Liesel
We put all the kids to bed, and then it’s just the adults sitting in the living room.
Kai sits on the floor, leaning against Enzo’s knees. Siren and Zeke sit snuggled together, a large legal pad and pen lying on their lap so Siren can communicate.
Beckett sits in a single chair with his hand in a new bandage. He has a smoothie with a straw, so he can lean over to get some calories until a doctor looks at his hand.
Langston and I sit on a loveseat with Langston’s arm around my shoulders, just as much a couple as the rest of them. I twirl my ring around my finger. We talked to the kids. They know almost everything and took it surprisingly well, even though it’s ridiculously complicated. Now we all have to decide what we do next.
There would have been a time when I thought it was just my and Langston’s decision. I thought everyone in the room betrayed us, but now that everyone has sacrificed so much, I know differently. We are a family, no matter what happens.
“So, what do we do next?” Kai asks, starting the conversation.
All eyes fall on us.
“We talk to Phoenix,” I say immediately, even though I know the whole room will disagree with me. There is no immediate outrage, at least not from anyone except Langston, who looks at me like I’m off my rocker.
Siren jots down what I said, so Zeke is up to speed. I get no protest from them either. I do need to remember to pause after I speak, so they can get caught up.
“For now, we have to assume Corbin and Maxwell have Declan. Phoenix is likely to confirm or deny it, so let’s start there,” I say.
There’s some nodding from the room.
“Phoenix won’t tell us the truth. We will gain nothing from talking to her,” Langston says, removing his arm from behind me.
I miss the loss immediately.
“She told us the truth about the clubs.”
“No, if she did, then we would already have Declan.”
“We have Rose and Atlas because of the information she gave us. And they didn’t hurt the kids. If she truly wanted to hurt us, then they would have hurt them—they didn’t. They just want more from us. We need to talk to her.”
“Or we could attack Corbin and Maxwell. Kill them and their team, extract Declan ourselves, if they even have him.”
“And what would you do with Phoenix?”
“She doesn’t deserve to live after what she’s done,” Langston says.
I sigh. He’s just being a protective father. He feels betrayed by her. But every person in this room has hurt and betrayed people, oftentimes betraying others in this room. We’re all human, and we have all fucked up when we were hurting or trying to protect others. Everyone deserves a second chance.
“It’s no longer just up to us to decide, so let’s put it to a vote. Should our next step be talking to Phoenix or not?” I ask the room.
Langston stares them down, trying to persuade them to his side. It wouldn’t shock me if they took his side, simply because they are closer to him than they are to me.
“Enzo?” Langston asks.
“I don’t trust Phoenix, so no, I don’t think you should talk to her. I agree with Langston—we should attack Corbin and Maxwell, then find Declan once we’ve destroyed them,” Enzo says.
Kai looks at me with sympathy in her eyes and says, “I agree with Enzo.”
That’s two for Langston and none for me. It’s not looking good.
We all turn our attention to Siren and Zeke. Siren is writing furiously on the paper, and Zeke is studying every word closely. He looks at Siren, who nods at him.
“Siren agrees with Liesel. We should get every bit of information we can from Phoenix. And for the kids’ sake, she deserves a second chance,” Zeke speaks.
That makes it two to one, but Zeke and Beckett will take Langston’s side.