Page 69 of Confession
“I think they know. About us. I think that’s why Cecilia thought it would work.”
“How would they know? We haven’t been together in front of …” He trails off as he comes to the same conclusion that I’ve also reached. “The night Cohen took me in.”
“I was pretty obvious.”
He fiddles with his coffee cup. “Looking back … yeah.”
“You somehow missed it at the time?” I tease automatically then instantly wish I could take it back. That was such a dark night for us. Such a terrible fucking night.
But Quinn saves me with a slight smile. “Right over my head.”
“So the flash drive goes away,” I emphasize.
Quinn looks thoughtful. “Cecilia is smart. Smart like you. She would’ve known there was a chance it wouldn’t work.”
“True. Why, what are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking that you always have a Plan B. So would she.”
“Like what?”
“If nothing else, she’s accomplished one thing: alerting you to the fact that she’s willing to act against her brother. You said she showed you pictures. How?”
“On a … fuck.”
When I push away from the mantle, Quinn gets up, setting his coffee cup aside. We go down to my office, where Cecilia’s burner phone, sitting on my desk, is blinking with a text alert. Of course it fucking is.
When I pull up the text from an unidentified number, all it says is,Well?
I huff. “You were right.”
“So what do you want to do?”
I smile. “Play her game, of course.”
“She’s dangerous, Vitali.”
“Oh, I know,” I reply as I text back,Let me buy you dinner. Dulce. 8 p.m.
A reply pops up in seconds.To celebrate?
I type,To commiserate.
Unknown:Why, has someone died?
Not yet, I answer.
Unknown:Intriguing.Then,I can do 8:30. I prefer red.
TWENTY-THREE
Vitali
“I’m sure you understand what a demonstration of trust this is, my coming here.”
I offer a practiced smile as Cecilia allows the waiter to seat her across from me. Tonight she’s wearing yellow silk and a necklace of diamonds.
“That’s why I asked you to come.”
