Page 48 of No Merciful Corruption

His face blanches. Lyss hops off the stool. “That’s my cue to go.”

On the way out she peaks into the grocery bag hanging from his wrist. She grabs a banana and gives his chest an affirmative pat. “Good luck in there big guy.”

I cross my arms and wait for him to speak.

“In my defense,” he hedges carefully. “You were kind of dying. It slipped my mind.”

“I’m not upset…” I consider how true that is before correcting myself. “Anymore.”

He eases into the room like a man grazing the edge of a lion’s cage. He sets the bag down on the counter beside me. “I wasn’t trying to be deceitful. So much was going on and I thought⁠—”

“I bumped into Karina at my grandparents’ today. We spoke this afternoon.”

He blinks in surprise. “Oh!”

“She invited me over to her place tomorrow. To talk.” I shrug.

“How do you feel about that?”

“I’m not sure.” I eye him skeptically. “Is there anything else you know but haven’t told me? Because I felt blindsided today and I don’t want it to happen again.”

The way his eyes shift from hazel to brown and the slight tightening of his jaw tells me there is.

“Did she tell you she separated from Brent?”

“Yes. How do you know?”

“She told me. Last fall.”

“Last fall⁠—”

He raises a hand, urging me to remain calm. “Yes, Dahlia. Last September she called me.”

“Why would she call you?”

“Because the night of the ballet, I gave her my number and told her to if she ever needed a way out,” he says. “She had no idea we’d separated and…well, she wanted to speak to you but her calls weren’t going through to your phone.”

“What did you say?”

“I lied, obviously. Told her you were out somewhere and then she told me everything.”

“What’s everything?”

He heaves a heavy sigh then leans over to kiss the top of my head. “I think that’s something you need to ask your cousin when you speak to her tomorrow.”

CODE WORD

Alejandro

“Sign here.”

I sign my name along the dotted line. The man across from me, Sasha’s lawyer Timothy Blanchard, turns another page.

“Here. Initials here.”

I follow wherever his finger leads. Blue ink bleeds across the pristine white paper and before the first letter of my name has dried, he’s already flipping through the documents once more. Sasha sits beside me and signs whatever I push in his direction.

“One more time here. Twice here. Date.”