“Yes.”
She traded her glass for her plate once more. “You don’t worry someone will overhear?”
“No.” I had security measures in place for that, but I didn’t bother telling her that.
Her expression sobered for a minute. “What happens if you get caught?”
I avoided looking at Jinx when I answered. “Then I get caught.”
“And everyone else?”
I wasn’t sure what she wanted me to say.
“Will you take the fall foreverything?”
“They wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for me, Laikyn. I see no reason for them to go down, too.”
I could tell she didn’t like that answer, but that was the way it worked. Back when I went to prison for beating the shit out of those two kids who’d nearly killed Jinx, I realized that it didn’t matter what I said. The prosecutor insisted I was the one responsible for hitting Jinx with that pipe and then beating the other two because they’d witnessed it. If they’d actually bothered to look, they wouldn’t have found my prints on that pipe. I never touched it. But I took the blame without argument because Iwasresponsible for my part. The rest didn’t matter.
“You know it was on the news, right?”
It took a moment to realize Laikyn was changing the subject.
She poked at her food. “A famous director and his wife were found dead at their Hollywood Hills home. Murder-suicide. Apparently, at least according to the media, they liked to party. Cops found drugs.”
It sounded like she was quoting right from the newscast.
“I heard that, yes.” My team was good at monitoring all media outlets for information. Not to mention, Rhyan was the best at staging a scene. Her attention to detail was unparalleled.
Laikyn took a bite and talked around the food. “Sad. They were married.”
“What was sad about it?”
“That they were looking outside the marriage for … whatever they were doing,” she said without hesitation.
“Isn’t that technically what we’re doing?” I asked, keeping my expression bland as I peered at Jinx.
Laikyn barked a laugh, then fell into a fit of giggles. “And he tells jokes!”
I shook my head and grinned as I continued to eat, pondering what she said about looking outside the marriage. In Hollywood, deception and greed were par for the course. At least when it came to people with more money than sense. That was the first thing I learned when I moved here. They took what they wanted and didn’t give a shit about who they hurt.
“What about you, Laikyn? Are you dating anyone?”
She chuckled, curling her knees up and rolling onto her side as she looked between me and Jinx. “A little odd to be asking thatnow, don’t you think?”
I shrugged.
“But, no. Iwas. The night it all happened, I went to a party with this guy. His name’s Wes. We’d been dating for a couple of months. Mostly he took me hiking and shit. He was super health conscious. Said success was about more than the mind. He believed the body had to be in perfect shape for the mind to focus accurately. I guess I was his pet project.”
“What?” I didn’t understand.
“I think he was trying to get me in shape.”
I reached for my glass. “You’re perfect as it is. What the fuck would he want to change?”
Laikyn’s eyes widened, and I realized I’d said the words aloud. And there’d been a hint of vehemence behind them. I didn’t like the idea of anyone trying to change this woman. She was fucking perfect exactly as she was.
“Thank you. I think.” She smiled and relaxed. “He would try to tickle me and tell me I could stand to lose some belly fat. I mean, for him, it wasn’t enough to be skinny.”
