Page 26 of Ugly Truths
I stiffen, my grip tightening on the phone. “You were with Elena?”
“Yes.” He replies, tone calm. “She wants to make a deal.”
“We already knewthat. I said no.”
“She'll talk.” Davey blatantly ignores my response. “She wants Luis safe and to speak to Natalie.”
Every muscle in my body coils. “Are you insane? She's going to try to use Natalie against us—to guilt her into—”
“I'm not saying we trust her blindly,” Davey interrupts. “She's desperate for us to let Luis go, and whether we like it or not, she knows more than we do. If we play this right, we can get what we need from both of them.”
“Or we could force it out of her,” I counter through my teeth.
Davey lets out an audible breath. “Why make things messier than they need to be? She's going to cooperate, and we can avoid getting our hands dirty.”
I rake my fingers through my hair, frustration swirling in my chest. “And you just decided to handle this without telling me?”
“I wanted to see what her angle was before bringing you back into it.” His words are almost clinical. “You're too close to this to see her clearly.”
The words sting, but he's right. My judgment has been clouded ever since she introduced herself to me at that art exhibit. Still, the idea of Davey playing mediator between us grates against every nerve.
“What did she say about Luis?” I ask, forcing my voice to stay steady.
“She wants to get him home,” Davey answers. “And honestly? He's more useful to us alive. If we can leverage his cooperation, he could help decrypt the servers. They were already trying to access them before, so it's not a stretch.”
I exhale sharply, a sudden weight pressing down on me. “Fine. But Natneeds to know what happened, bare minimum.”
“Agreed.” Davey's voice takes on a new edge that only exists for my sister. “She's still hurt that Elena never even called her. It'll be the closure she needs to move on.”
“And what do we do about Elena now?” I ask, fingers rubbing the muscles in my jaw so hard that the joint cracks.
“She's been tied to a chair half a day,” Davey replies bluntly. “Hungry, thirsty, probably in pain. Natalie won't take kindly to seeing her like that.I told Cillian to move her to a long-term room, give her a meal, and let her shower. Cora is helping.”
His calm, practical tone only fuels my irritation. “You're advocating for her now?”
“I'm advocating for what's effective,” Davey shoots back. “This isn't about her or you. It's about the bigger picture. You know that.”
Any retort I have is lost on my tongue, leaving a bitter aftertaste.
“Fine,” I say finally. “But I want to talk to Natalie before she sees her.”
“Of course,” Davey promises. “I'm sending the IT team back to the office and will head home early to talk to her. We'll bring her down when she feels ready to. Just try to keep your head on straight until then. We can't afford for emotions to get in the way right now.”
The line goes dead, and I drop the phone onto my desk with a sigh.
For months, Davey was her biggest critic, the first to warn me, the one who insisted something about her felt off, even when he couldn't explain why. And now that we finally know the truth and he was right, he's the one going soft?
What the hell did she say to manipulate the one person I thought was impenetrable to her lies? Is it because Natalie misses her? Maybe he'll smarten up if Natalie is as pissed as I am once she knows everything.
Or maybe this is exactly what Elena wants. Natalie will want to see the best in her, and that will put Davey in a position he hates: choosing between his wife and me. He'll choose her, as he should, but fuck. Just this once, I wish he wouldn't.
Chapter 12
Elena
Based on the meals I’ve been served, I’ve been in this room for two days and left with nothing but my own thoughts.
I don’t know if that’s the point—if they’re waiting for me to break from the lack of human contact, if Silas rejected my deal and they’re trying to figure out what to do with me, or maybe Natalie decided she didn’t want to see me after all. Which is, honestly, more than fair.
