“But Leon and Selene Griffin wouldn’t give you one.”
“How did you—” He stopped himself. His lips drew a thin, tight line. “That’s not relevant.”
“You asked them right after their daughter died. The same year you were fired.”
Something ugly flashed across his face. “You should think very carefully about what you say next. Defamation works both ways.”
Rafael stepped forward and closed Oliver’s notebook with two fingers. “You’re confusing this place with Canada.”
“Did you think I was the easy target?” she quipped, as Rafael stood behind her chair.
Oliver sneered. “You don’t even understand how your world works. People with this level of wealth inevitably become public property. I don’t make reality, I just use it.”
Bea looked left and right, as if she were embarrassed for him. “You heard yourself, right? You just said the quiet part out loud.” She jutted her chin toward the doors. “The Ministry of Domestic Security is outside.” His head snapped over. “They have questions. So does the internet.”
Rafael pointed toward the second camera. Oliver looked.
“That one,” Bea murmured. Jack stood behind it, and waved. “It started streaming the moment your producer killed the feed.”
Chapter Thirty
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The echo of the ball ricocheted through the vaulted space as Rafael dribbled. Sneakers squeaked against the hardwood, the air smelling faintly of sweat and rubber.
Nico was hunched over, chest heaving. “Did that interview give you superpowers or something?”
Rafael shook his head, stepped around him with zero effort, and sank an easy layup. “Looks like you’re out of shape.”
“I’m literally in the military.” Nico groaned, collapsing onto the floor.
Rafael nudged Nico’s ribs with his foot. “Get up.”
“No. I live here now.”
Bea finally burst. “Nico!”
He sprang upright at her voice, face lighting when he saw her. His arms flung wide like a human boom gate. “Bea!”
She ran to him, and he crushed her in a bear hug. Six months in military training had transformed her lean and lanky student into something startlingly solid, the kind of build that came from drills, not puberty. His dark hair was cut close, and he even had some serious stubble.
“I watched the interview, youkilledit. Told everyone in my barracks that you were my tutor. Half of them think I’m lying. My credibility has never been higher.”
Bea snorted. “That feels like an indictment of your starting position.”
“Also, El Jefe’s two fingers are now famous.” Nico mimed closing an invisible notebook. “Someone looped it. It’s a GIF.”
Bea laughed. “Of course it is. The man looks like a movie star and the internet makes a GIF of his hand.”
Then she stepped back and inspected Nico like a proud nonna. “I was worried they were starving you in training. Turns out they’ve been injecting whey protein directly into your bloodstream.”
He flexed, posing shamelessly. “If I get any more ripped, they’ll draft me into movies instead of the army.”
Rafael was spinning the ball on his fingertip, relaxed in a way she hadn’t seen in weeks. She knew the same expression was mirrored on her face.
After the chaos of the past few weeks, Nico’s visit was exactly what they needed.
“You didn’t tell me he came early,” she scolded her husband. “I would’ve skipped dessert.”
