Page 68 of Flame
“It’s a stupid idea,” he warns, averting his gaze.
“But it’s not like we have a better one. You’re asuspect,” I point out. “We don’t have a lot of options. And if Branden—” I can’t even say it. The pain is still there, waiting to overwhelm me at any moment. The tears are still falling.
But I choose to focus on what I can change. I’m tired of cowering in my brother’s shadow. Sighing, I stroke my thumb across the back of Rafe’s hand. “Do you have an idea or not?”
“Everything points back to Gino’s club,” he says finally, his tone grim. “The motherfucker is hiding something, and if Ace is anywhere near right…then, it’s bad. The kind of shit I’d have to be an idiot to get you into. No—” He snatches his hand away, gripping the steering wheel. “I’m not getting you involved in this.”
“I want answers as much as you do.” I’m surprised by how desperate I sound—and I am in every sense of the word. Desperate for clarity. For the truth. For answers. With a trembling hand, I swipe at my tears and fight to keep my voice steady. “I can’t live like this anymore. So tell me what you’re thinking.”
“Fine,” he growls in defeat. “You mentioned Faith’s friend—”
“Lylah,” I blurt, remembering the name Liam had used. “I think she spoke to the police as well.”
“Well, if we can get her or one of the girls still working there to talk to us, maybe they could give us something worth taking to the cops. Something worth dragging Ace by his hair until he gives us everything we need, at least.”
I wince in sympathy for the scrawny hacker, but then another thought comes to me. “Wasn’t there a fire? Won’t it be closed—”
“Like Gino would let that stop him,” Rafe remarks with a harsh laugh. “I’m sure he’s holed up somewhere. If we could find out where and get in, we could…”
“But Gino would never let you walk through his front door,” I point out, envisioning how their last meeting went. For emphasis, I brush my hand along Rafe’s still bruised jaw.
“You’re right,” he says softly, stroking his fingers over mine. “He wouldn’t letme. But if we could use a decoy…”
“Like me?”
He glowers at the mere idea of it. “Hell no. You clean up nicely and all, bunny, but no. Don’t even think about it—”
“I’ll do it.”
“No.” He palms the steering wheel while shifting the car into drive. From the set of his jaw, I can tell that he’s more than ready to leave this conversation behind.
But something inside me won’t let him balk so easily. “Are you afraid that I’ll succeed where you couldn’t?”
His shoulders slump in defeat as he shakes his head. “I’m afraid you’ll get hurt.”
“Then we can do this together,” I suggest. “To keep you out of jail and get justice for Faith. Or we sit around and let Gino, and whoever else is behind this, skip away scot-free.”
Or allow Branden to get away with murder a second time.
As stubborn as he is, even Rafe scowls at the prospect. “Okay. But first, we need to do some shopping—” he casts a disapproving glance my way. “You won’t be needing a sweater where you’re going.”
I try not to flinch at the ominous tone. Instead, I wipe away the rest of my tears and face forward. “I’m ready.”
