103

ALAYNA

The place where Jason brought us is a hotel they own, which has their initials displayed on the building—CAJA Hotel. The room he gives Mom and the kids is a family suite, so our mother already tucked the kids to bed, and she probably has fallen asleep. Pauline has woken up, but she’s still too weak to stand up, so she stays in a different suite. The rest of us are gathered in the living room.

“This place is safe enough,” Jason says after Cassius’s question about the security. I can’t blame him for being cautious. We almost died yesterday.

“Shouldn’t we talk about our next move?” Arianna suggests.

“God!” Cassius grunts, resting his head against the luxurious black sofa. “I’m fucking restless.”

“People still need to rest, A,” Jason says, staring out the window.

I remember I haven’t spoken with them about the mob thing, but their involvement with Brandon makes sense now. It’s the missing piece.

“We shouldn’t waste time. We have children with us. We have to move them somewhere else