The Summer King Bundle 3 Stories - Jennifer L. Armentrout Page 0,96

find them.

There were several rooms used for meetings on the main level of Hotel Good Fae, and we often moved from one to the other. But the two male fae standing outside the closed door with their backs rigid and their hands clasped was a dead giveaway.

The Knights were always present when Caden was here. I imagined he must stop them from following him when he was at his apartment. Or if they did trail him, they remained well-hidden.

I stopped in front of them, and one of them must’ve seen the look on my face because he stepped aside with a sigh.

“Thank you,” I said sweetly, opening the door.

Ivy and Ren sat across from Caden. Ivy was perched on the table, one leg curled up to her chest. Ren was sitting in the chair beside her. They looked over. Ren’s face went expressionless, but Ivy’s lips thinned. Faye and Kalen were also present, both standing by a window. The latter looked uncomfortable, but Faye looked well…annoyed. Like usual.

Caden was speaking. “Even though he was seen alone….” He trailed off, and without even turning around, I knew he knew it was me. “I see my brother has loose lips.”

The rather cold greeting after yesterday did more than sting, even though I told myself that this meeting wasn’t about us. It burned a hole right through my gut, but I lifted my chin. “I figured you just forgot to tell me.”

“Brighton,” Ivy began.

“Nope.” I held up my hand as I stalked across the room. Sitting down in one of the chairs, I calmly placed my purse on the floor. “I’m here. You all have some sort of information, and I’m a part of this whether you like it or not.”

Ivy looked down at Ren as if he were supposed to do something.

“We were discussing a possible lead.” Caden looked over at me, and our gazes met. Nothing could be gained from his expression, but heat bloomed across my cheeks nonetheless. His lashes swept down, concealing the amber hue of his eyes.

“Oh, so now you’re okay with bringing her in on this?” Ivy demanded.

Faye sighed, muttering, “Here we go again.”

Kalen stared up at the ceiling.

“I’m not okay with it,” Caden answered, refocusing on Ivy. “Not remotely. But it does not appear that any of us, no matter what we do, will change her mind.”

Did including having sex fall in the whole no matter what we do equation? My eyes narrowed on him as a seed of illogical and ridiculous suspicion took hold.

“This isn’t okay.” Ivy unfurled her leg. “I won’t be party to you—”

“Stop.” Ren placed his hand on her leg. “He’s right. Nothing is going to change her mind. And at this point, we’re just beating a dead horse, and we don’t have time for that.”

Ivy looked as if she wanted to argue. “Fine,” she snapped, sending me a look that said this wouldn’t be the last time I’d hear about this.

Great.

Kalen stepped forward at Caden’s nod. “We’ve learned that Aric is still in the city,” he explained. I stiffened. “He was seen this afternoon.”

“Where?” I breathed.

Kalen looked at Caden before answering. “He was seen exiting Flux.”

“What?” I twisted in the chair and turned toward Caden.

“Before you ask, yes, we’ve had eyes on Flux. He was not seen going in, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t well-hidden.” He paused. “Like some do when they go to Flux.”

I ignored that. “And where did he go?”

“That, we don’t know,” Ren answered. “They were able to tail him for a couple of blocks, but they lost him on I-10.” Based on Ren’s tone alone, I knew how ridiculous he thought that was. Yeah, depending on the day, traffic sucked, but…come on. “But he’s here. We’ll let Miles know so all Order members are on alert.”

“And we’re increasing our own presence,” Faye added. “Between the two groups, we’ll form a net that can sweep the entire city. We will find him.”

My gaze shot back to Caden, and I knew without a doubt that he would be out there tonight and every night until Aric was found. “I will—”

The door opened, and I looked over my shoulder. It was Tanner and a younger man that I’d never seen before. They weren’t alone. There was a tall, lithe, dark-haired female fae with them. She wore a pretty, off-the-shoulder, pale blue and gold dress that would’ve looked great on a beach and terrible on me—someone who actually had hips. She was gorgeous, with delicate features, and whoever she was,