“Dom?” I asked in a hoarse voice, aware that every mask and persona I had been using throughout the meeting were shredded instantly at the sight of him, and not caring. His face and neck were a mess of bruising, turning yellow and fading; there was a bandage over his brow that was new, and his right arm was in a cast. He moved slowly as he inched into the room and closed the door behind him. “What...and how?”
“Really? You want to have that conversation right now?” he asked.
“You’re goddamn right I do,” I muttered. I struggled for a moment, composing myself before turning to Leo and giving him a hard look. “A moment.”
Careful not to pull him too hard, but not going out of my way to be super gentle, I pulled Dom toward the back of the room and behind a rolling whiteboard. It wasn’t exactly private, but if we spoke quietly, they wouldn’t be able to make out what we were saying, and they wouldn’t be able to read our lips. At least this way I was still in the room, and the threat of the detonator and the contracts would keep Leo and Reg in line...well, Leo maybe.
“What the hell are you doing?” I asked and then dropped my voice. “You’re supposed to be recovering.”
“I’m recovered.”
“You’re moving slower than a ten-year resident at a retirement home.”
“Okay, that was a little mean.”
“Dom.”
“I’m just saying.”
“Dom.”
“I’m here to stop you fucking killing yourself,” he said, and thank God he kept his voice so low I had to lean in to hear him.
I stared at him. “I...who said anything about that?”
For someone who has spent years honing and even mastering the art of lying, a toddler could have said that and been more believable.
The look on Dom’s face said he was thinking along the same lines as he squinted at me. “I’m not stupid, Levi. I can put the pieces together and come to my own conclusion, you know. You think the only way for you to keep me and everyone else safe is to chase these assholes out and make sure you’re dead so no one targets you and gets one of us in the process.”
Great, this was the same guy who liked to make out he didn’t have much in the way of brains.
“Well, fuck you, that’s not happening,” he said, snatching up my left hand. “You let go of that fucker, and we both go.”
“If only you knew how much your being here is absolutely fucking with everything I have laid out,” I told him with a scowl. “Now I’ve lost part of my leverage because neither of them is going to believe for a minute that I’m going to let you die here.”
“Well, then I guess you’ll have to figure something else out,” he said, scowling. “Fucking idiot. You had to go off and do things all on your own, didn’t you?”
“You have been recovering from dying...three times!”
He blinked. “I died?”
“Did you not read your discharge papers?”
“Mmm, I did not.”
I squinted at him. “You...oh God, they didn’t discharge you, did they? You just left.”
“Hey, we both know I’m too big and not sneaky enough to do that.”
“Not without help. Who the fuck helped you? Couldn’t be your siblings, no way any of them would have helped you if they thought for a minute you were going to find me and...how did you find me?” I asked, and when he didn’t respond, I started putting the pieces together. My location would have been knownto a handful of people, but what specific people would have known? Who would have suspected something was wrong on my endandthought to call Dom? “Will. I’ll kill him.”
“It is hot and scary how quick you pick up on shit sometimes,” he said with a smile. “But not as much as what you’ve been doing. Which wearegoing to talk about after this is over, you got it?”
“For fuck’s…” I growled. This definitely put a dent in my grand finale, but that could wait. It was more important to get Leo to agree to my demands and get him out before I dealt with my survival. “Let’s get this over with. You should be glad you’re crippled right now.”
“I’ll be sure to add a thanks for being hit by a van to my prayers,” he said, rolling his eyes. Then he frowned. “Wait, why are you covered in blood?”
I stared at him. “You just now saw that?”
