House of Leights (Secret Keepers, #3)(71)

It made sense, but it didn’t help us figure out where to go.

Fraizer spoke up: “I know where Laous is stationed … and since he doesn’t know that I’ve jumped ship, do you want me to head there to see what he’s learned?”

Everyone turned to Fraizer, and I knew I wasn’t the only one with suspicions clouding my mind. Had this all been a setup? Pretending that he was switching sides? Helping us take Laous down? Had we stepped into another trap of Laous’ making?





21





“I promise, this is no trap.” Fraizer had his hands up in front of him, a pleading expression on his face. “I’ve already told you that I disagree with Laous, with the way he is going about this. He sucked me in initially because I believe that family sticks together, and I guess I wanted a way to punish Daniel. But he has gone too far.”

He sounded sincere, and I was a pretty trusting person, so my instincts were to believe what he was saying. But this wasn’t my call. I let the overlords do their thing.

“I’m inclined to believe him,” Chase said.

Lexen shook his head. “If he goes to Laous, we’re all going as well. That way we’ll see for sure that he’s telling the truth.”

No one else had a better plan, and since the drivers had already taken off in one of the cars, we squished into the other. Emma and I ended up in the middle seats, Chase and Lexen on either side of us. The rest fit themselves where they could; Xander was driving. Once we were out of his estate, Fraizer told him to head toward the city.

The car was quiet, tension riding all of us. Closing my eyes, I tried to reach out for the fourth girl, wanting to pinpoint her location now that we were closer. But there was no clear entry to the network on Earth, not really. I could feel the energy, but it was faint. We were going to have to find the fourth secret keeper the old-fashioned way.

Thankfully, Lanai City was less city and more sprawling village, so we shouldn’t have to search for too long. I wasn’t sure how many locals lived here, but it didn’t seem like a lot. I personally loved the vibe. It was usually me who requested we come here for our yearly holidays. I’d never stayed in the town, though. We generally hired out a private rental on the beach.

Fraizer leaned forward in his seat. “He’s on this side of town. It shouldn’t be too hard to spot him. We tend to stick out on Earth.”

I had no idea how the four overlords managed to pass for humans at all. They were so far beyond normal males that it was almost laughable.

“Laous has probably already found her. He might not even be here,” Callie said, her words clipped. “This could all be a complete waste of time.”

“At minimum I’m hoping we ferret out some more of the traitors,” Xander said. “In particular, I’m looking for my father’s best friend. He’s been missing for a few weeks.”

“Your father’s the overlord?” I asked. It felt like this might be an obvious question, but maybe it was his uncle or something.

Xander shook his head. “My mother is the overlord. She was the one born to royal blood. My father rules with her, of course, but there’s only one true overlord.”

That was awesome. Good to see it wasn’t only males wearing the title.

We continued weaving through the small town, locals waving in their friendly way. For the most part. After about ten minutes, Fraizer leaned forward. “I’m not sure randomly driving is the right way to go,” he said. “Do you have a phone? I’ll just call him and tell him I’m here.”

Xander flicked his head toward the center of the car. “There’s an untraceable cell in there.”

Fraizer found it quickly, powered it on and entered a number. I was surprised when Fraizer put it on speaker.

“Who the fuck is this?”

The unfamiliar voice was female, each word snapped out like bullets from a gun.

“Fraizer. I’ve acquired one part of the package. Laous needs to give me a drop-off location.”

Chase tensed at my side, and I reached out and laced my fingers through his. Comfort for both of us. “There was a little trouble, but mostly, it all went to plan,” Fraizer continued, and you could have cut the tension in the car with a blunt knife. “Send me the coordinates. My ETA is about ten minutes.”

He hit the end button, and I was pretty sure it was taking every ounce of Chase’s control not to reach out and punch him. “What’s the package?” he bit out, not sounding at all like his normal chill self.

Fraizer dropped the phone into his lap, letting out a sigh. “The secret keepers are the package, of course. This is a double-cross, but Laous doesn’t realize he’s the one being crossed.”

That sounded great in theory. But another part of me wondered if this was actually a triple cross, and we were about to be screwed.

“He won’t believe I managed to grab more than one of you, which is why I mentioned only part of the package.” The phone dinged then, and Fraizer lifted it. “He’s stationed near the cat sanctuary. Apparently, your secret keeper girl works there.”

I’d always wanted to go to the cat sanctuary. They had hundreds of cats that were kept there to ensure their safety, and the safety of the native wildlife of the island. I’d never managed to visit, but it looked like I was going to get my chance now.