“I don’t know why you agreed to come with me when you had this secret,” said Grayson. “Or why you’d admit that you picked up all those things about Adams.”
Whatstuff about Adams? Reece hadn’t said anything about Adams’ lies. “Because I want to solve this case too! People are in danger—”
“Yeah, they’re in danger fromyou,” Grayson said. “And my job is to protect those people from dangerous empaths, including the ones who hide what they can do.”
“But I haven’t hurt anyone—”
“I gave you a chance and you lied right to my face. Why would I trust that you’re not lying now?”
Reece winced.
“And here your sister’s a detective with the Seattle police. If she was hiding this secret too—”
Reece’s heart rate spiked with anger and fear. “Leave Jamey out of this—”
He sucked in a breath, because suddenly, he was seeing memories of Adams again.
Deep bags beneath his eyes, not one night’s lost sleep but weeks—
Pinched mouth twisted in triumph—
Sweat on his brow as he lies about knowing where Hathaway was—
“The bill,” Reece said hoarsely.
Grayson went still.
More words burst from Reece in a rush. “Adams was gloating about it but also relieved. That’s victory snatched from the fear of defeat. But if Hathaway’s death meant victory for the bill—”
“—then she was gonna be its defeat,” Grayson muttered. “She was gonna withdraw it?”
“Three visits to a hospital where an empath is trying to help veterans like Hathaway’s dad.” Reece could still see Adams’ face, fingers tapping on the back of the article, no compassion for Hathaway’s lost father, lying about knowing the bill opponents were there. “Maybe they got through to Hathaway.”
“Adams was sweating when he said he didn’t know where a dressed-up Hathaway went for her last meeting.”
“He’s hiding something—or covering for someone—oh no.”
Reece lurched to the side. Grayson caught him by gloved wrists, keeping him from tumbling to the pavement as he gagged hard enough to hurt his chest. If he’d had an ounce of food left in him, he’d have puked it all over the sidewalk.
“That does not feel good,” he said weakly, as he rested his cheek on his Smart car’s hood and panted.
“Why are you sharing everything with me?” Grayson’s voice was still flat, but he seemed genuinely confused. “I’ve got you in cuffs and you decided to use insight again?”
“Does it look like I’mdecidin’anything right now?” Reece made a face as another wave of vertigo swamped him. “Isinsightyour fancy way of saying food poisoning?”
“Some empaths can pick up strong emotions without needing touch. We call it insight. It’s not without precedent—and it’s never a good thing.”
Grayson wasn’t talking about the lies.
Reece might have been relieved if he hadn’t had to bite back a grunt as his stomach made another attempt to empty its contents. “Maybe not,” he said, “but you know what’s worse than all this puking? You threateningJamey.”
That didn’t seem to be what Grayson had expected to hear. His hand was still on Reece’s wrists, but there was no pressure, even though Grayson probably could have flattened him faster than Reece could sayI didn’t do it.
“How long’ve you been able to do this?”
Reece had to be careful, but it wasn’t like he could take back his insight or whatever it was. Might as well tell the truth. “How long has it been since we left Adams’ office?”
“You’re really claiming this is the first time?” Grayson said skeptically.
