words just like they had the night we’d gone off a cliff.
Jada stuck out her hand. “Can I talk to him?”
I handed the phone over, and she said, “I’m sorry, Dawson. I’m so sorry.”
I couldn’t hear what he said, but it made Jada tear up. Her eyes flicked to me, to Nolan, and then down to the floor.
“He’s letting me stay for now,” she told him. “But I’m sure they’ll have us watched. My phone is bugged. I’ll have to keep it with me so they don’t get suspicious, but we’ll be careful. How pissed is Malone?”
She waited for his response, grimacing. “Okay, well. Thank you for sending the rescue crew. I promise I’ll be good. Here’s Vi.”
She waited for him to say something else before handing me back the phone and leaving the room again.
“How is she really?” Dawson asked.
“She looks like she’s been crying for hours on end, but you know Jada. She’s got her tough-as-nails costume on.”
“How are you?”
“Me? I’m fine,” I said.
“Vi, that was…intense. It’s okay to not be fine, you know.” The gentleness in his tone was almost enough to send me into tears.
“I’m not saying I want to do it again, but if I had to, I would,” I told him truthfully.
He chuckled. “Viola the Jewel, taking on the Kyōdaina syndicate. Jersey would love it.”
I sat down on the bed. “Is that what it is? The Kyōdaina?”
Everyone knew them. They were as big and as powerful as the Yakuza. Twin dragons in the Asian crime gangs. Were Jada’s dad and Ken’Ichi high up in the food chain, or were they the entire chain? I couldn’t help the shiver that crawled up my back.
“Forget I said it,” he told me. “The less you know, the better. Nolan is going to be staying there until I get back. If you need anything or you see anything that seems off, tell him, okay?”
“I will.”
Silence. Then, I remembered why he wasn’t here to protect us himself, and it saddened me. Because he’d had his big moment crushed by all of this drama.
“Dawson,” I said.
“Yeah?”
“I’m really proud of you,” I murmured. “Not just for breaking the record and winning the Conquistar de la Atlántica, but for this. What you’re trying to accomplish.”
“We haven’t won yet. We still have to beat the time on the way back.” He dodged the compliment.
“You know you will. Like I said the other night, I think Jersey needs to make a new superhero, Dawson the Dandy. Saves the world with a kiss and a wave,” I said.
He laughed like I’d intended him to.
“I’ll see you on Saturday,” I told him.
“That’s the plan.”
“I―” I caught myself before I said I loved him, a term of endearment I used often with Jersey, Mandy, Leena, Truck, Nell, and even my friends. Dawson was my friend. But I’d never said those words to him. Not once.
I did love him. Had since before I really understood it. Sometimes, I still wasn’t sure I understood the full depth of a love like Truck and Jersey’s, but whether we ever shared another kiss or not, the love I felt for Dawson wasn’t going anywhere.
“I hope you’ll enjoy the celebration there tonight,” I said instead.
He was quiet.
“For the first time, I’d rather be somewhere else,” he breathed out.
We hung up, and my eyes met Nolan’s who’d been trying to ignore the conversation. He was a wiry man with blond hair and large glasses that made him look owlish. His casual jeans and T-shirt seemed awkward on him, and I would have bet money he was more comfortable in the suit he probably wore most of the time.
“While you were gone, I did an RF and camera scan of the house. Dawson’s room is the only place I found any devices at the moment, but I haven’t searched the garage. Treat it as if it were bugged until I say otherwise.”
“Did you take the device out of Dawson’s room?” I asked.
“No. If we did, they’d know something was up.”
“And Jada’s phone is tapped?” I asked.
He nodded. “We already suspected it.”
“So, no talking international espionage on it?”
“Or near it. The case has a similar device to the one you wore today.”
I blew out a breath. This was really happening.
I removed the Band-Aid mic and handed it to him, along with the camera clip.
“My number is programmed into the secure phone,” Nolan said. “If you need me, just call. Otherwise, I’ll be working out of the room here.”