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“That sounded important.” Timofey watches me walk back towards the table carefully.
“Nothing Noelle says is important.”
Can he hear my voice shaking? Is it actually shaking? My entire body feels like it’s vibrating. It’s making it hard to judge how well I’m pulling this off.
“Noelle is the third member of your trio,” he says flatly.
I arch a brow. “Is that a question or a statement?”
He ignores my question. “She didn’t answer when I called her earlier today.”
It feels like I’m being interrogated, but I don’t know why. I try to follow the track of his logic, but I’m tired and in pain and panicked. My mind is a muddle even I can’t puzzle my way out of.
“She’s a hard one to pin down. Busy lady.” I give him a tight smile and then quickly let it fall away. No smile is better than a fake one.
Timofey refuses to look away.Why won’t he look away?I want to throw my cloth napkin at his face just to get a break from his scrutiny.
He tilts his head to the side, brows lowered. “So whatever she called you about, it’s more important than you being in jail. More important than you catching on fire.”
Shit, shit, shit.I finally pick up the trail of Timofey’s logic, but it’s too late. He’s cornered me, and he knows it.
“Tell me what she said.” The mouth that was soft against mine only a couple minutes ago flattens into a threatening slash.
“You’re nosy.”
“And you’re a shitty liar,” he snarls back. “What did she say?”
I want to lie, but he’s right. I’m no good at it. I’ve never been a good liar. Great liars are kids who had to lie to their overprotective parents to get out of the house. Teenagers who had to fib to get drunk with their friends or swear up and down that they have no clue who scratched the passenger side door of the car when they took it out.
I never had to tell those lies. My parents didn’t care enough to know where I was or who I was with. They certainly didn’t care what I was doing, so long as I wasn’t bothering them.
I’m a terrible liar, and so now, the truth is sitting inside of me like a jack-in-the-box, dying to be released.
I do the only thing I can do: I turn the crank.
38
PIPER
“Who is Emily?” I hurl the truth at him like a weapon. “I found a locket with a picture of the two of you inside. Her name was engraved on the back.”
Timofey stands up. He’s so much taller than me. So much bigger in every way. It’s strange to think we fit together as well as we did, my body curled into his lap. A man as big as him should dwarf me.
I peel my eyes away from the broad set of his shoulders and try to make myself look strong. It’s hard when my arm is pulsing with pain and tucked into my chest like I’m a bird with an injured wing, but I do the best I can.
“You shouldn’t be snooping through my office.”
“And you shouldn’t be killing your girlfriend,” I snap. “I guess we all make mistakes.”
His jaw works side to side. “I don’t have a girlfriend.”
“Not anymore.”
“Not ever.”
“Bullshit!” My heart is thundering in my chest, but the adrenaline is making me courageous. Noelle told me to be careful, but here I am, thirty seconds later, poking the beast. “Fine. She wasn’t your girlfriend. Titles aren’t important. What is important is that she is dead and you did it.”
I’ve seen Timofey frustrated and upset. But something about the calm way he is glaring at me is even more unnerving.
