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CHAPTER TWELVE

ST. CLARE

Today has taken a wild goddamn turn, and I’m still not sure how I feel about it. Could it actually be possible that Perry wants to team up? He was fast to suggest it, which makes me think it could be a plan of his to get close to me and finish the job, but if that was the case … why didn’t he finish it last night?

Apparently, it’s not hard to get access to me, so would an elaborate plan be necessary?

It’s a stretch.

“What do you think?” Lars asks the second we’re in the hall alone.

“Does it matter? You’ve basically already agreed.”

“I think it could work.”

“Why?” Out of the two of us, I thought he’d be the one who needed the most convincing. “You were ready to kill the guy a few moments ago, and now you want to team up with him?”

“Because if they really are after him, we can use that.”

“How?”

“By offering him in a trade. Perry in exchange for information on your brother.”

Well, that’s an angle I hadn’t thought of. “And how do I make this trade when they also want me dead? ”

“That’s the part we need to figure out. Did the people after him see you?”

I think back to the alleyway. The door was mostly between me and the direction the shots came from, but I don’t think it would have blocked enough of me from their sight. “Probably.”

“Damn.”

“So, how do we do this? Call Yanni and tell him we’ve got his man, and if he wants him, he owes us Colin and needs to promise to leave me alone?”

Lars runs both hands back through his tight curls. “When you put it like that …” He glances at my office door. “They’ll never go for it.”

“Why?”

“You really think he’s worth all that?”

“Depends how much they paid him for me.”

Lars’s expression tightens as he thinks, and I give him space to do it. He’s a smart guy, and I’ve always appreciated his opinion on things, but trading Perry? Just handing him over to someone who wants him killed?

“It also might not be Yanni …” Lars mutters. “God, there are so many fucking variables.”

“Unfortunately for us, we need to figure it out because there’s only so long we can keep him handcuffed to that chair.”

“You’re right.” I’m almost shocked that he agrees. “We’ll move him to your desk next.”

That checks out. “I mean that we can’t leave him handcuffed at all.”

“You want to let a murderer free?”

“I doubt he’s ever murdered anyone.”

Lars’s eyes bug out. “How the hell can you know that?”

“He told me.”

“We believe him now?”

“I’m sorry, did that guy in there scream criminal genius to you?”

That derails some of Lars’s confidence. “Maybe not, but he’s proved he’s capable of anything. ”

He has, which is why I’m so fucking at war with myself. The obvious answer to all of this is to get rid of him before he gets a chance to kill us first, but it feels like the equivalent of offing a helpless animal. A baby animal, which makes it even worse.

“Fucking hell, Reilly.” Lars laughs. “You still want to sleep with him, don’t you?”

I shrug. “Silver linings and all that?”

“So, what? He fucks you, then kills you?”

I frown, disturbed by that image. “Come on. That man is clearly a bottom.”

“My mistake. You fuck him, then he kills you.”

“Give and take is important in a relationship.”

Lars groans, then turns around and face-plants into the wall. “Was I getting too good at my job? Is that why you’re testing me?”

“We could argue that both times, I’ve needed saving, I’ve had to do it myself, which would tell me that you’re actually the opposite to being good at your job.”

“Fuck you.”

“It’s so hard to find good help these days.” I lean back against the wall beside him and cross my arms. The music downstairs is low, making it quieter up here than I’m used to.

“We have to use him,” Lars pushes. “If there’s even the slightest chance that he could figure out what happened to Colin, we need to take it. I don’t think it’s a coincidence at all that you were with him when he was attacked. He was supposed to be here.”

So that we could use him as bait, apparently.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m team get my brother back through any means necessary, but is Perry really the answer? From the little I know about him, he’s just as likely to screw that up as anything else in his life, and trading people doesn’t really feel like the kind of deal you’d want to be sloppy on.

“This is feeling kind of trafficky to me.”

Lars is silent for a while. “Yeah, I get that.”

Every day that passes with no answer is another day without Colin. At this point, I’m struggling to hold on to hope that he’s not dead. Worry is a heavy rock in my gut, constantly reminding me that I’m missing a part of my life.

But Lars is right. What if it isn’t Yanni?

Seems unlikely, considering what an asshole he’s been and that he’s made vague threats about the fact we won’t like what comes next. I can now confirm he’s right about that. I don’t like this one bit.

“I think … our first step needs to be figuring out who wants me dead.”

“Okay.”

“When we know that, we can work out how to handle them. As soon as those people are off my case, I can get back to looking for Colin.”

“That makes sense. Let me guess: we need Perry to work out who hired him?”

“Correct.”

