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“I got no proof.” Kaz straightened.
“What do you want from us?” I asked.
Kaz looked at Duke. “Need you to talk to your old girlfriend. Make a play about wanting her back, wanting the deal back.”
My eyes widened. “Huh?”
Kaz shrugged. “And you’ll need to be wired for that.”
Duke's voice was low and deadly. "You knew this whole damn time what the fuck was goin’ on, and you didn’t say a damn thing? Elena got fuckin’ shot, Kaz.”
Kaz looked penitent for the first time since he’d walked in, hell since I’d known him. He was always too cool for school, but right now, he was remorseful. “I used you, that’s true, but I did warn you.”
“AfterElena was shot, you son of a bitch.”
Kaz sighed. “I can’t just spill my guts to anyone, okay?I did what I could to protect y’all. Didn’t want any of this to happen. Even now, my superiors are not happy I’m here. But we need to force the issue, and I believe Fiona is our weak link.”
I frowned. “How is she the weak one?”
“She’s in love with Duke. She wants him back. He can reel her in.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Ugh!”
Kaz smiled at that. “Yeah. Ugh!”
“My mother is the Oscar-winning actress, I’m not,” Duke protested.
“We’ll work with you on that. Go through the script. Role play,” Kaz assured him. “We’ll prepare you for this. You’ll meet her in a public place. If it goes to shit, no harm, no foul.”
“Except Piper wants to cap his ass?” I reminded him.
“She wants to do that anyway, so it’s not like you’ll be in anynewdanger by talking to Fiona.” Kaz drank some coffee, which I knew was cold by now.
Duke dragged a hand through his hair. He looked at me, and I nodded. Yeah, we’d do this. We had to, or we’d always have to live in fear.
"Set it up,” Duke said.
I sniffled loudly. “You’ll have to tell her you love her and shit.” I feigned hurt, pulling my hand away from Duke’s. I turned to Kaz. “Will he have to have sex with her? I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle that. It might break my poor heart.” I clapped my hand on my chest dramatically.
“Shut it, Elena,” Duke muttered.
“Oh, come on, you have to go back to that bitch in high heels and spill your guts, which is going to piss me off. I’m allowed some entertainment.”
“You can be in the surveillance van if you like?” Kaz offered cheerfully.
“Kaz,” Duke warned him.
Kaz nodded, holding up a hand. “You know what, sweetheart? We’ll record it, and I’ll send you a copy.”
Kaz and I high-fived at that.
Duke sighed. “Fuck me sideways, but this is goin’ to be a clusterfuck.”
“If you kiss her, I’ll knee you in the nuts,” I promised him.
Duke looked at me coolly. “Darlin’, I’ll have to convince her I’m in love with her, so I may have to do a few things…you know, for the sake of law and justice.”
I punched his shoulder. “You keep your hands and mouth…you know, keepallparts of your body away from that terrible woman.”