Page 211 of On a Fault Line

“I had a copy arrive at my residence a few days ago.”

“Something’s not right…”

“That’s the understatement of the fucking century,” he snaps. “Of course, something’s not right.”

“Did you read it?”

“No. Well, not any details.” He grinds his teeth together. “But I saw enough.”

No wonder he’s so adamant about getting me away from Penny.

“It was consensual,” I say, but my words fall flat even to me.

“She was coerced.”

“I assure you, she wasn’t.”

“How could you put in writing what your intentions were with my sister? One hundred days? Are you fucking kidding me? She’s my baby sister!”

“She’s a woman, Graham.”

“Stay away from her.”

“I will for now. At least until this mission is over…”

“Penny’s roommate is acting super suspicious too.”

Luke? “How so? I had him checked out multiple times and there were no red flags.”

“He is convinced that Penny thinks Nic or I have hired him to spy on her.”

I allow that perspective to roll around in my head. “Well, that would make sense.”

“Except we didn’t.”

“She was supposed to have a female roommate, and then Luke showed up.”

I can hear Graham’s exaggerated sigh. “But we didn’t hire him. Nic and I both agreed to be less intrusive than we have been in the past. That’s why we hired you to be the source of her safety without providing us the unnecessary details. And we both know that was a bad decision.”

“Whatever, man. At some point you’re going to need to see things from my perspective and acknowledge that I’ve kept your sister safe when she was under my care.”

“So Luke’s not on anyone from your side’s payroll?”

“No.”

“I can’t think straight.”

I glance at the GPS, feeling very uneasy. My instincts never lie, and everything about this entire mission feels like it’s about to blow up in my face.

It feels like I’m about to be set up.

Going to prison would be one way to keep me away from Penny—permanently.

No.

It doesn’t matter how mad Graham and Nic are at me, there’s no way they would try to put me behind bars.

“And at some point, you’re going to have to come to the realization that Penny is no longer a kid.”

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