“Ah, yes,” I say dryly, “the age-old tale where Robin Hood robs from the rich to give to the poor and then eats Marion’s pussy in Sherwood Forest.”
Tris erupts into a fit of giggles, and Marcus gives me a horrified look.
I side-eye him. “What’s your problem?”
“You mean, besides your filthy, unfiltered mouth?” Marcus deadpans. Then he glances at Marion. “She’s just . . . a really handsome woman, so with you being androsexual . . .”
Marion looks smug, and I groan. “Don’t stroke her ego.”
“Brawny Man can stroke whatever he wants,” she says, winking at him.
“For fuck’s sake.” I give her a dark look. “Marion has a girlfriend, Marcus.”
“You’re a lesbian?” he asks, and his grip on my thigh loosens.
Jesus, he really was jealous. Wild.
She raises an eyebrow. “I’m bisexual.”
“Oh.” Marcus worries his plump bottom lip between his teeth in a really distracting way. “How did you know you were bisexual?”
My mouth drops open. “Classy, Marcus.”
Marion waves her hand. “It’s fine. I had my bi-awakening watchingRomeo + Julietin high school when I realized that I wanted Claire Danes just as much as Leonardo DiCaprio.”
I roll my eyes and shake my head. “The guy who played Mercutio—Harold Perrineau—was the real snack. All manly body hair in a sparkly skirt. Like a sexy present.”
Tris enthusiastically nods with my assessment, but Marcus looks away, obviously uncomfortable.
I take another long sip of my drink, feeling the alcohol relax my body. My eyes drop to Marcus’s hand again. It hasn’t moved since we got here. Not through this entire conversation, and not even when our waitress stopped at the table.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
MARCUS
We leave the bar, walking in the opposite direction from Marion and Tristan, toward his apartment.
People know about us now.
Three people. Maybe four if Sabrina told Laura.
While it feels good, it’s scary as hell, and it wasn’t part of the plan.
I’m no longer controlling the narrative.
What if this somehow gets back to my dad?Or worse, Ryan.
The email that John sent me this afternoon just before Jeremy came in my office freaked me the fuck out, and the worry is warring with my selfish feelings for Jeremy.
My inside guy at Skynet passed along everything he found to John’s PI. What he uncovered wasn’t great. I haven’t seen the information myself yet—the idea of blackmailing my father triggers anxiety and guilt (I mean heisstill my father), so I’ve always let John take the lead and tell me what I need to know.
That being said, the evidence gathered so far shows that the two board members were killed intentionally because they wanted out of the company after someone from financeapproached them with suspicions about transactions with a property manager who moonlighted as a contract killer. Turns out the finance guy who leaked the information also went missing, a hiking mishap, shortly after the “accident” that killed the board members. The hardcopy files included hundreds of emails between Ryan and a few different people talking about taking care of loose ends. Unfortunately, the victims’s names were still redacted, so it’s not hard evidence we can take to the authorities, but it’s enough to illustrate how dangerous Ryan actually is.
John and I suspected that Ryan was into some low-level shady shit, but it’s looking like Ryan had people murdered because they found out that he was havingotherpeople murdered. The meta-ness of it gives me a headache. It also makes me realize that the idea of my siblings or Jeremy falling onto his radar is way worse than damaging their careers.
If Ryan thinks that Jeremy is a threat, he could have him killed.
My stomach burns with the thought, and I glance over at Jeremy, who’s adorably tipsy.
