Page 47 of Daring You

“I don’t care what Ash or anybody else does with their money,” she responds.

In a normal environment, Astor’s a chameleon I’m desperate to have reveal her true colors, but in this one, where she has Locke on one side, Carter and Lily behind her, and men who would kill to protect her protecting her flank, why would she….

Hmm.

“Where’s Mike?” I ask.

“God, what is with all of you and having those be the first words said to me as soon as I step over the threshold?”

I purse my lips and look to the ceiling. “Actually, my first words to you were, ‘did she just say Uncle Ben?’”

Astor glares at me.

“Which you promptly squished into a gutter,” I finish.

Unexpectedly, she puts a hand to her head. “I don’t know why I’m here. I shouldn’t have come.”

I grow serious. “Astor, what’s going on?”

“Nothing. Everything.”

The rest of the group still argue over restaurant logistics, and when that fails, Lily’s there to demand attention as she scoots under Ash’s feet and latches onto the chainlink draping across his hip. I take the chance and lean in closer to Astor, which—fool me twice.

My mind forgot about her smell, but my nose sure didn’t. Something flowery—roses—almost remembered from my forgotten childhood, coupled with a citrus tang. Simply delicious.

“Consider me your unbiased sounding board,” I say through the thick of her alluring scent. Before she can glare at me again, I add, “Or your potential opponent. Maybe that’s the better one.”

Astor takes a casual sip from her wine, but I notice the shake of her fingers as she sets the delicate glass back down. “You’re not unbiased. You don’t want me on this case.”

Unwillingly, I draw away. “So it’s about the SI Slaughters.”

“It’s the Delaney case now.”

My bones audibly creak inside my body as she tosses out my former last name like it means nothing. And it shouldn’t—there’s no reason for her to connect me. Still, I choose my next words carefully. “What’s got you all twisted up about it?”

She shakes her head. “I can’t tell you.”

“Because I don’t want you near that kind of danger? C’mon, Astor,” I say. “Your my best buddy’s sister. By that title alone, I want to help. By defending you and keeping you away from twisted, terrible—”

“It’s privileged information.”

I shut my mouth. “Oh. Right. That.”

She sighs. “I’m in a quandary. There’s information I have to maybe narrow something down, and I don’t know if I want to use it.”

I school my expression. “Go on.”

“Well, in thinking about the little boy, Ryan? I keep picturing Lily in my mind’s eye.”

We both divert our attention to Lily, who snagged a whisk and a few plastic bowls from Ash and was giving East a run for his money as he knocks out beats with the end of two spatulas and she spears the bowls like she’s the daughter of Tarzan.

I briefly look to Astor, and notice we’re wearing the same, doting smiles.

“I’d be utterly devastated if she were ever put in that position,” Astor says softly. “Not only that, but I think of all the things—illegal, questionable, immoral—all those things I’d do to keep her safe. And I can’t help but think, Ryan’s parents would want that, too. They wouldn’t want him to have to undergo the kind of scrutiny my firm could drag him through, grown adult now or not.”

As she speaks, each feature in my face goes as smooth and cold as the marble beneath her fingers. “What is it you know about Ryan?”

“Hey! You two.” Locke comes up between us and throws his arms around both our shoulders. “What’s with the secret clubhouse meeting?”

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