Page 57 of Change

She pulled back and her hand lowered. “What?”

“If you tell him, he’ll want to know how I connected with Ernesto in the first place. Then you’ll have to admit your part in The Plan, and that you took me to an illegal shifter fighting ring.” I shook my head. Did she not think this through? I pointed between the two of us. “This is our little secret.”

Maria was staring at me with a mixture of horror and admiration and, during my answer, had pressed her hand to her heart. “Wow,” she said finally. Did she hate me now? I was only stating a fact. Besides, we’d decided on thisbeforewe got there, it was too late to back out now.

Despite my momentary waver in dedication earlier, we had no choice but to goall in, sans one exception.

“I’m not sure how to feel,” she continued. “I’m both frightened and proud.”

This was no time to be uncertain. “Do you want to beat things up?” If she said ‘no’—if she’d changed her mind—that would be the only reason to back out. I refused to take advantage. “Are you happy being where you are now?”

Maria flinched, then glanced out the window, pursing her lips. A heavy silence fell over the vehicle before she finally sighed and answered, “I hate desk jobs. I boxed in high school and college, and I always wanted to run my own gym.”

I knew it!

I tried to not show my elation on my face. But this was, finally, somewhere that I, Bianca Dubois, could assist. After all, there was no better thing than helping people reach their full potential.

It would be my first act of friendship.

“Then trust me.” I touched the card again, holding it in my lap as I ran my thumb over the edge of the paper. “I’ll help you.”

She’d make a name for herself first, then once she opened the doors of her own place, she’d have clients lined up around the corner.

My triumphant moment was short lived, because at my words, Maria’s expression twisted with guilt. “In that case, there’s something I need to tellyou.”

“What?” My stomach was already tightening at the heavy feeling in the air.

Her voice was short when she answered, “We’ve been investigating Eric Richards.” She grabbed the steering wheel, and her words began to flow more smoothly. “But we’re reaching the limits of what we can do. Everyone is hesitant to talk to you about it.”

Hesitant? I wondered why.

My ears buzzed and my fingers tingled. But once I got ahold of myself, I’d tell her I was completely over it. Hadn’t I already said so more than once?

“I want to help you too.” She peered at me from the corner of her eyes. “I think you’ll feel a lot better once you get closure. Help with the case, help them find him, and maybe you’ll be free.”

Free?

That was silly, I was already free.

I wanted to argue with her, but I couldn’t. This was girl-on-girl bonding time. We were supposed to be sharing our worries and traumas while offering uplifting platitudes.

That was how itworked.

I could not mar the sanctity of this moment.

“What do they want from m-me? I can’t h-help with anything.” I pressed my finger firmly against the sharp edge of the card. This was so frustrating. “I can’t t-t-talk!”

I couldn’t even explain.

Maria was resting her temple on the steering wheel. She watched me with a soft expression, and when she spoke, she seemed to be choosing her words carefully. “You don’t have to talk.” The understanding in her voice made my head swim. “You don’t need totellthem anything about what he’s done,” she said. “Fuck their procedures, it’s only pushed you away. Titus can tailor the investigation to whatyoucan do. Anything will help, especially when we have almost nothing.”

I didn’t understand. “W-what do you want?”

“We need you at the scene,” Maria answered. “Various parts have been destroyed by fire, and it’s difficult to know what is and isn’t evidence. But if you could just do a walk-through—even to explain the layout of the house—it would help tremendously.”

“You w-want me to goback?” My throat was closing up. I couldn’t!

Maria sat up and grabbed my hands. “I know it’ll be hard, but it’sover, Bianca. There’s nothing there that can hurt you.”