He doesn’t just want the evidence to escape jail time. There’s more to it. Something I can’t see.
“Then you know exactly how the night went down,” I say, hoping he won’t quiz me to check my story tallies with Apollo’s. “Your safe house is not fucking safe and having you breathing down Hailey’s neck wouldn’t help the situation. She didn’t have a single flashback the entire time she was at Noretto’s. Her brain jams up when she feels threatened.”
That’s not entirely true. Hailey mentioned she dived into her past once, but Rhett doesn’t need to know.
“It’s taking too long, Carter.”
“Tell me about it.” As much as I want to tell him that it’s me who’s dictating the rules, thatIhold his fate in a tight grasp, I chose to maintain the façade, hoping it’ll boost his flaking trust. “You’re not the one ditching your life to babysit her.”
“Spare me the bullshit. You’re forgetting I had other eyes on Lakeside than you. You think I don’t know you’ve been sticking your cock in that cunt for weeks?”
“Watch your fucking mouth,” I snap on autopilot, my blood boiling, hands itching to land a few precise blows on Rhett’s face.
“You dumb son of a bitch,” he huffs, incredulous. “You’re not just fucking her, are you? You’re in love with her.”
Grinding my teeth, I sift through my mental arsenal, hunting for a strong enough defense and coming up blank. “Whatdifference does it make?” I finally say, lacking better ideas. “It changes nothing.”
“Nothing? She killed Aalyiah! She deservespainbut that won’t fucking happen now, will it?”
“Fine. It changes one thing. An irrelevant thing given how misplaced your anger is. Alex is the reason Aalyiah’s dead. Hailey got caught in the crossfire. She’s under my protection, and so are her memories, but relax. You’ll get the evidence once she remembers where it is.”
“Not all of it,” he grits out, abangresounding in the background. “I know you’ll keep some of it to yourself.”
Some?
Why not all? Is he so arrogant he doesn’t realize I’ll keep a copy as an insurance policy. It’s the easiest way to ensure no one ever thinks about touching Hailey. He must fucking knowthat.
“The end result doesn’t change, Rhett. You’ll get your get-out-of-jail-free card just like everyone else it incriminates.”
He makes a disgruntled noise at the back of his throat. “That’s the fucking problem. Not everyone should.”
Says the man with enough blood on his hands for a thousand transfusions.
Crackling follows his words, and the line goes dead.
Dropping the phone onto the desk, I massage my temples, a badass headache sprouting at the base of my scalp. I’m sick of this game. Sick and tired of the lies, the concealed information, the evasion, and the cryptic one-liners.
I cast a glance at the dining room feed, seeking the one person that makes this shitshow worth enduring. Hailey stares at her plate, but doesn’t eat, pushing her food about while watching my men.
“What’s wrong?” Koby asks spearing a slice of bacon.
“You want more egg—” Broadway trips over his words because the moment Koby starts chewing, Hailey shoves a forkful so large into her mouth you’d think it’s a competition.
My brows knot in the middle. She spent five minutes staring at her plate, and now she barely has time to swallow, trembling softly as she packs in more food.
Fuck...
She was checking it was safe to eat, waiting until one of them took a bite before diving in.
I’ve seen her at breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day for weeks. Never once did she choose scrambled eggs. Never once did she eat like she enjoyed food... now she’s practically inhaling it.
“Slow down, girl,” Koby chuckles. “There’s plenty more in the pan. I can cook, but I’m not good at gauging portions. I always end up making way too much.”
Her cheeks pink up. As if realizing she’s not alone, her back straightens, and she wipes the corner of her mouth with a napkin, slowing down her chewing. I storm out of the control room, crossing the living room in a few long strides.
“When’s the last time you ate?” I ask, scrutinizing her body from head to toe.
She’s skinnier than she was. Everything she gained at Lakeside while I ensured she ate three meals a day is gone.
