No. Not exactly. I guess I did learn that whoever hired him and his buddies was proficient enough to hide their identity, and that the hit was on Dalton.
Is it possible that Dalton stayed here with me for a while to make sure Terry knew nothing of value? Someone might call me paranoid, but I haven’t stayed alive in my line of work by being careless.
The muscles in my right hand twitch, and I drop the emptied syringe, pacing away from the chair, and then around the empty space close to the door. Am I letting my feelings lure me into the woods again? I will never forget what happened last time, and Dalton did appear out of nowhere. Suddenly, he’s a part of my life, sleeps in my bed and learns secrets those closer to me don’t know. Could it really be an accidental turn of events?
I was the one to choose him.Ipulled him into the whole fiancé act. But what if someone from a past buried deep knew exactly who to plant in my path? I used to hook up a lot a few years ago. It’s not impossible that someone spied on me and knows my taste in men.
I wash my hands, then move, mind clouded by the terrible implications of it all. I am not afraid of confrontation, and if he’s someone’s agent, pushed into my arms like a remotely-activated bomb to undermine Van der Horn business, I can’t leave it active.
But if he really is innocent and loves me despite only knowing me for the past three weeks, then there’s something else he’s hiding, because nobody orders hits on some random dude. It’s been a while since his fighting career came to an end, but that kind of past has a way of returning with a vengeance. There might be people who want him dead, maybe someone desperate enough to send killers.
The least grim option is that he lied to me about having no enemies, that what he’s really after is Van der Horn protection, a resource much more valuable than money.
I finish my coffee, taking deep breaths to trick my body into calming down, because I let this man in. I’ve held him, and smiled at him. How dare he lie to me?
I head out, almost reaching the first floor by the time the door to the secret room shuts behind me.
I hear Dalton in the kitchen, the coffee machine grinding the beans. It must be four in the morning, and there’s not much light outside, but I’m still painfully aware of the window in the kitchen and ready for spies anywhere. That’s why I got bars installed and the front windows walled up.
Is Dalton not aware of me walking in, since I’m so soft-footed, or does he pretend to put me at ease? He’s showered since we came back, so he’s not covered in blood anymore and looks innocent.
He’s using the little lamps attached under the hanging cupboards, which paint the kitchen in a warm, intimate glow.
“Tell me the truth,” I say softly, ready to fight if he drops whatever mask he’s hiding behind.
Dalton turns to me, eyes wide. “What? Everything okay? What did he tell you?”
He appears so genuine in those gray sweatpants, the plain T-shirt, and with green eyes focused on my face as if he’s worried for me. I’m so tempted to give in, but I won’t fall into a deadly trap again.
“Just tell me, Dalton. I promise, there will be no consequences."
Unless of course he’s betrayed me, in which case no wonder he got so pale downstairs. He might have been imagining himself as my next victim.
The hapless confusion on his face annoys me now. It’s been averylong night.
“Tell you what? What did I do?”
Did he just glance at the wood block filled with knives?
“You’re hiding something,” I snap, putting my shaky hands into my pockets, because this can’t be happening again. I’m older now. Wiser. How could I let someone dupe me for a second time?
He dares to roll his eyes at me. “The only thing I’m hiding is that I forgot how to use the coffee machine. Be serious, Corvus. Someone tried to kill us tonight.”
He sounds truthful.
And yet, a good liar can speak flawlessly, until truth is only an abstract concept. I think back to Kemper warning me about Dalton’s lies. This is somehow worse than having irrefutable proof of his betrayal, because I’ll never know. Unless he turns against me one day, I’ll have to live on with uncertainty.
This is exactly what I’ve been avoiding all these years. Why I stopped hooking up.
I’ve got a knife in my hand before he can beat me to it, and I press it to his throat.
“Move to your own detriment.”
Chapter 27
Dalton
I’vegotnodoubtCorvus is physically capable of killing me, but…
