“She’s a distraction, man. Guys at the office have been wondering what the hell you’re up to. We’ve got a launch in two weeks on a product that’s not ready, and you’re playing babysitter. She’s costing us money, and if she’s as out of it as you say she is, she could get you killed.”
Each word is a paper cut. String them together as an argument, and it’s like someone’s poured lemon juice over them. On their own, they sting. Coming from Constantine? Someone I like? The sting becomes a burn.
I ease away into the kitchen, then over to the back door. The knob’s loose under my hand, and I turn it slowly to minimize the rattle. Cool air washes over me as I edge through the door onto the porch, and the door shuts with a soft click.
It’s a little too cool to be outside without a jacket. I rub my arms through my long-sleeved shirt and wander down the back steps to the damp grass. When this is over, I’m going to take another look at Nick’s cousin. My initial reaction to him may not have been wrong.
I may have just interpreted it incorrectly.
My phone buzzes against my hip, and I glance around the yard before pulling it out and answering. “Hello?”
“Cassidy? Why are you mumbling?”
Mom’s response is so normal, so her, I lose my cool remoteness for a minute, sudden tears burning my eyes. “Sorry, Mom. Nick’s trying to work, and I don’t want to disturb him.” The lie flows easily, and I scan the yard again, straining to hear beyond the tiny night noises.
“I won’t keep you long, then. I’m at Carol’s now. There’s two feet of snow, and we’re expecting more by morning.”
It’s amazing what a change of location and a few hours will do. Last night when she told me she was leaving, she sounded better, but still fragile. Twenty-four hours later, her voice is stronger. Some of my anger fades. The distance she’s put between us is a slap in the face, but if it’s what helps her heal, I’d be a selfish little bitch to begrudge her that. “Are you sure you’ll be safe there?”
Her smile is evident, even through the phone. “The only person who could ever out-shoot your father is Carol. We’ll be all right. I’ll call you tomorrow at four. I love you.”
A lump forms in my throat. “I love you too, Mom.” We hang up, and I slide the phone back into my pocket.
“How touching.”
How the hell did he get here? I turn toward my right. Isaiah remains near the fence in the deepest part of the dark.
I wonder if he’s alone.
“Did you sneak away from your bodyguard? And isn’t it past your curfew?” The knives are strapped to my ankles. There’s no way to retrieve them without giving away what I’m doing. I stay where I am and cross my fingers that Isaiah’s alone and not armed.
Of course he’s armed, and if someone isn’t behind me, he’s slipping. Confronting me without a weapon is stupid, and if there’s one thing we’ve learned over the past month, it’s that Isaiah’s not stupid.
“I underestimated you. Again. I assumed because you’d become part of my world, you’d play by my rules.” Using the dark to hide, he’s a fuzzy, vague Isaiah-shaped outline. Coward.
But I can’t taunt him into coming at me. I do the next best thing.
I say nothing.
“You’ve done a good job. Kept me on my toes, and made it damn near impossible for me to go anywhere. Did me a favor too. I needed to make some cuts, keep everything lean. Easier to control that way.”
If I remain where I am, silent and still, will he continue his movie villain act and keep talking? The longer he talks, the more time I have to figure out a plan. This is too good an opportunity to pass up. Isaiah came to me. I need his cockiness to be his undoing.
“You’ve decided against taking out Tris, I’m guessing.”
“The risk is a big one,” I agree. “Though I haven’t ruled out eliminating him as well. In your absence, he’s the only one that seems to have the balls to do what you’re doing. I imagine Andreas and Anton would be happy to see him gone.”
A hand closes around my throat. “My balls are none of your concern.”
Tris’s voice is nothing like I imagined it would be. The soft, sibilant hiss is strangely calming. “Isaiah thinks you’re a smart girl,” he murmurs. “So let’s see how smart you are. A smart girl would walk away and let the damage she’s caused stand instead of creating more.” Cool metal presses into my temple, and it takes all my willpower not to tense up.
A gunshot will attract attention we don’t need. He has to know that. I can use that.
Two against one, and I have to assume both are armed. Both men are taller and stronger than I am. I can’t see either of them, and of the two, I only know for certain where one of them is. Getting out of this situation unscathed is unlikely. Getting out alive is possible—it’ll just take some ingenuity on my part. Tris won’t let down his guard, so expecting him to lower the gun is out.
“Why are you here, Isaiah? You know Nick and Constantine are in the house, and you know Nick’s going to come looking for me any minute.” I shift my feet, bumping my head against the barrel of the gun.
“You’re right.” The frown’s evident in his voice. I peer into the shadows, frustration growing the longer I stare at his indistinguishable face. I need to see him. Isaiah continues. “Dom’s been distracted tonight, though, hasn’t he? The launch is coming up. Has he managed to fix the app?”
Nick has been distracted, now that I think of it. If he wasn’t, he would have forced me to change places with him more often.
“How did you find me, anyway?” I slouch a little, my back brushing against Tris’s chest. His grip on my throat tightens in response.
“That’s none of your concern.”
Huh. Cryptic. I switch to a more immediate problem. “So are you going to make a lot of noise and take me out here, or do you have a plan to smuggle me out of the backyard and over to your house?”
“The gun’s a precaution,” he says. “An insurance policy of sorts. Tris won’t have to use it as long as you cooperate.”
Yippee.
“You still didn’t answer my question. Why are you here? And are we going inside sometime soon because I’m getting cold.”
The night quiet settles around us while I wait for Isaiah’s answer, Tris’s hold never wavering, the gun steady. My best shot is to drop down, away from the gun, rather than grabbing his hand and trying to pull it away.
“I’m here to get you, Cass. So we can discuss this like adults.” Isaiah finally moves from the shadows. “We can talk here or across the street, though if we have the conversation here, it will likely be cut short when Dom comes looking for you.”
From one heartbeat to the next, several things happen at once. The back door opens and Nick steps onto the deck. Two more men enter the yard, heading for Isaiah. Constantine comes up behind Nick, talking like they were in the middle of a conversation. I jerk in Tris’s hold, dropping to my knees to get away from the gun, Tris falling with me as he tightens his grip.
This is not going to end well.
Chapter 5
Someone shouts. A dark blur races from the porch to the yard, and one of the two new men goes down hard as he’s tackled from the side. It takes a second for the other guy to realize what’s going on. He yanks the tackler to his feet, and from the hoot of laughter, I can tell it’s Constantine.