Page 92 of Burning Your Lies

His eyes don’t move from my face. “I came to replace the wires you destroyed.”

I turn to Rowan. “Send the contract over and I will look over it.” I stand up and collect my bag. Unable to stop myself, I stop alongside Xavier. “You look rather stressed.”

“The world is going to forget about all this.”

“For as long as I am alive, I’m going to remind them of what a psychopath you really are. You cannot run. You cannot hide. You’ve spent more than a decade hiding in the shadows. But the flames are burning bright right behind you. And when you catch fire, the world will truly see you.”

“Red or white?” I call out from the kitchen.

Brynn hums as she contemplates. “Red!”

With the chilled bottle and two glasses in my hand, I join her in the living room. Elise is settled in the middle of the room with all of her toys spilled around her. I pour the wine, hand one to Brynn, and settle into my seat. “Does he know you’re here?”

She takes a gulp of her drink. “He still thinks I’m spying for him.”

I can’t help but worry that she might be double-crossing me. “You’re not actually going to help him, are you?”

She rolls her eyes. “Fuck no. I’ll feed him useless bits of information so he doesn’t clue on.AndI changed her clothes in the car and left her buggy and bag in the car. You know … just in case.” Brynn is the best partner in crime. She thinks of things before my brain can comprehend what is happening in front of me.

“Where did Huxley find you?”

“If I tell you, I’d have to kill you.”

I can’t quite tell if she’s joking or not, so I drop the subject. “I’ve got Rowan where I need him. Scottie has given the police all the evidence I shared with her.”

“What about Huxley? Are you guys…” She doesn’t finish her question.

I shrug my shoulders, hoping if I pretend I don’t care, I will eventually convince myself. “We’re okay. It’s kind of like I’m renting a room from him. It’s fine.”

Brynn rolls her eyes again. “I hope you have a better poker face with Xavier, because I can see right through your bullshit right now. If he wants to join the game again, why don’t you let him? We could do with some more manpower. And he is our eyes inside of XR Securities now that you’ve quit.”

I tip the rest of my drink down my throat in one go. “We don’t need XR Securities anymore. But we will need Francesca.”

Disgust is clear on her face. “She’s so fucking boring.”

I can’t help but feel defensive over my friend. Francesca is not boring. She’s one of the few lucky enough to live a normal life. She has family and friends. Unlike us, her days aren’t spent planning cold-hearted revenge. She lives a normal life, and that is all I wish for myself.

“I like Francesca. She’s nice.” I study Brynn.

At first glance, you are swept away by her gentle beauty. Her ocean eyes and red hair clash but work for her features. When you look closely, though, you see how lifeless her eyes are. I can’t help but wonder why she would risk her life to help us.

“Do you miss your friends?”

“Not really.”

“What about your family?”

“All dead.”

Ouch.“That must have been really hard. How old were you when they died?”

Her unimpressed stare is directed at me. “I don’t really do the heart-to-heart shit. They died, and I felt nothing. I pretended to be sad because that is what society expects. But it was like any other day to me. People are born and then they die. It’s the cycle of life. I don’t know why we spend so much fucking time crying over what we know is coming.” She speaks as though the topic is the weather. As she inspects her nails, I wonder how she’s so good at faking emotions when she clearly has none.

“Sorry for asking.”

She lets out a groan. “I’m probably going to have sex with him tonight.”

The complete switch in subject and the revulsion on her face make me laugh. “He wasn’t that bad in bed.”

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