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I shrug. “I mean, yeah. Fair point. I was part of the trade you made, right? And I was there when you made the offer to Demyen, so?—”
“You were there?”
Shit.
Martin’s voice drops into the dangerous timbre that I know means “tread carefully.” If I don’t dance around this with grace, there’s no telling what he’ll grab and throw at me—or if it’s me he’ll throw.
I feel the weight of the knife in my hand.
And then I smile.
“Yes, actually, I was there.” I turn quickly to face him like this is any normal conversation. Like I’m not aware that I’m holding the large, sharp kitchen knife in front of me and gesturing with itas I spill the beans. “I had to chat with Demyen about something and happened to overhear you talking with him. Caught me by surprise, really. I never figured you to follow that far in my father’s footsteps.”
Martin frowns. His eyes have been glued to the knife in my hand, but now, they flicker up to stare into mine. “What? What do you mean?”
“Didn’t he tell you? It’s the same way he got Tolya locked up in the first place. Planted evidence. Even got the poor medical examiner fired.” I let out a laugh. “You wanna know the stupid part? It wasn’t even a murder to begin with. Michael Little killed himself.”
“… Bullshit.”
“Really!” I laugh again, and this one is far more genuine. Martin’s face is worth a quick snap of my phone camera, if I only had it on me. “You can ask my dad. He’s the one Uncle Mike was trying to kill, but ended up drinking the poison himself. And thecrazypart is, he was dead before he hit the ground. According to the M.E.’s report, the bullet didn’t hit any vital organs. So Dad went and pinned this all on some hapless Good Samaritan who just wanted to save me from what turned out to be a fake kidnapping.”
Martin’s face goes completely slack-jawed. And then he bursts into a fit of disbelieving laughter. “Are you serious? Babe, that’s… that’s so insane, I actually believe you.”
“Hey.” I set the knife down, though I leave it close enough I can grab it if he turns on me. I pull him close, ignoring the disgust bubbling in my stomach again. “Spousal privilege, remember?You told me; now, I told you.” I flick my gaze between his eyes and his mouth. “I’m trusting you.”
My charm works. At least enough to get him to smile and rub the sides of my waist. “We can do this, babe,” he coos. “We can start all over. Make things right. I’ve got you.”
This is the side of him I fell in love with, back when I was a naive teenager who just wanted someone to have my back. He always did defend me from my father, even then, and I know now he’ll still defend me and Willow from whatever Greg might be up to.
This is the side of him that kept me trapped for so long.
“We have to turn him in.” I look away; I don’t have to pretend that the thought scares me. “For us. For our future together.”
“I don’t?—”
“He knows I know.” I swallow hard and really play up the drama, making sure Martin sees the tears glistening on my lashes. “Dad, I mean. He told me himself. I recorded his whole confession and then he went ballistic and threatened to kill me if I told.”
Partly true. Mostly true, really. And honestly, as sickening as it is, Greg Everett probably would kill me by accident—even though the beating that’d do me in would be entirely intentional.
Martin shakes his head. “I won’t let that happen. You know I won’t.”
“I know. And I know it’s hard because he’s been your mentor, but… that’s why they’ll believe you.”
He considers it. That’s all I need.
“Think about it, Marty. You’ve been his favorite since the day you started. Why would you turn him in unless it was serious?”I rub his chest and wow, has he gotten blubbery. He doesn’t feel anything like he used to. He definitely doesn’t feel anything like… like…
Like Demyen.
“And think about all the praise and recognition you’ll get. Solving a major murder case, uncovering a dirty cop, and unraveling his human trafficking business all at the same time. That’s gotta mean a huge promotion, pay raise, the works.” I give him a coy little smile. “And then we could afford a real nice wedding, maybe a honeymoon in Hawaii…”
“With you in a bikini?” He smirks.
“Well, with that kind of pay raise, we could have our own private beach and then I won’t have to wear anything at all.”
Martin eyes me with the kind of hunger that used to get me excited. Again, back before I learned the truth about him. “Tell me something, babe.”
“Anything.”
