I led her to my room, where I saw that my sister was being funny again. There were clothes on the bed for Roxana along with toiletries. Ash had obviously brought them here instead of taking them to the room Roxana had used as a show of acceptance. Gideon had said he would talk to her about my feelings because as brave as I am, for some odd reason, I can never face my sister with certain things.
I didn’t make a big deal of it, and neither did she. “I’ll leave you to get cleaned up; I’ll be back by the time you’re done.” I kissed her forehead one last time before leaving the room, reveling at the fact that this whole situation had turned out completely different than either of us had imagined.
I’m still a bit put out with her for her actions, but I can understand why she did what she did. I learned something, though; I learned that these men, even though they don’t know me, have a creed that’s pretty similar to mine and my brother’s. The way they all tried to protect her while talking me down felt almost like something my brother would do and has done in the past.
I went in search of Mancini and found him in what I now call the war room with the others. All heads turned my way when I walked in. I acknowledged Gideon’s searching look with a nod to let him know everything was okay and heard the released sighs from the men in the room. It looks like these men take brotherhood seriously.
“Everything okay?” Mancini asked as his eyes followed me across the room.
“Yeah, fine, I was wondering, what do you think about letting Roxana work with Track and I?”
“Work with you on what? Your job’s over, isn’t it? You were supposed to find her and bring her in, and you did.”
So that’s how you want to play it? One thing I’m good at is reading between the lines. I know for a fact that there’s no way this guy is done with us. I’m pretty sure he started out doing his wife a favor, but with what he’s learned after going after Roxana, I’m sure it’s not going to end there, especially not with this Squad thing going on.
“So you’re saying you’re going to leave the other kids there? Or you’re going to let her go after them herself.”
“Why wouldn’t I? I did the job that landed in front of me. My wife asked me for a favor…”
“Mancini, you fuck, stop playing with the kid and give him what he wants.” Mancini just rolled his eyes at Lyon and grinned at me before throwing a packet across the desk at me.
“What’s this?” I asked without opening it up.
“That’s her packet, password, handheld, and a new phone. I know yours is already secure, and so is Track’s. She keeps talking about calling her uncle, but no other phone is going to work on this island. Yours was cleared along with everyone else that’s here before you came because you were all using secure phones.”
“You already knew I was going to ask her to work with me?”
“It’s what makes sense, isn’t it? She’s not going to give up the town because she has a score to settle; add the fact that she’s not sure of us yet, and earning her trust is going to take some time. Since we need to get those kids out yesterday, and I’m pretty sure you’re not about to let her leave here, there’s only one thing left to do.”
“Just do us all a favor.” I turned my attention to Logan, who was rocking his chair back on its hind legs.
“What’s that?”
“Don’t let her divulge anything to the other women. She’s only getting her hand in because she’s involved in this particular fight, but the women aren’t usually allowed to get involved in this shit.”
“Yes, I know; I’ve lived with my brother and sister for a decade. Besides, I don’t want her anywhere near this shit either, but as you said, she’s involved in this one. Going forward, once this is done, I’ll be sure to sideline her.”
“Good luck with that, fucking women are always up to some shit.” Lyon seemed a tad bit displeased about something, but I didn’t wait around to find out what. I was too excited over the fact that Mancini had given me what I wanted without too much of a fight.
I left the room in time to see Lyon’s daughter walking down the hallway with a big ass dog by her side. I’m not sure how she knew I was there since I always move without a sound out of habit, but she turned and smiled at me, giving me a thumbs-up before turning the corner. That is one strange fucking kid.