Blake shuts the door and I face him. “Where is Pri’s father right now?”
“I see you figured things out,” he says dryly, leaning on the door, and crossing his arms in front of him.
A muscle in my jaw tics at the easy confirmation that Pri’s father is somehow involved in this bullshit. “He’s in Chicago,” I assume.
“No,” he says. “He’s actually in Houston meeting with an old friend from law school, a principal in the Milton, Murr, and Sheridan firm. Milton used to work in the DA’s office and his ex-wife is a judge. Guess where?”
“Chicago,” I supply.
He lifts a finger in my direction. “Bingo.”
“Fuck.” I scrub my jaw and walk behind the desk, pressing my hands to the surface, a roar in my ears. “Fuck.”
“How’d you know?” Blake asks, claiming the seat in front of me.
“Pri’s mother called and wants her to go to dinner with her. She told Pri her father is out of town and she couldn’t remember where. Pri figured it out.” I sit down. “Needless to say, she’s freaked out. It keeps getting more and more personal for her.”
“Not so personal that they know she’s involved with you. Unless she told them.”
“She didn’t, but I’m not sure that would matter. I’m not sure they even care about Pri at all. That’s how shitty they are. What kind of parent doesn’t care about their child?”
“Too many,” he says. “But I get it. I was blessed with good parents as well.”
“There’s a hit out on her. I hate to think they’re involved. This dinner her mother wants to have. I don’t like it.”
“But it might be informative.”
“I don’t like it,” I repeat.
“We’ll protect her.”
“I don’t like it,” I repeat.
“We need to know who our enemies are. So does she, especially if it’s her family. And think about it. If Pri tells her mother she’s seeing you, there will be a reaction, in the moment, and after the dinner. That might lead us to Deleon.”
He’s right. I know he’s right, but he’s also suggesting Pri become bait. “Would you want Kara to be bait?”
“Kara’s an ex-FBI agent and a badass and the answer is no, I would not, but would I do it? I doubt I’d have a choice. Despite my objection, she’d make the decision for the greater good. In case you haven’t figured it out, Pri will too. She’s brave.”
“She also has something to prove—that she’s not her parents. I’ve been there in my own way, done that, and I’m living in the aftermath. I know how dangerous that can get.”
“As do I,” he says. “But there’s no way to change her role in this. She’s deeply involved, her family is deeply involved. This won’t go away because she hides from it.”
He’s right but the problem is that it won’t go away as long as Waters is alive. Why the hell I didn’t see that in the past, why I thought the legal system worked with guys like Waters, I don’t know.
The computer starts to buzz, telling me it’s time for my Zoom call. Blake knocks on the desk. “I’ll leave you to your meeting.”
“You don’t want to know what I’m going to say?”
“You said you’ve never been to Illinois. I believe you, therefore I’ve heard enough.” He stands up and heads to the door, then glances back at me. “If you marry her, you know your in-laws hate you. The good news is that sounds rather normal to me.”
He exits the office and shuts the door.
Married.
Me.
To Pri.
I wait for the rejection to follow, but it doesn’t come. For the first time in my life, I’ve met someone who makes me want something lasting. But as long as Waters lives, I’ll be hunted. That means she’ll be hunted. And her family might not care about the danger they place her under, but I do.
I hit the answer button and bring Royce and Lauren into view. “Go ahead,” Lauren, a pretty brunette, as feisty and strong-willed as Pri, says. “Tell us a joke to get this started. You know you want to.”
Royce, a broody, bigger version of Blake, grumbles. “Yes. Get it over with.”
And so, I do. “A penguin walks into a bar and asks the bartender. ‘Have you seen my brother?’ The bartender says, ‘What’s he look like?’”
I watch them stare at me for a moment while they catch on to the punchline—all penguins look alike. But all monsters do not, I think. All monsters do, however, die. In other words, maybe my version of being bad isn’t bad enough.Chapter Twenty-FivePRI
Fifteen minutes after Adrian leaves me in the room alone, I’m dressed in battle gear. For me, that means a blue skirt and matching silk blouse, with a jacket and heels to complete the look. I’m driven. I have a purpose. I will win this war against Waters. We will win this war against Waters.