Page 34 of Jake's Angel

“Sadie knows the girl, but are they friends?”

“Why would Sadie think the girl needs help?” Jameson and Ethan both shoot of questions at the same time.

“They go to school together. They’re thick as thieves some days,” Pop says, shaking his head and scrubbing a hand down his face. It's the first I'm recognizing just how worn out he appears. “That leads me to believe Sadie would try to help the girl. She’s also the only person we know with a viable reason and the ability to get past Hawk’s system. She spends a lot of her time trying to best him at his own shit.”

“But why?” Declan crosses his thick arms over his chest, glaring at Pop. “Why would Sadie jeopardize herself to help this girl if she didn’t have a good reason?”

“That’s the part we don’t know,” Pop answers. “Avery has never shown signs of wanting to leave or not being happy living with Russell. I know she had her moments with Eleanor, but the woman is a controlling bitch. We all have crossed paths with her from time to time.”

I feel like I’ve just been kicked in the chest by a fucking horse.

Avery. He said the girl’s name is Avery.

If Sadie knew about the bruises, there’s no doubt she would’ve helped Avery get away. Especially if she thought she has a shitty home life situation. Though Pop seems to think otherwise. The problem is, I don’t know who left the marks. They could’ve been from Cusenza himself. Which would mean Sadie stole Cusenza’s leverage against Russ, and he will look for Sadie now, too. I have no fucking idea. I could start a war with the wrong information.

I have to tell them.

“And we’re sure Sadie helped this girl leave the estate?” Jameson still isn’t convinced, but it’s Hawk who confirms it had to be Sadie. She’s the only other person he knows who could possibly crack his system. As much as it pains him to admit it. “How did she get past your system anyway? Have you figured it out yet?”

Hawk glares at Jameson from over the top of his laptop. He shrugs and smiles back, giving Hawk a wink.

“We don’t know for certain it was Sadie, but it would make sense. She knows the girl. They’re friends. And if Sadie thought she was in trouble, she’d do whatever she could to help. Loyalty is both Sadie’s greatest strength and, at times, her biggest weakness,” Caleb says with pride as he talks about his granddaughter.

“Ifit was Sadie, she’s been fucking with my shit for a few weeks now. The system has had minor glitches and outages for small increments of time over several days. The power outage two nights ago was the longest one yet, lasting nearly eight minutes.”

Declan and Ethan both laugh out loud while Ghost rubs Hawk’s shoulder with his meaty hand and asks, “You got outsmarted by thekid?” He shakes his head at Hawk as if he’s ashamed. The entire room is full of laughter as Hawk continues to seethe.

“Are we sure the girl didn’t shoot Chuck?” Caleb calls our attention back to him.

“If she did, she had to have a damn good reason.” Both Gabe’s voice and his facial expression are intense. I don’t understand why he’s coming to her defense, but he seems beyond pissed.

“We don’t know yet who pulled the trigger,” Pop says, running his hand down his face. “If shedidshoot him, it would have to be for a really good reason. I just can’t see her doingsomething like that. She nearly vomited when we took her to the range to get her used to the feel of a gun.”

“Why the fuck did you take her to the range?” Gabe growls.

“She was terrified of my men walking around with guns strapped to their sides. Sadie suggested we take her to the range since it’s a controlled environment and let her get the feel of a gun and learn how to use it.” Pop shrugged. “It made sense for her to have some safety awareness with a houseful of weapons. We taught all our kids. Avery was no different.” Pop glares at Gabe, his brow raised as if daring Pres to argue.

“Maybe she would pull the trigger if she felt threatened.” The conversation continues, but I'm stuck replaying last night's encounter in my mind.

“I wanted to leave. He wouldn’t let me go. When I struggled, his hand left marks.”My Angel’s words echo through my mind.

“Do we have a picture of the girl?” I’m certain it’s the same girl, but I need to be sure before I unleash the club on anyone.

Pop hands me his phone with a screenshot of a beautiful blonde girl standing next to Sadie, both leaning against Loretta. There’s no question—it’s her. I take a closer look, zooming in on the face, and I recognize those emerald green eyes. Her hair is different now, but I’ll never forget those eyes or those lips.

What trouble have you gotten yourself into, Angel?

“When was this taken?” She doesn’t look like this anymore. She looks older, her hair has streaks in it now, and the cut shapes her face more.

“That was taken a couple of days after Sadie’s eighteenth birthday.”

“How old did you say this girl is?”

Please be legal. It was just a kiss, but please be legal.

“Eighteen.” Pop answers. My breath comes rushing out of me.Thank fuck.Gabe suddenly looks uncomfortable.

My eyes shift from Gabe to Caleb, and then to Pop. They all have the same strange look. It’s a mix of sadness and …guilt.

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