I told you the Dead Man would betray us.
He’s a failed experiment, as dangerous as the empaths themselves.
No more stalling; we take him out now.
Five minutes later, a single-word response came in.
Agreed.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
From:Victor Nichols
To:[REDACTED]
Subject:Re: Progress
Your support for my projects is, of course, appreciated; Polaris could have never accomplished all that it has without you. This research has been but the tip of the iceberg; there’s so much more to come.
Reece chewed onthe tip of his thumb as he watched Grayson take an exit and follow dark roads down the mountainside toward the water. His thoughts were in turmoil, as if his intuition knew something his mind hadn’t grasped.
Evan lied to everyone about Alex.
Just like he lied to all of them about me.
People in power don’t like being lied to.
They don’t like what they can’t control.
Keeping one eye on Grayson, he carefully pulled his phone out of his pocket. He tilted the screen away from Grayson and checked to see if anything had come in while he’d been unconscious.
His eyebrows flew up. His message to Stensby’s phone had gotten a response.
Pleased to meet you, Mr. Davies. I apologize for the delay; I’ve been a bit tied up today.
Grayson was navigating a tight turn with the big truck. Reece quickly typed a response.
This is Alex Grayson, isn’t it?
The phone lit back up a moment later.
Yes, sir. Cora says to tell you hi, by the way, and that we didn’t hurt your bouncer friend from the club.
Cora?Bouncer friend from the club—was thatDiesel? Alex and Cora were together and they’d been with Diesel? Grayson hadn’t mentioned any of that.
Jesus, his fingers were itching to text Alex back.
Reece forced himself to turn the phone face down on his lap as Grayson turned in past a chain-link fence and into a tiny parking lot. At the far end was a small wooden dock with a very nice boat. Grayson drove toward the water, stopping a few feet back from the dock, and nodded toward the boat. “That’s my ride.”
“Don’t make me jealous.” Reece wasn’t going to put a name to the bone-deep sense of protectiveness and affection that now ran through him in Grayson’s presence, but he would admit to himself that he’d left any semblance ofplatonicback in Seattle.
And something in him was shouting that he needed to think, needed to understand, or Evan was the one who would pay the price.
He cleared his throat. “So you’re taking that boat?Alone?”
“I’m pretty sure I can guess where Alex is going,” said Grayson, “and I’m gonna want my own ride there. I have to go, Reece. And it has to be alone.”
Reece shook his head. “After everything that’s happened, after everything I said, how can you think I’ll let you go by yourself—”
