Page 48 of Dissension

Awkwardly, Kara rubs the back of her neck. “You know how he is. He just…weasels his way close. And he’s so personable when he puts his mind to it.” And funny. And fun. And gorgeous-

Pity briefly flashes across Gale’s features. “I do know. That’s why I warned you to keep a wall up at all times. Now, you’re wearing a collar. He’s holding the leash.” Gale’s voice is serious before she departs. “I hope you see that, friend.”

Chapter 19

Since they drove together from his house to the docks in the morning, it’s no real surprise when Dieter gives her the keys after he finally pulls himself away from his various cronies. He grins disarmingly, saying, “I’m drunk.”

He’s notthatbad off, but he has a point.

Kara takes the Mercedes keys and says dryly, “Andlazy.” It’s why he has a contracted driver take him places more often than not.

With care, Kara sinks into the luxury leather of the driver seat, sighing as her hands go around the steering wheel. Within moments, he’s in the passenger seat, ready to go. She would have smacked him if he got in the back and pretended she was his chauffeur.

He fiddles with the stereo, pairing it with his phone to play whatever strikes his fancy. Within moments, a dance club cover ofNo Scrubsblasts out of the speakers, Dieter singing along, bringing a wry smile to Kara’s face. It’s a good song, with a deep beat, and Kara finds herself singing along with him.

The sun is going down as they cruise back towards his estate.

“You had fun?” He asks her offhand, lounging in his seat, legs spread, right arm hanging out the window.

“As fun as one can have, being treated as a piece of meat between two numbskulls,” Kara replies. She gives him a look. “You didn’t need to bait Nick like that. He doesn’t-”

“Doesn’t deserve it?” Dieter finishes for her, eyebrows raised in amusement. “Are you sure? I mean. Think of how youmet.”

Scowling, Kara focuses back on the road, not wanting to get into this with him. “I should have never told you that.” Maybe Nick deserves to be uncomfortable, but based on theconversations Kara heard about Dieter, he deserves some discomfort in his life too.

Tanking someone’s business on purpose? An act that ended up driving them to commit suicide? The idea of it makes her sick and uneasy. She doesn’t want to think that he’s capable of being so vindictive, but Kara knows in her heart thathe is.

Like mother, like son.

She blinks the words away. Harmful speculation can’t be treated as truth in a court of law.

Dieter must be on a nicotine kick today because he starts lighting up yetanothercigarette. Irritated by his earlier comment, Kara rolls down the windows as she zooms them back towards his home. “Could you not?! Blow that shit out the window, you ass!”

Laughing, Dieter does as she commands, exhaling his current vice of choice out into the dusk air.

In the distance, the grand trees loom, along with the various large estates hidden within, off the long winding road.

It’s dark when Kara parks the car in front of Dieter’s well-lit estate. The statues in the front of the opulent entrance hold out elaborate lanterns, providing a warm glow across the yawning path. As Kara turns off the car, Dieter slings his arm around the back of her seat, leaning over to-

“Don’t try that boyfriend shit on me, you reek of ashtray!” Kara wrinkles her nose and waves her hand in front of her face, as if to remove a particular stench from her vicinity.

He pauses, eyes unreadable in the shadow, near black in the dark. Dieter’s voice is low, husky. “Later? If I’m good?”

Kara glances at his mouth, bites her lip in restraint, and doesn’t answer.

She determines to wait an hour or so before driving home, knowing the traffic into the city is going to be an absolute parking lot. Leaving her bag of things in the front hall, Kara goes into the artfully pale sitting room, a space so sparkling cream and white and silver that it almost makes her afraid to sit in its presence.

Dieter is offsomewhere, so she amuses herself by snooping, as she is fond of doing in moments such as these. She starts on her phone, casually searching for old interviews with Saoirse Bittinger, wanting to see her. There are various videos out there, with a very young woman with a stunning grin and bright green eyes, charming the pants off whoever puts their microphone in her face.

There’s nothing there to insinuate some monstrous, wicked woman under it all. Her mannerisms remind Kara of Dieter. The smile is nearly identical…but the eyes. There’s someoffthere. Something Kara can’t put her finger on.

She flicks off her phone and moves on to something else, not wanting to be caught randomly watching videos of his mother. How awkward would that be?Oh yeah. Your friends insinuated that she killed a woman, so I wanted to see what she’s like.

The large centerpiece table holds storage under its marble top, and when she peeks inside, she sees old photo albums. “Goldmine,” Kara says to herself, pulling a few out. They’re old, looking decades old without much love.

The first album appears to be images of Dieter’s father and his various estates. Grand images of beautiful homes, amazing properties, old portraits of what must be grandparents. Kara puts that to the side, finding one with images of a fey-looking boy grinning into the camera with missing front teeth. The whitest hair and the palest of green eyes. It can only be Dieter.

“I see you found some blackmail material,” Dieter quips as he enters the room, appearing unbothered by the prospect of herlooking at childhood photos. “Let me know if there’s anything good in there. I quite forgot those existed.” He comes bearing a tray of deep berry-colored smoothies with gobs of whipped cream on top in big parlor glasses.

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