Page 56 of Lust
When Evan and Sloan sauntered in with a mobile tattoo kit, Liza understood. They were going to use the bio-indicator ink on Daisy. Having the yin-yang tattoo was just one level of secrecy they could peel away from her. The ink would show everyone just how close she was to blacking out, if she was a risk, or if it was all a lie.
“This is going to take some time,” Parker said, and then looked at Liza. “You should go to work.” He stood and guided Liza to the door, not even giving her a chance to say goodbye, but Liza knew better than to publicly dispute him. He almost always had a valid reason. She didn’t have to like it to know it came from good, or smart, intentions.
At the elevator, she murmured, “What is it?”
His brow furrowed in a surprising show of concern. “Be careful.”
“Me?”
He nodded.
“Don’t worry, I feel more in control this morning. I’ll keep my hands to myself, and I have a backup plan if shit goes down. I’ll be fine once I see Joe.”
“Will you?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It’s not exactly comforting to see a Fed walk out of a known criminal organization’s headquarters in a dark mood.”
Liza flinched. She hated it when he called their family criminal, but it was true. “He’ll be fine. He just needs to process.”
An indignant eyebrow shot up. “It’s Joe.”
“Exactly.”
“You know, on second thought, you should be heading straight to the basement and working on your control. One slip at the precinct and you give us all away, even if your mate decides to keep our secrets to himself. You need to seriously consider if it’s time to give up the day job.”
“What?”
“You heard me. Tony’s done it, and he was balancing both lives well enough. You’veneverbeen capable of balancing your alter egos. So you’ll have to pick one. Time for you to get into your suit. I’m almost finished with upgrades to handle your poison. We’re going to get the information we need from Daisy and then shit is going to happen. Are you in?”
Pain shot in her teeth from the tightness of her clenched jaw. How could he say that? How could he make demands?
“You know I’m right,” he said. “We’ve let you entertain thoughts of a real career, but I think it’s clear you’re a Lazarus. You can’t run from it.”
“Fuck you, Parker.”
“I’ll meet you downstairs in ten.”
18
A flyer was slammedonto Joe’s desk.
He looked up and found Letisha from admin. She waggled her eyebrows and glanced at the flyer.
“What do you say, Loochie? You joining the team?”
“Stop asking me.” He shifted the flyer away. “I’m not part of this precinct anymore. I’m just visiting. Find someone else to join your—what is this?” He squinted at the flyer. “Softball?”
She nodded emphatically. “You haven’t played in years.”
“That’s because I left the city,” he replied drolly.
“Don’t take that tone with me, Mr. Snarky Pants.” She snatched the flyer back. “It’s the least you can do since you cost us our best player.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Liza pulled out.”
