Page 60 of Lie with Me
I smile. She’s catching on. “Yes, people exactly like that.”
She ponders this for a while.
“Does Ellie know?” she finally asks.
“Yes, she knows.”
“Was Kayne involved with her kidnapping?”
My jaw drops, but no words come out. I’m not at liberty to speak about classified operations. “What makes you ask that?”
“I don’t know. A feeling. Did he save her or something?”
I breathe a silent sigh of relief. If she only knew howinvolvedKayne was with Ellie’s kidnapping, I think she’d have a whole new opinion about her brother-in-law.
“That’s a conversation for another time,” I sidestep the question, “and a higher clearance. The bottom line, I can help you. You just have to trust me and tell me everything.”
Tara chews on her bottom lip so hard, I’m afraid she’s going to bite right through it.
“Tara. I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise, but you have to let me in.”
Her eyes well with tears. “It’s not me I’m worried about. They threatened to kill my parents and Ellie and Kayne.”
“That will never happen. We’d see them coming a mile away, but you have to tell me who they are,” I urge.
Tara finally breaks down. “His name is Nino. He’s Philly’s brother.” She spoon-feeds me some information. “We all grew up together. Nino is a few years older. We dated for a littlewhile, but things didn’t work out. A few months ago, I was having some financial problems, living in the city, school, my apartment. Tips don’t exactly pay for all that. So Nino offered me an alternative. I had no idea what he was into until he took me to the club. He showed me what went on and how it worked. He told me I could stop whenever I wanted. He promised. So I don’t know, I did it. I just held my breath and jumped in.”
And now she’s drowning.
“Nino showed up at Jo Jo’s. He saw us together the other night. He thought you might have been an undercover cop. Accused me of snitching.”
“Did you tell him who I was?”
“No. I just told him I thought you were another subscriber. That you knew the code word.”
“And he believed you?”
“Well, he didn’t blow my head off when he shoved his gun in my mouth, so I guess so.”
“What?” I nearly shoot through the roof. That motherfucker is so dead.
I take a few calming breaths. I don’t want Tara to see me lose my shit a second time. I’ll save it all for Nino.
“Fucking Christ, Tara.” I drop my forehead to hers.
“I know, it’s a mess,” she says hopelessly.
“Yes, but we’re going to clean it up,” I promise her.
“How?” she asks despondently.
“I’m going to figure that out. I just need a little time.”
She doesn’t look completely convinced. And that’s okay, she’s never seen me in a work environment. But she will.
“Get some rest.” I deliver a soft kiss on her lips. I want to devour her but now isn’t the time. “I have some things I need to do.”
“Are you leaving?” She clutches my arm tensely.
