AllFreeNovel
Share Us
20
Kaige
As we trampedinto Wylder’s study, my hands stayed balled at my sides.
This was what I got for letting my dick do the thinking. I’d been too distracted by a delectable ass, those sweet curves, and the eyes that always seemed to be begging me for a fucking. I still remembered how she’d looked when she’d come apart in my arms, keening and moaning. I’d given it to her good, and none of her nonchalance afterward had hidden that.
And me… I hadn’t come like I had in her in years.
But none of that mattered now. I couldn’t shake the waves of rage when I thought of the deception she’d hidden behind those pretty eyes. She’d told me she was going to investigate Titus’s murder, to try to clear my name, and instead she’d driven straight to that jackass in my fucking car…
She was a snake in the shape of a goddess. I didn’t know who I was angrier at—her or myself for falling for her act. What if I’d compromised the Nobles by giving in to her charms?
I paced from one end of the room to the other. “We should keep pushing at her until she breaks and gives away her real reasons for coming here. Then we toss her away.” That was all there was to it.
Gideon gave me an analytical look that only annoyed me more. “Why are you so sure she joined forces with the Steel Knights?”
Why did he have to ask that? I couldn’t pick apart all the rage whirling inside me. She’d lied to me about one thing, so why not everything else?
“If there’sanychance she’s working with them, shouldn’t we assume it’s true?” I shot back at him.
He started back at me with his typical cool composure. “I’m starting to think your judgment is skewed by something other than the evidence we’ve seen in front of us.”
If he hadn’t been Wylder’s best friend, I’d have taken a swing at him. “You don’t know—”
Wylder held up his hands, and I cut myself off, the flare of heat inside me as much embarrassment at needing the intervention as anger at the situation. He turned to Gideon. “What’s your take?”
The slim guy ran his hand under his chin, a stray finger flicking over his lip ring. “Well, there are classic signs of lying: being vague about the details or laying them on thick like they planned out a huge story, delaying answering questions, touching themselves—”
I raised my eyebrows and motioned to my groin. “You mean like…?”
“No,” Gideon said, frowning at me. “What is wrong with you?”
“You’re the one who mentioned touching themselves.”
He sighed and shook his head. “Small movements like scratching their nose and neck or even playing with their hair, anything that draws attention away from their eyes and makes them feel less self-conscious.”
“So was Mercy doing all that?” I had to ask. I’d been so pissed off I could barely remember anything from the confrontation except her eyes piercing mine when I’d gone off on her.
“She seemed fairly calm to me, all things considered,” Gideon said. “No excessive fidgeting. She got riled up about the accusations, but she gave her explanation clearly without going on and on about it. Based on that, I’d be inclined to believe her.”
“So we’re going to decide based on whether she played with her hair?”
Wylder knuckled my arm. “Let the man finish.”
Gideon tipped his head in acknowledgement. “We also have to take into consideration what we know about Mercy Katz otherwise. It’s clear that the Steel Knightsdidturn on her family and their associates, and family members who weren’t even included in the running of the gang were murdered. She shows clear signs of anger every time she talks about Colt. She warned us about him being a threat before we had any reason to consider that. I won’t discount the possibility that she could be an extremely gifted liar and master schemer, but I’d place the probability that she gave us the truth at ninety percent or better.”
Trust Gideon to put a freaking number on it. But Wylder was nodding as if that all sounded reasonable to him. I glanced at Rowan, figuring I had to get support somewhere, but he was standing rigidly, his mouth in a flat line.
His voice came out flat too. “I told you from the start that I didn’t think keeping her around was a good idea, but I don’t believe she’d screw us over like this either.”
Damn it. “So, what, we’re just going to let her slink back in here like nothing’s changed?”
“I’ve already sent her to hang with the groupies,” Wylder said dryly. “Considering that Gia’s the queen bee down there, I don’t think they’ll be very friendly. If she sticks around through that, well… We don’t beat up on women, but there are plenty of other ways to determine how committed she really is—and to make her regret it if she isn’t. If she has anything going on with Colt, we’ll find out. We give her nothing and wait to see what we get from her.”
I still didn’t like it, but I had trouble arguing with his approach. The glint in his eyes said clear as anything that there’d be hell to pay if Mercy revealed any treachery. I guessed it was better having her here where we could rain down that hell if necessary, not running around doing who knew what.
“Fine,” I grumbled. “We’ll see if she survives the groupies first.”
