Page 78 of His Puppet

“But how do you know?” I ask, hope flaring. “How do you know he didn’t—”

“Because I had him watched. I wanted to make sure he didn’t try to warn you we were coming. But I figured even that was an unnecessary precaution. Do you want me to tell you exactly what happened?”

“Yes,” I say, turning in my seat to face Victor. “Yes, everything. Please.”

He sighs. “Okay. I went to your house, and a guy named Nathaniel told me the only person who might know where you were was Ellison. Ellison wasn’t there, so I had to wait a while. When he got there, I hit him over the head with the butt of my gun, he passed out, I tied him to a chair, and when he came to, I asked him if he knew where you were. He spilled everythingimmediately. Blubbering the whole time. He said he knew something was wrong about the job you took and tried to tell you not to do it and blah blah blah. I hit him a few times just to make sure he wasn’t holding anything back, and then before I left, I gave Nathaniel my number and told him to let me know if Ellison left the house or if you arrived.”

Victor sighs like he’s annoyed by telling this bland story. “By this point, Nathaniel would’ve sucked my dick if I told him to, but just to be extra cautious, I also had someone watch your house to monitor anyone coming or going. Then I went to see Blade. Then I went to get you. That’s the story. If someone had gone to the cops, I would have known. So don’t worry.”

There’s no color in my face by the time Victor finishes, and my chest feels impossibly heavy. The hurt I felt for betraying my friend is long gone, and in its place is fear.

Because my friend is the one who betrayed me. Worse, he lied about it. He concocted a whole story just for the sake of it.

If it was just that, then who cares? Friendship burned. Done.

But I told him everything, just a few weeks ago. My name. Who I am. Who my uncle is. And what happened to me.

And if he sold me out once before…

He could do it again.

I can feel Victor’s stare on me, but I’m too shell shocked to turn his way. His voice is full of concern when he speaks.

“Is something wrong?”

23

Blade

“Ireally don’t think we have anything to worry about,” Emily assures me for the tenth time since leaving the house.

I agree with her. I think her friend felt guilty for giving her up, so he concocted a story where he’s a brave hero instead of the coward he is. He’s an asshole, but harmless. I only suggested going back to Emily’s old house to validate what Victor said and try to confront Ellison to ease Emily’s mind.

“Better safe than sorry.” I glance at her, my eyes zeroing in on her teeth sunk into her lip. “I think you’re right, though. We’re having your uncle’s every move monitored, and there’s nothing suspicious happening. The police department knows nothing about you, so that’s another good sign. I squeeze her hand and give her a reassuring smile. “Try to relax, okay? I promise, everything is fine. And if it’s not, we’ll take care of it. You don’t have to be scared.”

She takes a deep breath, lets go of her lip, and nods. We walk hand in hand toward her old home, and I follow her lead when her gate slows. I turn my head to see her staring up at me, her eyes intense.

She slows to a stop, and I look between her and the house, starting to get worried.

“What’s up,” I ask, my brow creasing.

“I have to tell you something.”

I keep my expression neutral while preparing for the worst. I already don’t like all the conversation she had with Victor today, especially the part about him lying to me, and I’m not sure how much more of this I can take. It already sounds like she’s somehow bonded with that piece of shit. If there’s more to it than that, I don’t know how I’ll react.

She swallows like she’s afraid of how I’m about to respond, and her eyes never lose their intensity. It doesn’t help my nerves.

“I love you.”

That’s not what I was expecting.

My eyes widen, but she doesn’t wait for me to respond.

“I don’t care what you’ve done in your past or what you even do in the present. We don’t ever have to talk about it if you don’t want to. Your world is fucking crazy, and it scares the shit out of me, but I feel like I belong in it.”

She holds up her hand to stop me when I open my mouth to respond. “You don’t have to say anything. It hasn’t been that long for us, so I get it if what I said feels like too much for you… I just thought you should know.”

“Can I speak?”

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