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“What game do you want to play now?”
“No game,” he says softly. “Just the brutal honesty you’ve been dying for.”
“Why did you lie?”
Satisfied by my response, he nods and inhales his cigarette so hard the end glows red. “That’s it,” he murmurs, exhaling in a long, slow line. “I lied because I didn’t think you could handle the truth.”
I swallow hard. “And now?”
His eyes narrow. “I’ve dicked you around long enough, Frey,” he admits bleakly. “You can take it. Hell, if you want the truth, you’re gonna have to.”
“You’re right.” Straightening my posture, I cross my arms. “Icanhandle it.”
“You want to learn what Hale was up to? Then do me a favor. Come with me. As I said, it’s better if you see for yourself, and I might as well kill two birds with one stone while we’re at it.”
“Kill?” I echo.
“Yes.” He chuckles, but the sound comes out colder than ever. “Figuratively, Frey. Don’t take this personally, but you’re just about the only person I can trust right now. Don’t you feel special?”
“Are you serious?” I eye him skeptically, alarmed when he doesn’t crack that playful grin.
“Damn right,” he says. “Do this for me, and you run back to your perfect life having tasted the dark side, and I get to do my good Samaritan deed for the day.”
“No,” I insist, squaring my chin. “You said Hale was murdered—”
“We’ll get to that,” he says harshly. “Your brother had to learn this lesson, and so will you.”
“Fine,” I concede, exasperated. “What’s the favor?”
“Be with me tonight.” When I flinch, he shakes his head. “No, not like that. I mean... I need someone I can count on to get me out of there without...distractions.”
I shiver at his tone. Gone is the cocky arrogance. He’s worried. “What kind of place is this?”
“Hell,” he grates. “I need someone there to remind me of that, every fucking second. It’s a good thing your family bathes in fucking holy water. If there was ever some small shred of good in me…” He sighs and fixes me with a probing stare. Slowly, he nods. “You’ll draw it out, I think. You’ll make me stop. Don’t worry. This shouldn’t take long.”
“Is this place…legal?”
Daze smiles in that disarming way, making the air catch in my chest. “Baby, nothing I do is legal.”
I’m thrown off when he turns away, hiding his expression from me. His shoulders stiffen, suddenly rigid.
“And what are we going to do while we’re there, exactly?”
“We’ve got to plant some bait,” he answers, meeting my gaze directly. “You want to know about your brother, right? Whatreallyhappened to him? Well, I’m going to take you somewhere so you can get your answers. But first, I have to provoke this bastard into inviting us. You’ll see, Blondie. Just keep those eyes open.”
“Okay.”
“Good. Do this, and you got me, however you want me. I’ll owe you big. After tonight, you can put a leash on me, baby, and walk me around the whole damn city. Just don’t make me say please.”
If he’s joking, it’s too cruel to even acknowledge. But if he’s not...
I have no other way of finding the truth.
I owe Hale that much.
* * *
We don’t leave right away. After insisting on another cat nap, Daze finally seems ready to move. Almost, anyway. “Five minutes, Frey,” he prods before dragging me into his bedroom. “We’ve gotta make a fashionable entrance.”
