Chapter 105 What to do
Sage's POV
"No." Ryder's answer was immediate and firm. "Not yet."
That was his answer when I asked if I should confront Jaxon about the gun I found in his closet.
"Why not?"
"Because Jaxon could easily come up with an excuse for this. He could say it's from a fight, or that he was helping someone who got hurt, or any number of explanations that would sound reasonable enough." Ryder looked at me seriously. "If we confront him now without knowing the full story, we tip him off that we're suspicious and he'll just hide whatever else he's involved in even better."
I knew he was right, but the thought of keeping this secret from Jaxon, of pretending I didn't know about the gun while watching my brother act normal, made me feel sick. "So what do we do?"
"We watch him. We pay attention to where he goes, who he talks to, what he does when he thinks nobody's looking." Ryder put the shoe box back in the corner of the closet and arranged the jackets exactly how they were before. "We gather more information before we make any moves."
"For how long?"
"As long as it takes to figure out what he's hiding." Ryder took my hand and led me out of Jaxon's room, closing the door behind us. "But we have to be careful, Sage. If Jaxon is involved in something dangerous enough that he's hiding evidence like this, confronting him before we know what it is could put you at risk."
We went back downstairs and I collapsed onto the couch, feeling exhausted even though it wasn't even noon yet. "I can't believe I'm spying on my own brother. I can't believe I'm treating him like a suspect in something when I don't even know what that something is."
"I know this is hard." Ryder sat down beside me and pulled me against his side. "But something's not right with how Jaxon has been acting, and now we have proof that he's hiding things from you. We need to figure out what's going on before you make any decisions about Diego or the marriage or anything else."
The mention of Diego made my stomach clench all over again. "I only have four days left before I'm supposed to be in Arizona. Four days to figure out what Jaxon is hiding and find a way out of this marriage that doesn't involve running away or fighting or making deals I can't win."
"We'll figure it out. We'll watch Jaxon, gather information, and find out what he's really involved in." Ryder's voice was confident but I could hear the worry underneath it. "But we have to be smart about this."
I pulled away from him and grabbed my phone, making a decision before I could talk myself out of it. "I need to call Diego."
Ryder's expression shifted to concern. "Why?"
"Because I need to talk to him. I need to hear what he has to say about this marriage and about whatever my father did that supposedly requires me to be under Blood Sisters protection." I pulled up Diego's contact information. "Maybe he'll tell me something that helps make sense of all this."
"Sage—"
"I know it's risky. I know he might use whatever I say against me somehow. But I can't just sit here for four more days wondering what's going to happen." I looked at Ryder. "I need to take some kind of action, even if it's just having a conversation."
Ryder didn't look happy about it, but he nodded. "Okay. But put it on speaker so I can hear what he says. And be careful what you tell him about Jaxon or what you found."
"I will." I took a deep breath and pressed the call button before I could change my mind.
The phone rang once. Twice. Three times.
Then a voice I'd only heard a handful of times before came through the speaker, smooth and controlled and completely calm.
"Sage. I was wondering when you'd finally call me.”