“You what?” Nemo repeated, shoving his food aside as well.
“Panicked.”
“Oh, please.” Nemo rolled his eyes. “Over what? A dead driver?”
“Over why was I helping you two,” Orson said in absolute annoyance.
Nemo took a deep breath and began massaging his temples. “Without hesitation, you fought an immortal assassin who attacked Baz. Did that not indicate anything to you?” Nemo asked.
“I didn’tknowshe was immortal,” Orson spat. “Inside, we were thrown together out of necessity—” My attention snapped back to them.
“No, we weren’t,” I seethed. They both jerked, as if shocked I was sitting right there with them. Tentatively, they went back to their fight.
“The only person here who wants me around is Bree,” Orson continued. “Baz himself asked me to help him leave.”
“What?” I asked. My voice sounded thick. Oh no, the numbness was wearing off, and the pain was beginning to seep in.
“He toldyouwhat his plans were?” Nemo asked in dismay. Orson scoffed, finally getting all the spilled lo mein in the box. He stared at the grease on his hands.
“He thought I’d care the least, that’s why.”
“Makes sense. You wanted us gone,” Nemo grumbled.
“I didn’t want you gone,” Orson said. He got up and went to the kitchen sink to wash his hands. A look of confusion crawled over Nemo’s face.
“I refused to help him when he asked. Baz was furious,” Orson said over the running water.
“Baz was furious?” I asked.
“As much as he allows himself,” Orson said. “That’s when I went to the both of you with the idea to leave the country ASAP.When I knew he was actually building an idiotic plan, I tried to stop him.”
“Why didn’t you tell us everything?” Nemo asked.
“Because that’s not how I work. I work alone. Or I did, for hundreds of years.”
“Then why are you telling us now?”
“I don’t know,” Orson said in irritation. Sixty-forty, they wouldn’t kill each other when I locked them together in the basement.
Nemo looked over at me and then, slowly, his eyes settled on the empty chair beside me. He appeared to shrink as he slid down in the chair and pulled his shoulders in. Then, he pulled a syringe dart from his pants and set it on the table.
“Baz dropped this when he ran.”
I reached out, twisting the syringe around until I saw the note. There was a phone number and a name. I pressed on my chest, massaging a sudden ache. Supra hadn’t caught up to us, and Baz hadn’t suddenly panicked and run. He’dcalledthem.
Orson came over and looked at the note. He cursed and dropped into a chair.
“This was Damien D'Bolique’s plan all along,” Orson said. “We thought his endgame was using Baz to kill us, but he never cared about us at all. He wanted Baz and played into his weakness.”
My lips pressed together in a thin line, and I flicked the dart. It spun in a circle on the table. Damien knew that if Baz thought he was a danger to us, he’d turn himself in.
“But, why not kill us?” I asked. “If they want to keep Baz and don’t care about us at all, we’re just a risk. Do they really believe we’re incapable of finding him?”
“To control him,” Nemo said.
“What?” I leaned away from the table. I didn’t like that answer.
“He was willing to give himself up to protect us. They’re exploiting that,” Nemo said.
