the future.”