Page 34 of Best Laid Plans

“Hey, you’ll get no arguments from me. I could fall asleep standing up,” I tell him, sliding my hand over the top of Lucy’s head when she nudges me.

“You’re so getting steak for dinner, pretty girl.”

“Damn right she is.”

We head outside, and I gasp when I see the damage. “Jesus.”

“We were lucky the blast radius wasn’t far enough to take out the school.”

I swallow, feeling sick to my stomach. “Luck had nothing to do with it. He didn’t care about the building. He cared about the kids. If they hadn’t gone out the back, they’d have been standing out here, laughing and joking, waiting for rides, catching the bus. He didn’t care which kids he took out. He was after the spectacle.”

“So he wasn’t targeting Theo?” He looks at me.

I shake my head. “He used him before. He paid the money that had his abusive stepfather released on bail. He did that because he could. To show the club that none of you were safe.

“This wasn’t about Theo. There was no way to be sure he was one of the people who came out this way, or that he didn’t stop to talk to friends first, or have football practice, for that matter. At most, it would be traumatic for him. Losing people you know, even if you aren’t friends, has a knock-on effect. Especially at this age. It makes you question your own mortality when teenagers usually have the mindset that they’ll live forever.”

He looks at me oddly, making me flush.

“I didn’t like feeling dumb.”

“You were never dumb.”

“I was. I was uneducated and woefully unprepared for the real world. I learned everything I could about—well, everything. I’m not a master of anything, but I know a little about a lot of things, enough to hold a conversation without embarrassing myself. And psychology was one subject that fascinated me.”

“It baffles me that you have no idea how amazing you are.”

My mouth snaps shut at that. Shock renders me mute. Before I can say anything else, I catch two familiar faces heading our way and feel myself tense.

“What is it?” Powers asks, looking at me before he feels them approach.

“Mrs. Taylor, we’d like to ask you a few questions,” Special Agent Mikos says as Agent Bowser moves in closer.

Powers blocks them. “You’ve got to be shitting me,” he snarls. I see Havoc and Kruger approaching and feel myself relax a little. They’ll hold Powers back if needed.

“I can assure you we’re not,” Bowser snaps.

“You’ve already spoken to me. I have nothing else to say.”

“That was before a bomb exploded in the town you’re currently inhabiting.”

“Again, I have nothing to say that will help you catch the person that did this. But you and I both know this was likely James’s work.”

“The man is a plastic surgeon, not a bomb maker.” He rolls his fucking eyes at me.

“Was a plastic surgeon. That’s what you meant to say, right? He was. Now he’s just a sick fuck intent on hurting people just because he can⁠—”

“I think it’s time for you both to get back in your fucking car and leave before I show you how I got my name. I give zero fucks about the badges you have on your belts.” Havoc seethes like he’s breathing fire. The agents turn, their hands resting on the butts of their guns.

“I could arrest you for⁠—”

“I don’t care!” Havoc yells, leaning closer. Now I’m wondering if Powers and Kruger will be able to hold him back.

“You were following them. You know exactly what went down because you were watching. You know what you didn’t do? Help. We have you on camera, watching all the chaos unfold, watching all these people—including Powers and Lil—put their lives on the line. And you did nothing to help. The only time you got out of your fucking car was when you saw them walk out.”

Neither of them knows what to say to that, but I don’t miss the cold look promising retribution in Powers’s eyes.

“I’ll be seeing you, Lilian.” Bowser smirks, knowing damn fucking well that’s not my name. I take it for the warning it is. James might not want to hurt me, but this guy has no such problem doing so. Sure, James would kill him for it, but it would be too late by then.