Page 39 of Promised Vows

Thomas shook his head. “No. No ID. No fingerprints.”

What was this? A spy novel? “What is your father up to?”

Jason leaned back in his chair. “My best guess is that I gave my father trust issues, but I can’t say he didn’t do the same to me.” He checked his phone and grumbled.

“Thomas, do you think you could call Cristos? He was supposed to be keeping an eye on Michael. I gave him strict directions to text me every hour and he hasn’t.”

Lex moved away from the door as Thomas nodded. “On it,” he said and was out the door.

I crossed my arms over my chest. Jason had moved to the edge of his seat before I could even voice my inability to keep Anna protected if I didn’t have all the information.

“This will make me look weak,” he said as he glanced at the door and back to me. “The only reason I’m saying anything to you is because of Anna. I can’t protect her right now because I don’t trust anyone. Someone inside is helping my father, and until I can flush them out, I’m afraid I’ll get her hurt. I?—”

The door opened, and Jason sat back as Thomas walked in.

“I can’t reach Cristos.”

“Dammit.” Jason pushed out of the chair. “Get Andreas on it, if you can trust him.”

“Done.” Thomas put his phone to his ear as he left.

Jason cut his gaze in the direction Thomas went, and said, “Well, thank you for your hospitality. I need to take care of a few things. If you need me, you have my number.” He strode out of the office and Lex shut the door behind him.

My brother stuck his hands in his pants pockets as he crossed the room. “You think Thomas is trustworthy?”

Shrugging, I replied, “Jason’s known him longer than I have, and he’s questioning him, so who knows.”

“Do you believe him about Michael?”

I sat on the question for a minute, mulling it over. “I don’t know.” I exhaled heavily and stood. “I need to call Lucas and then make a visit to The Continental.” It was a running joke with my siblings. Anytime I was doing something I didn’t want to talk about, I’d reference that hotel from the movies.

Lex grunted. “All right. Be careful. I’m not ready to take your spot, so make sure you come back.”

“Shut up, Lex. I’ll see you later.”

Chapter Seventeen

ARI

Instead of driving, I’d shut my phone off, had Lex call me a cab, and gave him an address located in the heart of the city. I would have had Ares take me, but I didn’t want the attention a limo would bring.

Six winding blocks later, I slid in through the side door of a tiny bar tucked out of the way. It was visible enough to get traffic so it could stay open, but it wasn’t a hot spot by any definition.

The men who called this place home knew me as Wick, and that’s all they knew. We respected each other, and when I needed information, I’d drop by to see if they had little birds whispering in their ears. Of course, I would reciprocate when they needed it too.

“Hutch, Rama, Forty-seven, Max. Nice to see you.” The names were picked long before I met them.

Hutch’s name referred to an assassin much like John Wick. Rama was Asian, but I didn’t know anything beyond that. Mad Max was the easiest, and Forty-seven was a name from the Hitman comic series. They’d told me a few stories when I first met them. They weren’t men anyone wanted as an enemy.

“Wick.” Hutch greeted me from behind the bar. “Macallan?”

“Neat.”

They’d come to my aid after Gianna’s death—when I’d nearly caused my family even more grief. They’d patched me up, given me the key to the club for ridding the city of its rat problem, and we’d been comrades ever since. I didn’t visit very often because I didn’t want to wear out my welcome.

We didn’t pry into each other’s pasts or lives. The respect went both ways. Of them, I believed I was the youngest, but I wouldn’t bet the farm. Age was a number, and we all had a lot of mileage.

Rama tipped his head toward the door and spoke to a guy I’d never seen before. “Beat it.”

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