Lars doesn’t look any happier about that than I am, but not for the same reasons. “How the fuck do we put up with … all that?”

“He’s an acquired taste.”

“If you say so. What do we do with him?”

“At this rate …” I’m not even sure myself. “I think we have to trust him.”

“Awesome. I’ve always wanted to be shot in my sleep.”

“Does he even have his gun?”

That shuts Lars up. “I’ll check him when we go back in.”

“All right. Well, if he doesn’t have it on him, I’d say we’re okay to remove the cuffs?”

“I … guess.”

I grab Lars’s arm and give it a supportive squeeze. “Seriously, thank you. I’d be a scared ball in the corner if I didn’t have you.”

He manages a half smile. “I’m worried.”

“I know …” I’m trying to figure out how to make him feel better when an idea hits me. “Read me our horoscopes for today.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, go for it. ”

Lars lets out a heavy sigh and pulls his phone from his pocket before opening his go-to app. “Hmm …”

“What does it say?”

“Apparently, you can’t try to control everything today, or it will blow up in your face.” His jaw tightens. “You need to go with the flow and try not to take things too seriously.”

I have no fucking clue what to say to that. “Eerily on the nose.”

“What happened to not believing in them?”

“It’s hard to argue the point when I want to know what the hell I do about the handcuffed assassin, and the Capricorn daily horoscope is to go with the flow and see what happens. What’s yours?”

Lars groans and clicks over. “I already read it.”

“And?”

“And I don’t think I want you to know.”

“Why?”

He lifts his phone so I can read.

Way to go, Taurus. Today is all about meeting new friends and being open to new experiences. There’s a lot of uncertainty in your life at the moment, but if you let your kind spirit guide you and follow through on your promises, you can’t go wrong!

My eyebrows must meet my hairline. “New friends?”

“Shut up.”

It’s hard not to laugh in total disbelief. “I wonder what Perry’s is.”

“We’re not going there.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t want to know.”

I bite my lip against the most not-me thought I’ve ever had. “Let’s make a deal. If his is as on the nose as both of ours, we’ll let him hide out with us. If it’s something random like traffic or money or family or whatever, we send him on his way. Deal?”

“ You , Reilly St. Clare, are going to trust our fate to the stars?”

I wrinkle my nose. “Don’t ever say it like that again.”

“Sorry, but this moment is feeling like a win for me.”

“It isn’t. ”

“Maybe this is what my horoscope meant about uncertainty. It’s like I don’t even know you anymore.”

“Got a better idea?” I throw back.

“Nope.”

“Then let’s do it.”

Lars pulls me back so that he can go in first. Perry is still in the chair, only he’s propped his feet up on the side of my desk and is rocking back and forth on the chair’s back legs.

“Having fun?” I ask.

“I was starting to think you weren’t coming back and was working on a plan B. I think better when I pace, but this will have to do.”

“What star sign are you?” Lars asks.

“Aries, why?”

He huffs in a way that tells me he should have guessed that. For … reasons, I guess? I have no idea what an Aries is supposed to be like, but I’m guessing it’s Perry.

“For fuck’s sake,” Lars mutters before handing over his phone.

Your luck is here, Aries! You’ve had a rocky few days, and you’re in for a close call or two, but you’re finally on the right path. Today is your day to ask for what you want, knowing it will be a yes. It’s time to take those yeses and spin them into gold, the way only you can do!

Close call or two? Ask for what you want?

Well, if that’s not specific enough for us, nothing is.

Lars is watching me, and I shrug. “We did say if it was relevant …”

“Well, fuck me.” Lars pulls a small set of keys out of his pocket and walks over to Perry. Before he unlocks the handcuffs, he spends a moment patting down his jeans—I’m assuming to make sure he doesn’t have a weapon on him.

“What is it?” Perry asks. “What did it say?”

“Today’s your lucky day.”

His whole face lights up. “I knew it. I had a feeling about today.”

Lars gives a wild look to the back of Perry’s head as he moves around to unlock the cuffs. “You had a feeling you were going to be shot at?”

“Of course not. I just woke up knowing I was going to like today.”

“You like being shot at and handcuffed to a chair?”

Perry, rubbing his suddenly free wrists, scowls. “You know, it’s like you’re deliberately misunderstanding me.”

“Why would I do that?” Lars flicks a look my way. “We’re friends now.”

“Really?”

I swear it’s killing Lars not to say no. “Well, we’ll see.”

Perry stands, hands stretching high overhead, wrists red raw. Then he reaches for the cup of water and takes a long sip. “Okay, so first, I need to be fed and to get out of these pants. After that, we work out what to do next.”