you these skills so you could invade peoples’ privacy.”
“I didn’t hack him. I became his poker buddy and he let me see the file.”
The lie turned my stomach. I made a promise to my father and I took that sort of thing seriously. If I wasn’t a man of my word, then what kind of man was I?
The answer is I’m the kind of man who’d do anything for the people I love. We had to know the truth about Aiden, the Sons of Slaughter, and just how much information he had that could bury us.
“He let you see it just like that?” Dad’s eyes narrowed. “After the lengths he went through to protect it?”
“That’s the thing. The file is just those stats, Dad. Height, weight, running times, eating habits, and social skills. I don’t know what to make of it. Do you?”
“If he let you see his file, surely he explained.”
“The fraternity. It’s hard to get in and even harder to stay in. He tracks the brothers to see who is falling short.”
The lines on his forehead hardened. “I see but... a trifid encryption.”
“Ezra said he’s dirty, Dad. It’s looking more and more like he was right.”
Dad tossed his head, face smoothing out. “Ezra said he was a kidnapper and the boy turned out to be fine. The encryption is a step above overkill, I will give you that. But have you considered someone who isn’t my son may have the same skills with computers? He feels he has to collect this data and, apparently, he feels the same urge to protect it. Doesn’t sound too dirty to me.”
I rejected everything he said immediately. “You don’t know what Aiden Connelly is like. Those all-knowing smirks. The hints he drops to Val. I trust Ezra’s and Val’s judgment.”
“And I trust yours,” said my father. “But I will say this, I’ve worked with many a former Sam or Sally. The fraternity has a strong reputation and the men it turns out go on to do great things. It’s difficult to know the inner workings of a closed community like that, or say what practices are par for the course. It seems this Aiden Connelly is opening up to you. Give him a chance, Rick. Everyone deserves one.”
“Could one argue he lost his chance when he threatened to tell the Sons of Slaughter where Brian was hiding?”
“One could,” he admitted. “One could also recognize that in the end, he didn’t get involved in the situation and what happened to Ezra was a result of you boys taking it on yourself to play undercover agents.”
My head dropped right back on the chair. “Which we’ve apologized for a thousand times.”
“Yes, you have apologized for hiding dangerous things from us, taking on a situation you weren’t equipped to handle, going outside the law, and getting your best friend shot.” A hand rested on my forearm. “You apologized and we forgave you, because chances aren’t limited to one.”
“All right, Dad.” I placed my hand over his. “I get what you’re saying.”
Give Aiden a chance... to prove he’s exactly what I think he is.
THAT NIGHT, OUR FAMILY sat around the dinner table eating ravioli with sundried tomatoes and pine nuts. On a normal day that was my favorite meal.
I barely touched it.
My attention drifted to Val and, sitting by her side, Sofia. Neither one would hear of letting me meet Aiden alone. I had a niggling feeling that they were looking forward to sneaking around and pulling one over on him. I believed Aiden was a lot of things. Chief among them someone not to be underestimated.
After dinner, I carried Adam up to his new room. Daphne had outdone herself with a jungle theme—inspired by Val’s trip to Costa Rica. Adam’s walls were transformed into a window to another universe. Vines stretched over his canopy bed. Monkeys swung by his jungle gym and stuffed animals joined him in his reading nook.
Most nights he asked to sleep in the nook. That night was no different.
I tucked him into his makeshift bed of comforters, pillows, a snake, and two lemurs. Val watched from the doorway as we went through his routine. Checking the closet and under the bed for monsters, reading a story, and sitting tight until he fell asleep. Half an hour later, he was out like a light.
Val kissed me on my way out of the door. “It’s a few hours until midnight,” she said. “Sofia and I should get going.”
“Now? Why?”
“I doubt he’ll show up four