I chew, deep in thought for a moment. “It’s hard to remember that time, but I obviously did it. I got there.” I pull myself from those thoughts. “Now I figure it’s easier to look ahead and see happiness when I’ve already been through the worst moment of my life and survived.”

“The more I learn about you, the more you catch me off guard. I like it.”

I settle back into the couch and smile at him. It’s not very bright in here, but I swear I could find St. Clare even in the dark. When it comes to being hopeful, my main hope right now is that we can make it through this mess and that once it’s over, St. Clare will give me a chance to see if there’s anything more between us than scorching hot sex.

If he didn’t look exhausted, I’d suggest it now. But his usually amused eyes have dulled, and his permanently quirked mouth is a flat line.

“You need to sleep,” I tell him.

“Don’t know if I can. It feels like we keep running into dead ends, and I’m stressed out of my brain.” St. Clare rubs his eyes. “I just wish I knew whether it was Colin who made those withdrawals. Maybe if I had evidence he’s still okay, it’d make everything so much easier.”

How the hell do we get that evidence? Walking into a bank isn’t an option. But if he used an ATM, most of those have cameras … right? “Do you know which ATMs he visited?” I ask.

St. Clare thinks for a second. “Yeah, Livy sent me the list.”

“Right. So what we need is someone who can hack into surveillance systems, then.”

“You say that like it’s so easy.”

For once, I think it might be. “It is. When you’re friends with the baddie bunch.”

CHAPTER FORTY

ST. CLARE

They come.

After the conversation Perry had with the baddie bunch, where Arlie hung up mid-sentence, I really didn’t think we’d be opening the door to her, Tommy, and Ever.

They’re … an odd group. Now that I’m not obsessively jealous over Arlie, I can sort of understand what’s making Lars—and, sadly, Perry—so heart-eyed over her. She’s almost as tall as I am, a solid woman with a don’t-fuck-with-me face who still manages to have this warmth about her.

Tommy, on the other hand, has this general vibe that he has no clue how he ended up here, but he’s happy about it. Chaotic curls, short beard, eyes that look far too amused for the situation we’re in.

Then Everett is … well, he looks like the scariest of the bunch. The bald head, slightly manic smile, long chain earrings, and dark eyeliner don’t help the impression.