Page 103 of Collateral Claim

I don’t know what to do with what he said, so I attempt a joke. “Why, Endo Macarley, are you saying you can’t bear to part from me?”

“Exactly.”

Speechless, I stand there like a shocked statue. Endo admitted he doesn’t want to part from me. Which means he wants us to be together. My affection for him is returned. We’re a disaster.

“Ready?” he asks.

“No.”

“Excellent.”

We head out.

The property crawls with armed men. There are three times as many security personnel here as at Endo’s mansion. My father lured him into enemy territory, a territory Endo can’t control, and Endo’s desperation for information on his brother made him fold and come here. Endo’s love for his brother might be the end of him. And my dad is a bad guy for using love to trap someone. Even a villain like Endo.

“The odds aren’t in my favor,” he whispers.

“Run.”

“I’d rather die.”

“Seriously?”

He tugs my elbow when I stop to argue with him. “Keep moving, Scar. Don’t be scared.”

“If you’re going to die, I think it’s a good time to tell you, you were right about my dad all along. If he shows up for lunch here today, it implies he is corrupt and shouldn’t run for office.”

“Most politicians are corrupt,” Endo says.

“Yes, but not all.”

“A needle in a haystack.”

“Can be found with a big magnet.”

Endo smirks while his gaze takes in everything around us. “You have an answer to everything.”

“I read a lot.”

“You seek truths.”

“I do that too.”

“It’s best if you don’t know the truth,” Endo says as servers carrying ice buckets rush past us. “You think you want to know, but you really don’t. The truth will hurt you. I promise.”

From his pocket, Endo digs out my phone and hands it to me. A brief glance tells me Charlotte called a thousand times. It makes me choke up.

Endo stops and faces me. “You’re going to be okay.”

I can barely look at him. Am I sad? What is this? I must be scared. That’s all. I finger the engagement ring, but Endo shakes his head.

“Keep the ring,” he says.

“I can’t.”

“It’s yours.”

“People will think I’m engaged.”