“Why, you think I’mlying to your faceagain?”
“Are you?” Grayson said, in that unnervingly flat drawl.
Fear shot up Reece’s spine, but the thought of Jamey made him clench his teeth and push his fear of Grayson back down. “This is the first time this has ever happened to me,” he said tightly. “And there’s a bigger problem.”
“The Dead Man has you in handcuffs over the hood of your car for lying about new abilities, but sure, you think you have bigger problems.”
“Yeah, I do,” Reece snapped. “Because you suspected this insight thing was happening to me.”
“Iaman empath specialist—”
“Which means you just set it off in me again.”
Grayson hesitated. “Well—I wasn’t trying—”
“Howcouldyou?” Reece demanded. “Just when I thought you couldn’t possibly be a bigger dick, you decide to top this morning’s puking incident?”
“First of all, I didn’t know you were gonna vomit at my feet—”
“It made thenews.”
“Second, this was an accident—”
“Still your fault.”
“Andthird,” Grayson went on, over Reece, “how do you figure this tops that?”
“You just made me stomp all over Adams’ privacy!” Reece said furiously. “I don’t ever want to use empathy without consent, and no one can consent to insight, whatever the hell it is.”
There was a long moment of silence. And then Grayson was pulling Reece upright by gloved wrists.
“All right.” There was a click, and then Grayson had taken off the handcuffs. “I believe you.”
“You better,” Reece muttered, as he shook out his hands. “Turn my insight off.”
“I can’t.”
“I thought you were anempath specialist—”
“It’s not a switch, it’s a trigger. It’ll stop.” Grayson tucked the cuffs away on his belt. “And if it doesn’t, then we’ll have a much bigger problem on our hands than you accidentally reading Mr. Adams.”
“Oh goody. More riddles.” Reece flexed his prickling fingers, his stomach still churning. He hadn’t read anyone since March—he didnotwant to do it now, and definitely not like this. “Did you have to cuff me over the hood of my own car? What is your obsession with drama—is it because you’re hot? Do you just assume all the world’s a stage and no one can take their horny eyes off you?”
“No,” Grayson said pointedly, and Reece couldn’t hear any emotions, of course, but he liked to believe he could annoy even the biggest stoic. “I can’t take chances. If I miss an empath hiding something, innocent people might pay the price.” To Reece’s surprise, he then added, “But I was wrong about you and I owe you an apology.”
Oh. That made Reece’s stupid empath conscience twinge, because hewaslying right to Grayson’s face. Maybe Reece hadn’t had this insight thing before today, but he sure as hell was hiding how everyone’s lies were clear as bells to him.
Reece pushed his conscience aside. Yes, Grayson had given him a chance to come clean, but he’d also shown Reece how fast he could shift into full-on Dead Man mode. If Grayson decided Reece was a threat after all, he wouldn’t stand a chance.
“Please,” he sniped. “You didn’t even think I was dangerous.”
“How do you figure?”
“I may not get to the gym much—”ever“—but I bet you lift things that weigh almost as much as me.”
“More than you,” said Grayson.
“All right, more than—”
