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“I had an idea.”
“Then tell me what the hell is going on! That scared the shit out of me, and you knew exactly what was happening before it even started. You have to let me in on this.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Dammit, Deklan!”
He ignores my outburst and just stares at the road ahead while I fume quietly in my seat. He reaches for my hand, but I pull it away. I don’t want his comfort right now. I want to wallow in my anger.
“Kera, please don’t do that.”
I peek at his face from the corner of my eye. He looks devastated, and I’m tempted to give in, but if I do, this kind of behavior will never end.
“I’ve had enough of the secrets, Dek. You aren’t protecting me—you’re protecting yourself.”
“Don’t hold back.” Deklan stares hard at the road ahead of him.
“I’m tired of it.” I turn toward him and try to catch his eye, but he won’t look at me. “Refusing to tell me anything is not helping.”
“I don’t want you to have to lie for me,” Deklan says with a sigh as he stops for a red light and finally looks at me.
“I’d rather lie than be in the dark all the time.”
“It’s for your own good, Kera.”
“How is that? Did it protect me from all that shit last night? Did it protect me from that creepy guy at the coffee shop? The only reason you didn’t know about him before is because I assumed you’d hired him. If it weren’t for the secrets, I might have told you about him sooner.”
Deklan lets out a giant breath that ends up sounding more like a growl. He grips the gearshift until his knuckles go white.
“You really want to know?”
“Yes.”
“Brian fell in love with this chick that lives in the apartment down the hall from him. He thought she worked at the fast food place down the street, but as it turns out, she’s a hooker. She wanted to get out of it, but her pimp wouldn’t let her. He had a bit of a reputation for getting nasty with his girls when they wanted to break ties, and Brian didn’t want to see that happen to her, so we got rid of him.”
“You killed him.”
“I didn’t,” Deklan says. “Brian did.”
“Using your gun.”
“Yes.”
“And you timed it so you would have an alibi even though it’s got your prints on it.”
“I didn’t need to tell you anything. You already figured it out. That worries me.”
“Why?”
“Because if you figured it out, Warren might, too. Doesn’t change the fact that I have an alibi, but accessory to murder still gets me time.”
“Will they be able to connect you and Brian?”
“Easily,” Deklan says. “Connecting me to Brian to a chick he likes to her pimp, that’s something else. I’ve never met the guy, and the Foleys don’t do business with him. All the evidence would be circumstantial at best, and it’s hard to convict on that alone.”
“This isn’t over then. They could come back and arrest you if they figure it out.”
“Unlikely. It would never be enough for a conviction. Sean has police and prosecutors on the payroll, and it would never even get to court. Those guys know who they’re dealing with.”
