and decided he looked better than she did.
Jackson slipped into the bathroom and leaned against the closed door. “Do you need anything? Ginger ale? Or maybe some saltine crackers?”
She smiled weakly at him. “That’s sweet of you, but I think what I really need are answers.” She needed to talk to Lucas.
“I think I know a way we can make that happen,” Jackson said.
“How’s that?”
“One of the girls who overdosed a few weeks ago told me she’d be willing to meet me to talk. I texted her a few minutes ago, letting her know there was another incident. She said she’d meet us at Beachside Beer Garden in a few minutes. I thought if we got her together with Ethan, that maybe they’d be willing to talk more. You know, strength in numbers?”
Hope nodded. “That’s a good idea. Besides, it can’t hurt. Give me just a sec, and I’ll be right out.”
He nodded and disappeared.
There were some other people she needed for this rendezvous. Hope pulled her phone out of her pocket and sent a text to her mother. Then she sent a group text to her coven. If Lucas really was involved, she was going to need her girls. The only person she didn’t text was Lucas. She just couldn’t wrap her head around the idea that he was the one they’d been looking for this whole time. How was that even possible? She’d told him about the person wanting to use his business to move drugs, and he’d dismissed that idea so easily and with so much conviction that she’d never believed that he would be involved.
There was also the fact that she’d never heard one thought from him about drugs. But then, she rarely heard his thoughts at all. Was he that good at concealing what was going on in his head? Her chest tightened, making it hard to breathe. She pressed her palm over her breastbone and prayed she wasn’t having a heart attack.
Hope waited with Ethan out in front of Pointe of View Café while Jackson clocked out from his shift. She was still feeling nauseated, but whatever was going on with her was nothing compared to Ethan. The poor man was sweating up a storm while complaining of being cold as if he had a fever.
“Hey, do we need to take you to the urgent care?” Hope asked him. “You don’t look well.”
“I’m fine,” he said, closing his eyes and giving her a pained look. “This always happens. It will pass.”
“Always? How many times have you overdosed on that stuff?” She couldn’t help asking, even though she knew she should wait until she had backup.
“This is the third time.” He coughed, and Hope was ready to stuff him in her car and take him home where she could tuck him under a blanket and ply him with tea and cinnamon toast until he felt better.
“Were all of them forced on you?” she asked.
He nodded.
“That’s horrific, Ethan. You have to stop delivering for… this person.”
“I can’t,” he said in a whisper so low that she barely heard him. “She’ll kill me.”
“Ready?” Jackson asked as he walked out the door.
“I guess so.” Ethan shoved his hands in his pockets and hunched his shoulders.
They started to walk the two blocks to the Beachside Beer Garden where they were meeting Riley, Jackson’s contact. They were all quiet, lost in their own thoughts. Hope heard Ethan praying that he was doing the right thing, and she heard Jackson praying that he never had to witness another overdose. Hope prayed that her mother and her coven would get to the Beer Garden before she did so that they’d be around if she needed them. Her mother was the most important. She wanted her mom to listen in. Her friends were needed for when they were ready to go kick some ass.
The Beer Garden wasn’t busy. Considering it was still early in the afternoon, that wasn’t a surprise, and it made it the perfect place to meet. They could sit outside and have a certain amount of privacy. But not much considering Angela was there.
Hope spotted her mom sitting at a table with Grace out on the patio. It looked as if Gigi and Joy hadn’t arrived yet. That was okay. As long as Angela was there.
Jackson led the way to a table closest to the beach where a petite blonde sat, picking at a bucket of French fries. “Hey, Riley,” he said. “How are you doing? Better?”
She stared at Ethan,