Page 168 of Wicked Promises (Fallen Royals 3)

I wonder when she learned to lie so well.

“Are you saying that isn’t true?” She crosses her arms. “Look. We just came for the truth. If you can’t give us that… I guess we’ll see you at your court date.” She shrugs and pivots on her heel. “Come on, Caleb. We were just trying to help. But apparently he thought of everything.”

I follow her to the door. Doubt creeps up the farther we get, but I’m just about to step out when he calls, “Stop!”

We reenter the room.

“Sit. Please.” He gestures to the chairs in front of his desk, then slumps into his own seat. Once we’re comfortable, he gives me a look. “You know I had no choice.”

“Do I?”

“Your uncle is a monster. He threatened to take away everything if I didn’t comply.”

I scowl. “How did he get to you?”

Tobias shifts. “I didn’t use legal methods to get through law school. I was a defender on a case his business partner was involved in, and he…” He clears his throat. “He got to me then. When this case came up, he and Lydia suggested I volunteer.”

“That’s my dad’s life you threw away,” Margo says. “Like it was nothing but saving your own ass.”

“And a payout, I’d imagine,” I say, leaning my elbow on the arm of the chair.

He glares at us. “Aren’t you listening? I didn’t have a choice.”

Margo opens the journal, practically tearing the pages with her force. “Two days before Caleb’s dad died, you were there. Lydia writes, ‘Tobias stopped by. He was nervous for what needed to be done. For our childrens’ sake, we’ve decided that I’m going to take them out.’ The next day: ‘Keith nearly ruined everything, but in the end, it worked out better than we ever could’ve imagined.’”

She lifts her head. “You killed Benjamin Asher.”

He hangs his head. “I wish I had never gotten roped into this. David and Lydia forced my hand.”

I jump to my feet. Screw the fucking wire, and the police listening in—he just admitted to murder. “You stabbed him and left him for me to find.”

“Lydia was supposed to find him,” he says quietly.

“Caleb,” Margo says behind me. “Easy.”

“It was your car that Matt used to hit Margo and her foster parent. You gave him the keys because of David—or was it my mother? Sweet talking her way into your—”

“Fine! Yes, it was your mother.” He grabs at his hair. “She didn’t tell me—”

“Bullshit,” Margo mumbles. “We need to leave.”

Get in and get out. Last minute instructions from Masters before patting my back and sending us in here.

“You’re fucking twisted,” I tell him. “And you’re going to prison.”

“How’s that, Caleb?” Tobias asks, straightening the papers on his desk. “Do you have more proof than just a notebook that could be filled with lies? No one is going to know that I was the one to kill Ben and get paid for it in more than just cash. No one will know that your mom and uncle were the orchestrators of the whole thing—including the so-called affair. Well, no, actually…” He winks at Margo. “The affair was just a plot between your mothers to bring down an angry, rich man. See how well that worked out?”

I pull up my shirt, exposing the wire. “Looks like the sun’s going to come out tomorrow. Unfortunately… I don’t think you’ll be around to see it.”

Tobias is calm for a moment, his eyes on my chest. And then he yells, lunging around the desk for me.

I yank Margo behind me, bracing for Tobias’s charge.

He stops short when Detective Masters bursts into the room, the door cracking against the wall.

Masters sneers. “Game over, Hutchins.”

He nods to me, and I guide Margo out of the room. She’s not reacting the way I expected her to—again. It means something dark has taken root in her mind.

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