Page 84 of Throwing Fire

Kez snorts. “It’s feeling pretty damn personal.”

I chuckle. At least she’s still got her sense of humor. “Maybe it’s because he’s figured out you’re the power behind the throne.”

“Yeah, I get that. But why try to kill me? That’s what I don’t get. If it’s a strike against the company, there are better ways. Tipping off the C.P. about any of the Hex labs, for example. That would make our lives difficult for a lot less than a hundred grand. And why try to take out one person? Why me? Myhre’s just as central to running the business as I am. Probably more. Why haven’t they targeted her?”

A very cold finger runs down my spine. “Maybe ‘cause you can’t target yourself?”

Kez takes her eyes off the central viewie to look at me. She lifts an eyebrow. “Seriously?”

I shrug. “Why not?”

“Why?” Kez counters. “Chi doesn’t trust her. She takes me out, and then what? She’s got no more control than she has now. Besides, I fucking promoted her. I’ve agreed with practically every suggestion she’s made. If you hadn’t told me about Sokun, maybe I could see her wanting to eliminate the competition, but it’s clear I’m not, so what reason would she have to try to kill me?”

“Maybe she doesn’t have a reason,” I say, but nothing in me believes it.

Kez snorts. Guess nothing in her believe it, either. “She has a reason for sneezing. Look, if we’re pointing the finger, it could be anyone. It could be Chi. She’s got the money. A hundred thousand is spending money to her. She’s throwing twice that at her damn Crackle, and that’s just one day.”

“Baby Tyng? Why would she take a swing at you? You’re her new best friend.”

“Maybe she doesn’t like the plates I picked,” Kez says. She navigates onto an updraft to save fuel. Smart kitten. Once we’re surfing the air current, Kez sits back and scratches her head. “There is one reason.”

“Other than the plates?”

“Yeah.” Kez clears her throat and flushes. “I really didn’t want to tell you about this. You’ve got enough to think about, and this isn’t my secret to tell.”

I spread my hands. “You can tell me anything, kitten. You know that. But I thought we didn’t keep secrets from each other.”

“This isn’t my secret. You’ll understand in a second.” She checks the settings before she turns slightly in her chair to look at me. “I know who the father of Nevie’s baby is.”

“Ain’t that kid, what was his name? Skylar?” I only met the kid once, and it was his mother who made the impression when she leveled a fucking plasma cannon at me. But he was as fucked up on Hex as anyone I’ve ever seen, and I thought Hex made men infertile. So the idea of him being the father never quite rang true.

“No.” She rubs a hand over her face. “It’s Ape.”

Fuck. I take a deep breath while I try to get my head around the ramifications of that one. “Does Chi know?”

“I don’t think so.” Kez rolls her eyes upward. “I didn’t think so, but now I don’t know. You’ve got me second-guessing everything and everyone.”

“Sorry, kitten.” I’m not trying to turn her into the same sort of paranoid twist that I am. But a little suspicion is useful, given our situation. “Does Ape know?”

Kez shrugs. “He can count, just like I can.”

“Yeah, but Nev ain’t exactly a one-man woman.”

Kez sighs. “You’ve only seen her at her worst ... when she’s on Hex, she doesn’t know or care who she’s with. But the rest of the time, she’s pretty monogamous. Serial, you know, but monogamous. When she and Ape got together, she was clean. That’s how she got pregnant. She should have had another conhibitor put in, but she wasn’t with anyone, so I guess she didn’t bother. She wasn’t with Ape for long. A few days. Then they had a fight – I don’t know what it was about – and the next thing any of us knew, he brought Chi home. It was less than a five-day from the last time he and Nev were together. Bang, bang. He’s such an ass.”

I don’t disagree with her there. “I’m missin’ how this translates into a reason to kill you, kitten. Seems more like she should off Ape for bein’ a two-timing dick.”

“You’re right.” Kez shrugs. “But sometimes it’s hard to blame the man you love. And I’ve been really vocal about Nev being the only one who has any say in keeping the baby. I’m the easiest target.”

That does make a kind of twisted sense.

“Hard to blame the man you love, huh?” Kez didn’t have any trouble blaming me when she thought I was interested in Myhre.

“Well, you know.”

“Yeah, I do know. Still waitin’ to see it, though.”

She has the grace to blush. “I haven’t blamed you for anything in at least twelve hours.”