Page 86 of Can You Take It?

The mention of her father hits a nerve, and Luna’s restrained anger explodes. She snaps against the restraints. When she finally gives up the futile struggle, she resorts to hurting me in a different way.

“You don’t get it, do you? My father would never intentionally want to hurt someone. Can you say the same, Izel?”

“What's that supposed to mean?” I shoot back, but there’s a slight tremor in my voice that I can’t quite hide. I’m confused, and Luna picks up on it immediately.

A twisted smile tugs at her lips. “Oh, come on, you think I don’t know why you tried to plant yourself as a suspect?”

“How did you—” The question slips out before I can stop it. Luna’s not a profiler, so how the hell did she figure that out? My thoughts are a jumbled mess, and all I can do is try to regain some control. “Stick to your day job, Luna. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, but I do,” she says, her tone almost condescending. “You wanted to involve Richard, didn’t you? Direct him to Hollowbrook so that he could do your dirty work for you. You’re so focused on revenge that you don’t care who you drag down with you.”

I can feel the urge to defend myself, to shut her up, but instead, I lean into it. If she’s going to play this game, I’ll give her what she wants—sort of.

“He’s a federal agent, Luna. Taking one worthless life isn’t going to hurt him.” I try to keep my voice cold, as if I really believe that. “He’s seen worse. Done worse. And if taking out some scum saves more lives, it’s a win, isn’t it?”

“It’s not about whether he can do it. It’s about what it’ll do to him. Richard’s taken lives before, but every single one of them has weighed on him. He carries that guilt like a boulder on his back, and it’s not something you just brush off, no matter how ‘worthless’ you think that life is.”

“FBI agents are taught that human life is sacred,” Luna continues, her tone turning almost lecturing. “They drill it into you from day one—‘above all, preserve life.’ You start making exceptions, telling yourself it’s okay to take a life here or there, and it changes you. It breaks you. Richard’s a good man, andyou’re asking him to cross a line that he’ll never come back from.”

I try to shrug off her words because I can’t let her see the truth—can’t let her know my plan’s already changed.

“You’re hurting Richard. Don’t think I haven’t noticed. What’s your endgame here? Dragging everyone down with you?”

I scoff, pushing away from the crate. “Richard can handle himself. And my ‘endgame’? Let’s just say I have my reasons, Luna, reasons you wouldn’t understand.”

“I may not know everything, but I know enough. You’re so consumed by your need for revenge that you’re forgetting what really matters. Richard… he cares about you. But if you keep using him like this, if you keep manipulating him to do your dirty work, you’re going to lose him. And when that happens, you won’t just be losing him—you’ll be losing the last bit of humanity you have left.”

“Save your psychoanalysis for someone who gives a damn,” I roll my eyes.

“You know, Izel, for someone who claims to have it all figured out, you’re doing a shitty job at understanding what’s right in front of you,”

I clench my jaw, refusing to let her get under my skin. Luna, with her sharp tongue and unfiltered honesty, is a constant thorn in my side. But this time, her words cut a little too close to the bone.

Luna leans forward. “You’re hurting Richard, and you damn well know it. He’s in love with you. In-fucking-love.”

The truth is resonating in a way I can’t ignore. Luna is pushing the right buttons to unnerve me.

“Everyone else might be a fuck-up, but you’re no saint either,” she continues. “You threaten me when I’m ready to side with you.”

“Side with me? You must think I’m an idiot. You’re just as likely to stab me in the back.”

“I’m not your enemy. You think you’re protecting yourself, but all you’re doing is isolating yourself. You need to let Richard in. He cares about you, more than you realize. You need allies, not more enemies.”

“Let Richard in?” I scoff, shaking my head to the side. “What, he’s gonna throw away his career just to play Bonnie and Clyde with me?”

Luna doesn’t answer.

“Tell me, Luna,” I continue. “Is Richard going to turn a blind eye to everything I’ve done? Is he going to lie for me, cover up for me?”

Luna’s silence stretches, and I can see the conflict in her eyes. She doesn’t have the answers because we both know Richard wouldn’t. He’s too righteous, too committed to his job.

“You see?” I press on. “Even you can’t answer that. Because we both know Richard would never give up his badge for anyone, let alone me.”

A silence falls between us, and I look away.

“You don’t understand,” I continue. “Every time I look at him, I see the life I can’t have. The person I can never be. He represents everything good in this world, and I’m a constant reminder of its ugliness.”

“So what?” Luna snaps. “You think you’re doing him a favor by shutting him out? By not giving him the choice to stand by you?”

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