Page 124 of Daring You

I have Yang to thank for that. Never thought he would be my savior of the day.

Ben’s form comes into view as I round the last corner, and as he stands, it’s obvious I’m not doing enough to disguise my emotions. Damn it, he’s already cracking through my exterior.

“What’s up?” he says as I step up to him. “You don’t look—”

“Come with me.”

I grab his arm and take him to a second, private conference room just off the lobby, the one room not in line with this firm’s penchant for a fish bowl. It’s for VIPs, confidential clients, and confronting Ben.

“The dare,” I say when I shut the solid, wooden door and spin to face him. “It’s time to tell me the truth.”

“Astor, we’ve been through this.”

“No. Not really. Not since I’ve known who you really are.”

Ben rubs his index finger and thumb against his eyes. “You need to tell me where this is coming from.”

“I went into this office today willing to do anything in my power to keep you safe,” I say. “I would lie, cheat, and steal to keep your secret under wraps. I was willing to tell Yang I got the wrong Ben Donahue, to forge documents pointing to the death of another Ben Donahue—the real Ryan Delaney. I’d already had a person lined up who could give me those documents, so desperate was I to get you out of this terrifying spotlight.”

Ben’s hand drops from his face. “Holy shit. Seriously?”

“Yes, Ben.” God, I want to scream. Punch the clarity into him. “Everything in my power was yours. I am yours.”

“Honey, I know.” He takes a step forward.

“Don’t.”

“Astor, I—”

“I had to get a handle on my boss, on Taryn, on Mike, who God knows what he’d do with this information. I was scared out of my wits and didn’t care what would happen to me.”

“Why didn’t you tell me any of this?”

“Because I didn’t want to scare you, too,” I admit with a shaking voice. “More than you already were. I wanted to fix this pandora’s box I opened.”

“How many times to I have to tell you this isn’t your fault?”

“You can tell me now,” I say. “Now that it’s fixed. Yang’s deleted everything about you. He’s made up some story, at the extreme behest of the DOJ, that’s convinced Mike and Taryn that this was a goose chase. That I screwed up my research and it was never you in the first place. Mike, of course, thinks it’s a set-up to humiliate him, which I’ll let him believe since that’s a happy accident arising out of this clusterfuck.”

“Good. This is all good, right?”

“Yes. It’s amazing.” I pause to swallow. “Even better for you if it means I played right into your hands.”

“E-Excuse me?”

I decide to bit the hard, bitter bullet. “Did you use me this whole time?”

“Did I—? Astor, no.”

“Because all I have are my memories. And you used me back then.”

“No. I—okay.” Ben inhales. Nods. “I see where this is going now. Thank God. Not—I don’t mean I’m thankful this is happening, but I sure as fuck am relieved I finally understand this conversation.”

I cross my arms, a physical shield to the aching organ behind them.

“Do you remember a guy named Dodge?” Ben asks.

My brows come together. “What does he have to do with anything?”

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