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“Of course she will. She’s emotionally biased,” I said.
“Like you’re not?” Holly shot back.
I gave her a narrow look, but she stared straight back without blinking. My innocent little girl had developed a steel spine and a smart mouth while I was gone.
“Actually, she’s not wrong,” Jed offered cautiously. “We can’t afford to tiptoe around anybody’s feelings. We need all the info we can get.”
“Besides, it’ll kill her if you don’t let her see it,” Holly announced. “Cass is the only family she has left. It would drive her nuts if she couldn’t see it.”
“I think it’s you who’ll be driven nuts by curiosity, am I right?” I asked.
Her lips tightened. “I’m thinking about Reggie, not me,” she said primly.
“Let me watch it. Right now.”
We spun around to see Reggie swaying in the doorway of her room, in her hospital gown. She hung onto her IV rack like a crutch. Her eyes burned with determination.
“Reggie! You shouldn’t be out of bed!” Freya and Kat sprinted over, grabbing her by the arms and hustling her back into her room.
“I’m just getting back up again and coming out again if you don’t show me that video,” Reggie called from inside. “Until I fall down dead! And then it’ll be your fault!”
“Just what I need,” I muttered. “More pressure.”
Holly tilted her head and gave me a ‘what-did-I-tell-you’ look. Jed and Ethan just shrugged. I shook my head. Un-fucking-believable.
“Okay,” I said. “Really? You think she should see it? So today is all about heartbreak and disillusionment for everybody, then? Nobody should be spared.”
“There’s no way to spare anybody. Don’t even try,” Holly said, more gently. “Come on, Daddy. Let’s not waste more time.”
The phone rang. The display said ‘Red,’ once again, and oh God, how I hated being jerked around by that self-important prick.
I hit “talk.” “Who the hell is this?” I snarled.
“Who do you think?” It was Red’s voice. She sounded like herself again, not like she had in the video, just stressed and breathless. “Listen up. I think I found out how to help Reggie?—”
“You think we’ll believe anything you say after that fucking video?”
She paused for a second, puzzled. “Huh?” she said, blankly. “Oh, wait. You mean that video that Halliwell sent you? It’s a deepfake. Never mind it. Listen, you have to tell Reggie’s doctors to look for a?—”
“Don’t try to make me think you care about her,” I said. “You shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near that poor kid. Cassandra Halliwell, huh? Favored, long-lost daughter? Heir to two hundred billion dollars?”
She huffed out an impatient breath. “Is it my fault that I’m related to that psychopath? Like I care about his goddamn money!”
“It’s your fault for lying about it!”
“It’s not a connection I’m proud of, okay? I didn’t want to acknowledge it, not in dire straits, with Reggie on the line. Listen up, Shane. Be pissed if you want. Don’t believe me if you want. But if you don’t get that implant out of Reggie, he’ll kill her to spite me, and you’ll have that on your head forever. Just do this one small thing for me. Check for the scar. It’s on her scalp, ear level, right side, back of her head. If it’s there, have the surgeons remove the implant. It should be very small. A flat little piece of some kind of membrane, a half centimeter square. It has nano-bots on it. They’re making her sick, whenever a certain frequency is?—”
“I don’t believe a word you say,” I told her.
“Fine, whatever. Hate me if you want. But cover your ass, and check Reggie’s scalp for that scar. It costs you nothing, but it’s life or death for her. Just do it. Tell me you’ll do it, Shane. Please.”
“I don’t follow your orders,” I told her.
“I am not Halliwell’s stooge. But as it happens, I’m probably going to die today. Will you take care of Reggie if that happens? She doesn’t have any other people.”
“Goddamn it, Red. You just never stop, do you?”
“No, never. Gotta go. Check for the scar. Please, Shane.” She hung up on me.
