Page 54 of Beyond the Blue Horizon

“Blurs the lines,” he said, no anger to it, just pointing out the fact.

We also knew that when you started bending rules they tended to fracture and fully fall apart.

River, Otto, and Kane having families was proof of that.

“Think they need a leg up,” I said.

Could feel the panic rolling off of Piper when Silas told her how much it would cost to fix her car.

And I knew the number he’d given her was total bullshit. Far less than it actually would cost for someone who just came in off the street.

That number had been given because I was standing there. A million favors owed because Silas and his crew had my back just the same as I had theirs. Our dealings deeper than even my crew knew.

Piper had acted like she was just going to whip that kind of cash out of her pocket and hand it over.

Had decided to let that argument go, but there was no way in hell I was going to let her pay for it.

Not when I could.

Not when I could do something that might make their lives better.

Because there was something about what was going on with them that didn’t add up.

Something that made me sure there was a ton more to her story than she was letting on.

“This a Sanctum situation?” Kane asked.

I hesitated, unsure, trying to put my finger on what was up with Piper.

“Don’t think so.”

My insides roiled, screaming out that was a blatant lie.

This thing inside me that promised she was in something bad.

But it didn’t feel right to give that to my crew until I was sure.

Not when she was trying to keep me in the dark.

I was going to have to win her trust first, and I had a hunch siccing these brutes on her wasn’t going to win me any points.

Besides, I didn’t have any proof, so I carried on, “Think the situation is she’s a single mom who’s down on her luck and she could use an extra hand while she gets back on her feet.”

“How long?” River asked.

I roughed an agitated hand through my hair, still rocking back in that chair like none of this was a big deal. “At least three weeks until her car gets repaired.”

“Shit,” Cash wheezed under his breath.

“Know it’s a bit, but if something comes up and it’s needed, I’ll figure out other arrangements. Just don’t see how it’s that big of a problem since it’s empty.”

Otto sighed. “Don’t like the idea of turning our backs on this. Sounds like she can use a hand, and just because her troubles are different than the ones we normally tend to, doesn’t mean we should ignore them.”

Kane nodded. “Yeah. Don’t really see the issue.”

“Except for the fact Alicia and Lucy are right next door.” Cash dished it out like proof.

It was.