She did not want Niles to tell her she was wrong.
Because being wrong meant that someone else had given Lily those drugs. Or it meant that Lily had just snapped.
And neither of those were an acceptable option.
“It’s him. I know it’s him.”
Niles sat back in his chair, his eyes swooping over her, his brows lowwith worry. Katherine, for the first time, considered what she might look like right now. She’d forced herself to shower that morning, but that forcing had not extended to brushing her hair or doing anything to cover the deepening dark circles under her eyes. She’d been subsisting entirely on fast food, and the coffee she’d dumped on top of an already roiling stomach was making her jittery and anxious, her body expelling the excess energy in an all-over shiver that she couldn’t seem to stop.
“Let me ask you one more time. Is everything okay, Katherine?”
“Just having trouble sleeping.”
“That Hollywood and Highland thing was pretty scary for all of us. I mean, you never think of something like that happening in your city.”
Katherine was glad that she’d chosen to take a sip of coffee at that moment. Glad the cup could cover the sound of her choking.
“Yes,” she managed to get out. “It was… bad.”
“Sylvia didn’t make you…?”
Katherine rapped her hand on her chest, clearing out the remainder of the coffee that had gotten caught in her throat. “We have to be careful right now, with Noctis here,” she said. “It wasn’t a good look for that to happen during their visit. We had to make it clear we were handling our side of everything. Go by the book.”
“Still. She should have gone herself. She shouldn’t be making you do things like that.”
Katherine clenched her jaw. Niles had never hidden his dislike of Sylvia, but after years of her shutting him down every time he brought it up, he’d at least learned to stop mentioning it. Niles might not trust Sylvia, but Katherine did. More than anyone.
“None of us should have to do things like that,” she said. “But even if she hadn’t asked me, I would have volunteered. I’d rather it be me than anyone else.”
Niles stared at her for a moment, then shook his head.
“I should go,” she said, rising.
“Of course. You’ve got an asshole to dress down.”
Katherine forced a smile. “Yep. My favorite activity.”
Niles stood, opening his arms so Katherine could step into a hug. “It’s going to be okay,” he said, and Katherine tried her best to believe him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Katherine got a sick satisfaction from watching Silas Khatri think he was getting stood up.
She was nearly twenty minutes late—a move she hoped he construed as a power play, even though it was actually because of the traffic that spawned in Los Angeles like a weed. She was frustrated, hungry, and definitely past her bastard quota for the day, but watching Silas squirm through the glass windows of the restaurant was at least helping. He had dropped the suit jacket and tie, and his broad shoulders filled out the chair. His body was languid, leaning back as if he didn’t have a care in the world, one hand scrolling through his phone while the other alternated between reaching for his water and clenching at his leg, which was bouncing under the tablecloth as he fidgeted with nerves.
His attention lifted to Katherine the second she entered, his head cocking to the side as a lazy smile crossed his face. She was instantly disarmed, her lead snatched away by his dimple.
She wanted to punch him.
She sat down.
He smiled wider. “Well?”
“Well, what?”
“Well, what’s the excuse? Come on, dazzle me. I’ve heard every reason in the book.”
“Get stood up a lot, huh?”
