Page 114 of A Violet Obsession

She glances at the rounded neckline of the dress she changed into. “Finn, I don’t own a single thing that’s going to hide a vest.”

Sera and Elizabeth both snicker.

I stand, yank my hoodie off over my head, and drop it over her before she can argue. “Now you do.”

Lily rolls her eyes but pushes her arms through the sleeves and leaves it on.

“They aren’t violent criminals,” she says, returning to the plan. “They thought they could win with their brains.” She makes a face. “Well, my brain. They want to outsmart people, not shoot them.”

“Thirty-five million at stake changes people,” I say.

Leo makes a choking sound. “Thirty-five million?”

Nobody answers him.

“I could tell her what happened,” Lily continues. “With Tate’s people and Voss. That the threat’s over, and you—” She stops. Color floods her neck and face. “That you were just doing a favor for your sister. She doesn’t know how… that you and I… that we…”

I can’t help it. I reach over and run my thumb along the edge of that blush on her cheek, just to watch it deepen.

Sera makes a loud, theatrical gagging noise across the table.

“So, she’ll believe I’m alone and vulnerable again,” Lily says. “I’ll tell her the trauma of watching Bryce and Jeremiah get shot wiped out parts of that night—which isn’t even a lie—but now it’s coming back. The memories are surfacing, and I’m scared because I don’t know what to do.”

“Why does she meet you at all?” Rhodes asks. “Why not run?”

“Because she has to know what I know,” Lily’s voice gains strength, “and because she needs the necklace. She must assume I have it, like everyone else does, because of the tape. She has to have a buyer lined up, or at least people she thinks will buy it. This whole thing would have been too risky without knowing she could get paid. Can’t exactly take the necklace to the local pawn shop.

“She’s not a true believer like Voss and Tate. She did it for money. If I dangle the necklace like a carrot, she’ll be eager to meet me.”

I keep my face blank, but I’m impressed.

Elizabeth smiles across the table at her. “Tell her you want a cut. But lowball it. Ask for something small—something a frightened girl in way over her head would ask for. This woman clearly has a superiority complex a mile wide. Let her think she’s still in charge, and she’ll talk herself right into an arrest.”

“You’re a psychologist now?” Brady asks dryly.

“No, but I have eyes and ears. And it’s obvious Dawn badly underestimated Lily. Even knowing everything she’d already survived.”

Lily stiffens next to me, and I glare accusingly at Sera.

“Oh my God,” Sera rounds on her sister-in-law. “I told you not to say anything.”

Elizabeth winces. So does Sera, as she turns back to Lily. “I’m sorry, I had to look into you because of—” She gestures vaguely at me. “I needed to know who was out there with Finn.”

“I get it,” Lily says quietly. “I’d do the same thing.” But I feel her pull inward against my side. “For the record, I wasn’t a criminal. I didn’t want any part of it. I haven’t shot or hurt anyone.”

She’s babbling.

“I’m a criminal,” Liev says, raising his hand. “And I have shot lots of people.” He’s proud of it. “Actually—” he glances around the table. “With the exception of the esteemed legal minds present, everyone sitting here has at least stabbed a great many people.” He winks at Lily. “If you want to sit with the cool kids, you’ll need to up your game.”

Sera laughs.

Brady mutters into his coffee. “I had a nice little PI firm,” he says to no one in particular. “It was profitable, relatively blood-free. But no, let’s partner up with a bunch of psychopaths.”

“He doth protest too much,” Elizabeth says, picking up her phone again.

I tune all of them out and put my mouth close to Lily’s ear. “You were a kid,” I tell her. “You didn’t choose any of it.” I tip her chin up so she has to look at me. “You’re not a criminal, Lily. You’re one of the bravest people I know, and that’s a high bar in present company.”

Her expression doesn’t change.