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Stirring and stabbing at the thick liquid, Tess replayed that time in her mind.
“Suspicions?” Daire said, deflecting for her. “Proof I’m better at what I do than you.”
“Shouldn’t we get back?” she asked, looking outside again. “It’s getting dark.”
“You shouldn’t be afraid of the dark,” Daire said with a brow bob. “The dark’s afraid of me.”
And she believed him. Her Heart.
“We can go back if you want,” Harry said, switching a discerning eye from her to Daire. “Three will be annoyed we stole his toy.”
Tess gasped. “Oh my God, we were supposed to have dinner.” She pressed a cool palm to her forehead. “I didn’t even cancel. Oh, I hope he’s not mad at me.”
“He won’t be mad at you,” Harry said.
“Yeah,” Daire muttered. “He values his life too much.”
Her father read people for a living. She couldn’t believe that he missed Daire’s protective attitude toward her. Though, if what Harry had said about Daire in the field was any indication, maybe he was that way with everyone.
“Three can be flamboyant, likes to throw his cash around,” Harry said. “But he hangs back when things get serious, knows when he’s out of his depth.”
“Nothing he hasn’t said to Three’s face,” Daire said.
The two men exchanged a look. Daire had said that to cover Harry’s ass, but there was something else.
“You invited me here,” Tess said, disliking the implication that she might traipse back to Hugo to share whatever had been said at the burger joint. “You don’t want to talk about Hugo, don’t talk about him.”
She’d told Daire that she’d tell him anything. Stupid to think that things were as different for him as they were for her. Telling him something, trusting him, wasn’t even close to doing it with Hugo. Perhaps her feelings had clouded her judgment on that score too.
“You’ve been spending a lot of time with him,” Harry said.
She couldn’t believe it. In fact, for a few seconds, Tess was incredulous.
Whether they were worried about her relaying their conversation with Hugo or not, it seemed they were happy for her to provide them with information. Maybe they were trying to groom her to extract that information in a more intimate way. Either Daire played her or he didn’t have the balls to stand up to Harry when it came to Olympus matters.
It was nuts. She’d offered Daire information in the trailer and he’d told her to be careful, that they shouldn’t be talking about it. As soon as Harry was around, suddenly he was the dutiful operative again. He didn’t have to manipulate her if he wanted something. It pissed her off that it seemed to be the only way he knew how to conduct himself.
“God, I’m an idiot,” she said dropping her straw into her shake and pushing away what was left of it.
“What are you—”
“Move,” she said to Daire. When he didn’t immediately do as asked, she shoved him. “Get the hell out of my way.”
“You go, I go,” Daire said without budging.
“Why are you angry?” Harry asked.
“Because I am not a secret spy. I don’t know whether you don’t trust me or if you want to use me. Why is it we can’t have a conversation without Olympus taking over?” she asked her father, then flipped around to address Daire. “And you encourage him. You don’t get to treat me like I’m an asset to work. Stop working me!”
Daire opened a hand like he meant to touch her face. He stopped himself before she could pull away. He wouldn’t touch her, not in front of his superior. Daire wasn’t allowed a life. He wasn’t allowed to feel, not anything that wasn’t Olympus sanctioned and approved.
“I don’t know what the hell is going on,” she said. “Whatever this is, I don’t want any part of it.”
Sliding her butt toward the window, she planted her feet on the bench and stood to step up on the table. Walking across it, she jumped down to the floor to stalk across the restaurant. Freedom came in more than one form.
Those two men had a bond that allowed them to bank and draft in time with each other. Fine. They read each other’s signals and nuances. She didn’t care. She’d believed her father wanted to work on their relationship not cultivate her as an asset. Bringing Daire was supposed to provide a buffer, as far as she was concerned anyway. Harry hadn’t invited his ward because he knew both of them, he’d brought him because he needed a wingman.
Throwing the door out of the way, she didn’t care about the noise of the party bus stopped in the parking lot. She didn’t care about the limo rolling down the street opposite the diner. Tess didn’t even care about the dark or who might be out there ready to take her down. What was there to live for when she kept turning down the wrong path?
