Page 96 of Mr. Match

“I need a favor,” I say.

A laugh. “I’ve seen the news, friend. Not looking good for you.”

“I gave you what you wanted. I did my job. She’s here in my fucking bed. Now you have a debt to me.”

“We have your bank account.”

“No,” I say. “That’s not what I want and you know it. I want revenge. I want it all erased, do you understand?”

“I have no authority for that.”

“Then get it,” I say. “I have good intel, OK? You do not want to pass this chance up. So listen carefully.”

I tell him everything Kat just told me and he’s quiet the entire time. Sometimes that’s a good sign, sometimes it isn’t. So I finish talking and hold my breath as I wait.

After almost a minute of silence—“You’re sure?”

“I’m sure. You know I would not risk this call if I wasn’t fucking sure. And before you hang up, I want one more thing. I want Katya, for good, motherfucker.”

A long exhale. “I’ll see what I can do.”

The call dies, so I call Weston next. He picks up on the first ring.

“Dude,” he says. ‘I’m fucking dying of boredom over here. Save me, Oliver.”

“You should be happy you’re bored, asshole. And I didn’t call to chat. I need something from you. And I’m not taking no for an answer. This is the only way to make things right for me, Weston. I helped you when you and Tori needed it. I got Five to help you. Now you need to help me get what I want.”

He’s silent for a few seconds. “I’ll do what I can, Oliver. We’re friends, right?”

“Yeah,” I say. “We’re friends.” And then I tell him what I want. And even though I know it’s not a big sacrifice for him to give up what I need, it means a lot to me for some reason.

They all mean a lot to me, I realize.

After we hang up I turn the TV and the server off and go back to bed—afraid to fall asleep. Afraid to stay awake. Afraid that Katya will wake up at any moment and realize she is in that moment.

The moment when she understands that she did everything wrong.

When the sun starts to come up and I still haven’t slept, I lean over to kiss Kat on the cheek. “Hey,” I say softly into her ear. “We’re gonna go over to Ariel’s. Come on, get dressed.”

She turns away from me and sits up in bed. I wonder how long she’s been faking sleep? “No. I have to find my sister. She comes for coffee every day. She will come today, just like always. And I need to be home when that happens.”

“Katya,” I say, my voice sterner than I intended. “We need to stay together.”

“No.” She gets up out of bed and goes looking for her clothes. “And I need to get rid of this dress. I can’t wear it another day.”

“OK,” I say, scratching my chin. “So I’ll take you over to your apartment and you can grab clothes—”

“No, Oliver.” She stares me down, daring me to contradict her one more time. “I mean it. I promised my sister we’d hang out all day today and that’s what we’re doing. I’m not giving up yet. I can fix this. Whatever she’s gotten herself into, I can fix it, Oliver.”

I don’t know what to do. I certainly don’t want her interacting with anyone even remotely related to the Silver Society. And I need to find Pax so we can plan this meeting with Liam. But I can’t leave her here. Not without leaving the place unsecure. The alarm is a lot more complicated than giving someone a four-digit code.

“You can drop me off, Oliver. But I’m staying home today. Once she gets there I’ll find a reason for her to stay with me. That’s where I’ll be. So just have the doorman call up when you’re ready to come back here for the night, and we’ll both go with you.”

I think about it for a second.

“OK?” she says, taking my face in her hands and kissing my lips.

“You promise to stay home today? Not go anywhere, and if you do, you’ll come right over to Hook-Me-Up?”