Page 85 of Black Jack (Advantage Play 5)

“What can I do?”

“You’ve done enough.”

“Bianca––”

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.”

I frown. “Take care of what?”

“Embry stopped by,” she tells me. I blink a few times, trying to catch up with the 180 degree subject change.

Why the hell would Embry stop by?

“Was he looking for me?” I ask.

“No. He wanted to chat with me, instead.”

My chest puffs up and my hands tighten around the steering wheel as an overwhelming need to protect Bianca pulses through me.

“What did he say to you?”

“Don’t worry. He didn’t proposition me, though I might need to open up my little business again now that I’m the last Castello on earth who happens to also be getting a divorce so, thanks for that.”

“Bianca––”

“I’m kidding,” she breathes. “He loves his wife, and despite what you think, I’m really not in the business anymore. It wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies, if you catch my drift.”

I pick up my speed and grit out, “Bianca––”

“He wants me to testify against Reed.”

My vision blurs, praying I’ve heard her wrong. “What did you just say?”

“I didn’t stutter, Jack.”

“If you agree to this, you’ll be humiliated––”

She laughs, but it’s laced with a pain that kills me. Because I’m the one that put it there.

“I’ve already been humiliated, Jacky Boy. The only person’s opinion that I actually care about is yours, and you’ve already made your stance about my past very clear.”

I glance toward the dashboard but don’t even register the time as memories of our fight threaten to strangle me.

I was such an ass. I’m still an ass.

“Bianca––”

“I said yes, by the way. Your name will be free and clear. I’ll tell them I was paid to seduce you. That you had no idea of my connection to Reed or Burlone. That I was the one who planted the phone in your desk that incriminated you.”

My heart stalls in my chest. “What did you just say?”

“It was me, Jack. It was all my fault. Reed told me to slip that phone into your desk while he was getting drinks with a few buddies, one of which happened to be good ol’ Wallace Embry. It’s one of the reasons Embry didn’t believe you at first, remember? The timeline didn’t match up.”

“Did you tell Embry?” I demand, the wheels turning so fast in my head that I’m afraid I might get sick. “There’s still time to back out––”

“I’m sorry, Jack,” she whispers, her tone resolute. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know who you were. But I followed his orders because that’s what good little whores do, ya know? And since that’s all I am, what else would you expect?” Her voice cracks before the rustling of a tissue crackles through the speaker. “Do you want to hear the really crazy part though?”

She’s killing me.