Page 202 of Burning Daylight

“It is,” he replies.

“You’re lying.”

“I wish I was.”

I shake my head. “He wouldn’t have?—”

“Hedid,” Benjamin snaps.

My jaw clenches. “What does this have to do with Frederick?”

He hesitates, glancing around like he’s concerned someone might overhear. “Because Frederick is her half brother.”

My brows lift. “Frederick’s aVoltaire?”

“Not officially. Unlikesomepeople, he didn’t get the name when he was born to an affair. But he came searching and found Eleanor. They kept it secret so that nobody else would know, so that he would be safe from the Callowaysandyour dad. They’ve never liked us Voltaires getting too much power in the town.”

I run a hand over my face. “So, you betrayed my dad.”

If it wasn’t coming directly from Benjamin’s mouth, I wouldn’t have trusted it to be true. I always assumed Benjamin was loyal to the end, the very definition of “ride or die.”

He doesn’t flinch, and he doesn’t argue. He simply says, “I stayed loyal tomyfamily.”

“And staying loyal means framing me for murder? Getting Merrick shot?” I lash out.

His jaw tics, nostrils flaring. “That wasn’t supposed to happen, man. It’s all too fucked up now. I came here to talk with you, and to…to make it right.”

My brows rise. “I’m getting really tired of riddles, Benny.”

He presses a hand to his mouth, his face losing color.

“Are you about to puke?” I ask.

He breathes deeply.

“Why now?”

Benjamin’s face shifts. “It was always supposed to be now.”

He leans against the wall.

“Uncle M is dead. And you’re the last piece left. You’re the only thing standing between Freddy and what he’s been setting up for years.”

I scoff. “You give the guy too much credit.”

“You don’t give him enough.” He pins me with a deadly stare. “They’ve been waiting for you to break.”

I meet his eyes. “I don’t break.”

He lifts a slow, mocking brow. “You don’t think you already have?”

I lunge forward, grabbing the collar of his shirt and shoving him against the brick. “You think this is what broken looks like?”

He doesn’t flinch. “I think this is what it looks like when someone realizes everyone around them was playing a different game.”

My heart’s slamming against my ribs, but my voice comes out cold. “What are you talking about?”

“Freddy’s been building this foryears. Ever since Eleanor died and he saw you, pathetic and begging andalive, on your daddy’s doorstep.”