Page 66 of Wretched Lies

Straightening up quickly, I glare at Reid.

“What do you need?” he asks. He makes it sound like he’s talking to his brothers, but his lip quirks and his eyes stay on me. And his hand keeps moving.

I mouth my reply. “Stop.”

“I was hoping Quinn could tell us that,” says Ash. “What do we need to know?”

As much as I’d love Reid to take my mind somewhere else, I place both hands over Reid’s to still his movements.

I’ll need to pick my way carefully through this conversation. I’ll always put Blake first, but I want to be on the right side of this battle, and I’m not completely under Ilya’s thrall. If I’m being forced to play a part in his game, the least I can do is make it a level playing field for the Griffins.

I tug on Reid’s hand and he releases me from my torment. He sucks his slick fingers, and I scowl at him before turning my attention to the console and the three brothers who aren’t going to be so easily satisfied.

“My name is Jade Holloway,” I say, fixing the hem of my dress. “I’m from Boston, and I was just your average office worker until Ilya took Blake from me. She’s the only family I have.”

“And what about Strider?” asks Mace. “What’s his name and background?”

“That’s not my secret to tell, but I promise you, he’s on your side.”

Mace shoots off his next question without hesitation. “And are you on our side, Quinn?”

Reid stiffens. “What the hell, Mace?”

“It’s a fair question,” he replies. “Have you asked her why she got the gardener fired yet?”

The air in the car feels suddenly oppressive, and I can’t breathe. I don’t want to repeat my lies, but telling them thatI’ve been doing Ilya’s bidding is an admission of betrayal. And Mace is already suspicious of me.

Reid must see the guilt written all over my face. He can’t hold my gaze, and returns his focus to the road. His hands tighten around the steering wheel. “We haven’t talked about him yet,” he tells Mace.

Green fields and dense woodland pass in a blur. “How do you know what happened with Jason?” I ask, stalling for time.

“I went to speak to him this morning,” Reid says. “I heard he’d been fired. And why.”

Horror and shame rock me at the thought of Reid hunting Jason down to defend my honor. “Did you hurt him?”

When Reid winces, it’s not the reaction I want. As if I didn’t feel bad enough.

“It didn’t come to that, but I might have scared him just a bit,” he explains.

“Reid!”

He glares back at me. “What was I supposed to do? I thought he’d assaulted you, Quinn!” he argues. His mouth twists as he struggles with his next question. “Did he? Or was there another reason you had him chased out of town?”

I press my hand to my burning cheek. “I didn’t have a choice,” I whisper.

“You’re going to have to explain that to us,” Hunter says.

I wait until Reid’s eyes are on me again, steadying me, if only for a little while. “Ilya knew my real identity. He’s known for a while,” I say. “And he confronted me the other night, when I had dinner with him.”

“Did he threaten you?” asks Reid.

I shake my head. “Not directly. But he enjoys playingmind games.” I bow my head, the next part is going to be humiliating, but to hell with Ilya’s warnings about not talking to the Griffins. There are things they need to know. Some of those things might end up in the public domain anyway. “He knew everything about me, and…”

As I stare down at my lap, Reid reaches for my hand. Our fingers entwine, and I concentrate on his touch. Blocking out everything and everyone else, I answer as if it’s just the two of us.

“He knew how involved I’d become with you. He even knew you were in the house the other night.” I take a breath to steel myself. “He has a video of us. In the kitchen. He said he’s going to upload it, presumably to a porn site.”

Reid squeezes my hand tightly. “We’ll get it taken down.”