Page 100 of Cunning Lies

But right now, it’s different. I’m not okay with him being hurt, but part of me wonders if he deserved it.

No. That’s stupid. It doesn’t matter what happened. What matters is that this is our second chance. Kenzo is lying to his family to save us, and we owe it to him to take his deal. We need to get out of the country.

Eventually, the driver drops us off at the departing flights curb. I glance through the window to see the lists of locations, but Jay is already speed walking to the car rental shop on the other side of the road.

“Where are you going?” I ask. “We can’t screw around right now. The Endo-kaiwillkill us.”

“Are you coming?” he shouts over his shoulder.

I hold my stomach, then catch up with him. “Jay?” I ask. “Seriously, we can’t—”

“He said twenty-four hours,” Jay explains. He holds open the door to the rental shop for me, then motions toward the line for the cashier. “I’ve got one more errand to run, then we can go. I promise. We’ll get that dream house of yours.” He adds a wink, and my stomach churns. I don’t like this. I know Jay, and an ‘errand’ like this means trouble. “Beach? Paris? Where do you think we should go?”

We?I’m leavingwithhim, but we’re not a family anymore. Andmydream house?

Why do I get the feeling that the idea of a ‘dream house’ was implanted by Jay too? That I never wanted a mansion on the beach, anyway?

I touch the back of my ear, that turquoise jar candle. The one I got with my parents.

Maybe it never had anything to do with a beach house. Maybe I just wanted a real family.

“We need to get out of Las Vegas,” I argue, startling out of those thoughts. It’s afternoon now, and I want to leave as soon as possible. “The dream house doesn’t matter if—”

“You didn’t answer the question. Beach? Paris? Both?” Jay interrupts.

“You’re stalling. We need togo.”

“We’ll be in the air by dinnertime.”

I’m defeated, but as long as we leave tonight, it doesn’t matter. The line slowly inches forward. Jay whistles to himself, and a few people gawk at his bruises, whispering to each other. His phone buzzes and he shields the screen.

“I gotta take this, sweetheart,” he says. “Can you wait here?”

“Fine,” I mutter. As long as we’re out of Vegas by sundown, I don’t care.

I stare at the clock behind the counter, and the hands click around the circle. I grit my teeth. I have one job right now, and that’s getting the hell out of Vegas. Kenzo is protecting us.Lyingto his own family to saveus—two jerks who don’t deserve it. We—no, it’s not ‘we.’Iowe it to Kenzo to make sure Jay and I get out. So that the Endo-kai never finds out about Kenzo’s lie. His punishment will be far worse than missing a pinky, and I can’t let that happen.

But a screw tightens in my chest, and my skin tingles. What if Jay’s errand is another trap against the Endo-kai?

I can’t trust him anymore, so I step out of line. Through the windowed walls, I can see him standing outside of the building, talking on the phone. At least he wasn’t lying about that.

I make my way toward him, walking as quietly as I can.

“Uh huh,” he says. “Yep. Red Rock Canyon for sure.” Another long pause. “I got one of their phones. We’ll get in.”

My stomach drops. A phone to get in somewhere? Like Kenzo’s penthouse?

The guns.They’re in the desert, aren’t they?

Shit!

“That works just peachy for me. Send your courier,” he says.

He clicks off the phone and spins around, striding toward the door. But he sees me and freezes in his tracks. His smile drops as he looks at me.

“What are you doing, Jay?” I ask. I step forward this time. “What’s your errand in the desert?”

“Nothing, sweetheart. Don’t you—”