Page 112 of Dark Horse

“Waiting on what?” Charlotte asks. The question’s rhetorical at this moment, but it’s one we desperately need to answer.

“I fear that when things start moving again, it’s going to happen quickly,” Hudson adds.

“Agreed, and we still don’t know what he plans to do with all of this.” Rowan shakes his head in frustration.

“The daughter would potentially have answers though, right?” Dakota looks at me and then Charlotte.

“If she’s involved, theoretically.” I nod.

“So we need to find her then. Figure out if she’s involved and see if she has information on it,” Dakota suggests.

“Agreed.” Hudson taps a pencil against the table.

“We need boots on the ground. Stalking her from a distance over tech is fine, but it’s a poor substitute for being there. I can go if you want me to,” Rowan offers.

Dakota shakes her head. “It should be Levi.”

“Why Levi?” I frown, trying and failing to follow her logic.

“He’s been following her and her friends closely on social media, right?”

I nod.

“Then he knows the most about her. What she likes. What she doesn’t. If he has to make contact with her, he’s the best bet. Not to mention he doesn’t have any… attachments.” Dakota explains her reasoning, and I hear Charlotte click her tongue, nodding along enthusiastically.

“I don’t follow.” I look between the two of them.

“He can seduce her.” Charlotte gives me a sly smile. “Your brother’s gorgeous. That face, those tattoos, the glasses, the broken cowboy-turned-hacker… I’d be tempted.”

“I’ll buy some glasses, and we can roleplay while you ride me.” Rowan shoots her a look across the table. Her eyes rake over him in return.

“You’ll read something to me tonight with them on?” Her voice has a teasing quality to it, but her eyes light in a way that makes me think she’s half-serious.

“I’ll let Finn read to you. You’ll have my tongue busy with other things like you did last night.”

I glance over at Dakota, and she’s grinning wildly as her eyes dart back and forth between them.

“You’re corrupting her, you know.” I look at Charlotte.

“Happy to do it.” Charlotte’s sly grin spreads wider, and I shake my head, looking back at Dakota who winks at me.

“All right. Back on the subject at hand. We want Levi over there. Do you think he’ll go?” Hudson looks at me for my thoughts.

“He’ll go. He’s already mentioned wanting to do it. I think he’s eager to make some sort of progress however he can accomplish that. The explosion and the bombs at the Avarice rattled him in a way I haven’t seen. He’s usually calmer than I am, and he’s been furious since he found out about Jay and the governor.”

“Then let him loose on her.” Rowan slices a glance in my direction. “Better to channel the energy than let it stay bottled up.”

“You trust him not to do anything rash?” Hudson raises a brow.

“Absolutely. He’s laser-focused and more controlled than anyone I know.”

“And that’s saying something,” Dakota mutters under her breath, eliciting a round of amused chuckles from the table.

“Then when you get home, talk to him. See if he’s willing to be on the ground for us there?” Hudson asks.

“Done.” I nod.

“I’ll keep working the research angle. Trying to narrow down possible leads on what the third is and if there’s a fourth. I’ll try to see if I can find anything on why he might want all of them. If there’s a collector or some sort of occult purpose he could have in mind. Sometimes with these things, secret societies place value on them outside of whatever their religious purpose might have been. Other times, there’s a collector who’sobsessed, and depending on their assets, they’d pay a fortune for a complete set of something they’ve deemed worthy. The kind of sum that would fund a war chest.” Charlotte offers up her theories, and we nod along.

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