Page 33 of Ugly Truths
Silas hasn’t been back, but that doesn’t surprise me. I was fighting a losing battle the moment I looked him in the eye and told him that leaving Chicago was the hardest decision I’ve ever made. There’s too much anger and distrust for him to take anything I say at face value. Still, I wanted him to because he’s stubborn enough to convince himself that everything between us was a lie, and he was a fool for ever feeling anything at all.
Maybe it’s egotistical to think I meant enough to leave a scar like that, but he’s the kind of man who would let anger do that to him. He’d let it build a wall so thick that he’d mistake it for strength.
The door locks turn. I glance up from my spot on the mattress, a romance novel propped against my bent knees. Within seconds, Natalie pops her head around the corner, two paper bags in hand, wearing a small smile.
I scoot closer to an edge, making room for her, and she falls into the routine we’ve settled into since this started. One bag—filled with magazines and books—goes next to the growing stack on the concrete. The other, she unceremoniously plops onto her lap after lowering herself to the mattress, ripping open the staples at the top to pull out whatever food she’s brought today. I smell it before I see it. Rich, spiced, and steaming throughthe clear plastic lids. Indian.
In the background, Davey enters, but this time, Cillian follows behind, silently carrying a folding chair to the corner and a laptop tucked under one arm. Davey has a cardboard box in his grip.
Without a word, Davey walks toward me and sets the box directly next to my leg before standing straight. Eyebrows furrowed, I peek over the edge and see a laptop and a phone. My heartbeat picks up.
“What’s this?”
Davey crosses his arms. “There are going to be stipulations on Luis’s release.”
I swallow.Of course, there are.
“Okay,” I answer, bowing my head in a small nod. “What are they?”
He juts his chin toward the box. “You and Luis are going to help decrypt the files on our servers.”
I knew this might be coming. Days ago, I was prepared to offer it myself when I thought my original proposition wouldn’t hold. It doesn’t stop the shame from curling low in my stomach.
Davey runs a hand through his auburn hair, letting out a tired breath. “Most of the encryptions aren’t my work, and they’re too complex for me to handle alone,” he admits, his gaze meeting mine. “I’ve already started the process of finding contractors because my team is busy elsewhere, and it’ll draw attention.”
That small admission tells me more than I’ve heard in days. I already knew they hadn’t decrypted the servers yet. Davey said as much when he first visited me, but now I know why. William has no idea that Davey and Silas are doing this.
Does he even know I’m here at all? Does he know what I did?
The questions swirl in my head, but there are more pressing matters to attend to. I don’t want Luis here a second longer than he has to be, and we struggled enough on our own with their cloud files the last time. But we also know people who didn’t.
I take a breath. “I might know two people who can help,” I say.
Davey raises an eyebrow. “Who?”
For some reason, this feels like a death sentence, but Corey and Ben are Luis’s friends. They’d help him just to ensure he gets out of here safely.
“The two men who helped us with your cloud,” I admit, grateful I didn’t omit that detail to Davey when he asked about the vulnerabilities I exploited. “They’re skilled cryptographers. If I can explain the situation to them, they might help.”
Davey tilts his head slightly, eyes narrowing. “You think they’ll say yes?”
I shrug. “I think if they know it’ll get Luis out of here, they will.” I press my lips together for a brief second before exhaling slowly. “If you guys still have the phone that was in my bag when Cillian grabbed me, their numbers are in there.”
Davey studies me for a moment longer, then nods. “Cill?” he calls out without turning.
“It’s in the office at Silas’s,” Cillian answers instantly, his eyes still trained on his laptop screen.
Natalie has already peeled the lids off the food she brought, the smell filling the room. My stomach growls, and Davey takes that as his cue to leave, kissing his wife goodbye and telling me he’ll be back in a few hours with the phone.
Before he reaches the door, the one question I’ve wanted to ask for days finally slips out. “Does this mean I can see Luis?”
Davey stops mid-stride, glancing over his shoulder at me. Even Natalie pauses, looking between us.
He mulls over my question for a moment before admitting, “I don’t feel comfortable being the one to make that decision.”
The appetite I thought I had is consumed by a cold weight settling in my stomach and my eyes drop to the mattress.
Because it’s not his decision to make. It’s Silas’s.
