Page 16 of The Truths that Deceive

Henry isn’t me. He’s still at school in New York. We used to hack together, but I took the fall because it was my encouragement, my rogue ways that got us caught. Henry… he has different ideas for his life, and getting locked up by the CIA or hurt by this cretin with the magic touch isn’t exactly on his vision board.

“Then behave,” Smith says.

“You touch him and I’ll gut you.”

The smirk deepens. “How about this? I’m going out and you will be good. The whole place is wired, and not even you can unlock it. But if you’re going to wreck my shit, I’ll handcuff you to the radiator. And then I’ll order someone to shoot your brother dead. Got it?”

I stare at him with intense dislike. “Yes.”

“Don’t wait up.”

And he’s gone. I throw the letter opener and it hits the door, embedding deep in the hardwood slats because it’s that sharp.

“You’re a fuck, Smith,” I mutter to the empty room. “And I’m going to make you pay.”

Chapter 5

Smith

Itake the freshly rolled cigarette from its white gold case and place it between my lips before lighting it. Then, with the cigarette hanging out of my mouth, I open the umbrella and swing it up to obscure my face. Not that I really need to do that. No one’s after me.

That I know of.

But this way I can keep tabs on the area in relative cover, make sure we weren’t followed. I stop and stand with my back against a wall, the cigarette still in my mouth while I dial Jones’s number.

He answers after two rings. “What the fuck are you doing in the rain, Smith?”

I glance around, noting the few cars, and who, if anyone, is in them. There aren’t many people on the street, so that works mostly for me. “Smoking.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be on vacation?”

“A job came up.”

“Another one?”

Of course he’d heard about the one with Reaper. And heknows I only smoke on a job, when needed for appearance’s sake. “Can we find out what the big guys are up to in Germany?”

He pauses. “CIA?”

“Can we?”

“That’s your arena.”

“I’ve got a meeting set up. But…” Fuck. My phone has so much protective shit on it I highly doubt even the CIA can listen in.

But maybe Calista could. Her resume and rap sheet suggest she could do it in her sleep, but she can’t access any of her tools right now. I’ve got her phone, and I locked her hardware away in the safe.

Of course, if she can listen in, others can, too.

“I’ll get someone on it.”

Jones doesn’t need to say discreetly. He doesn’t have to. The Obsidian Knights deal in discreet.

He drones on about some bullshit job. A girl he’s trying to find, one who was taken recently and sold into sex slavery. Probably bought and sold five times over from what he’s saying. My heart might not be much, but it squeezes tight.

I’m incredibly aware we could be discussing Dakota, my daughter. And I should be furious at one of my closest friends and fellow Knight, Orion, for sleeping with her after rescuing her from the Collectors. But I also know Orion genuinely loves her and he’ll keep her safe.

Not that I get a say. I lost that right long before I even knew I had a child.

---