I don’t actually dislike Rowan. He’s smart, cunning, and I have a fuckton of respect for his ability to get a job done. But we have our own approaches to situations like this, and the more that’s at stake, the more tensions rise. Grant and Hudson provide the cooler voices.
“I just want this finished. Quickly. Efficiently.” Rowan shakes his head.
“That’s what we all want.” I give Rowan a look, and he rolls his eyes, but I know he sees reason when he’s forced to.
“Get me the grandfather’s name. Let’s hope the husband takes the bait or reaches out sooner rather than later. If not, we need to come up with our own plan of attack.” Rowan summarizes our next steps, and we nod along.
We wrap up the rest of our meeting, and then I go in search of Zephyrine. Grant suggested leaving her with Dakota while we discussed details and they figured out clothes and shoes for her. I’m hoping that an afternoon alone with my brother’s fiancée hasn't left me with a completely corrupted former nun, but there’s always a chance when Dakota’s involved.
“Levi?Can I talk to you before you leave?” Dakota calls after me.
“Sure.” I walk back toward the door.
“I got her a little drunk. Sorry about that.” She gives me a sheepish grin. My future sister-in-law and I didn’t always see eye to eye, but she means well.
“She probably needs a little fun after being stuck with me for so long, but if she retches and I have to clean it up…” I look at Dakota sideways.
“Just make sure she gets plenty of water and something to eat. I don't want her getting a hangover.”
“Got it.” I start to turn away, thinking that’s the warning she wanted to give me, but she grabs the edge of my shirt to stop me.
“It got her to talk a little more.” She lowers her voice to just above a whisper. “Open up to me and tell me a little about where her head’s at.”
“What did she say?” I fold my arms over my chest, worried Dakota might have turned their fun little girls’ night into an interrogation.
“Not a lot, or at least not nearly as much as I hoped she would. Just girl talk mostly, you know? She’s very reserved.”
“She’s a nun.”
“Or maybe she was worried I’d tell you things. And you know I hate being a spy. I’m not cut out for this. She seems so sweet. I can’t believe she’s related to that piece of shit. I hope you’re not ruining her with all this captivity stuff. I’d be a wreck if I were in her shoes, but she seems so stoic about it all.” Dakota rambles on, tipsy herself from entertaining Zephyrine.
“She’s fine, Dakota. She has it as good as anyone can have it in this situation. Her own bed. Home-cooked food. You to get her clothes. Air-conditioning in the cabin.”
“But she’s had a rough life, no?” Dakota frowns.
Dakota’s life wasn’t easy either, and her sympathy for others in a tough spot runs deep. She lost her whole family by the time she was seventeen. Her bar and apartment were the only things she had left of her past. Then the governor’s plans made sure those were destroyed too. So if anyone can relate to the pain of being on your own the way Zephyrine is, it’s Dakota.
“She has.”
“Aren’t we assholes for this then? To use her? Grant would have murdered someone for doing this to me.”
“Someone might murder us for it too. We nearly all died for this. For her father’s whims. I don’t feel like an asshole for wanting to get to the bottom of it and free us from her father’s focus for good. I’m not doing anything to hurt her.”
“I guess,” she reluctantly agrees.
“You wanted me to go after her, remember?”
“That was before I knew her, and when I was fresh off being angry about the bar. I don’t want to hurt more people just because I’m hurting. We have to be better than that.”
“We are better than that. If this goes the way I intend for it to, we’ll be giving her hope she hasn’t had before.” It’s what I keep telling myself.
“If you say so.” Dakota gives me a slightly skeptical look, but it fades as she sees the reality for what it is. We don’t have a choice, and this is the best chance we have.
“All right. I’m off then.” I turn again, and she stops me. I sigh and glance up at her under my glasses. She frowns at my impatience.
“One last thing.” She looks out at the truck where Zephyrine’s waiting for me.
“What’s that?” I glance back at her, lowering my cowboy hat over my eyes as the sun starts to peek out from behind the clouds.
