Michael was fast asleep, and Alex needed him to stay that way for at least another hour. He had somewhere to be—specifically, a visit to Idris. And the less Michael knew about it, the better.

In under twenty minutes, Alex had showered, dressed, and slipped out of the house without a sound, leaving Michael undisturbed. As he stepped outside and made his way to the car, he dialed Jaxon.

“Hey, boss,” he said, fastening his seatbelt with a click.

“Alex, talk to ...