Page 95 of Iris' Lying Eyes

“What do they want?” Cyn says.

When I open my eyes, I meet Bastion’s thousand-yard stare. He doesn’t even blink, and I frown before saying, “They’re here to protect her.”

“Why does one girl need a fucking army?” Cyn asks.

Raising a brow, I’m still locked in a stare-off with B when I murmur, “Because she’s more important than all of us.”

“And you know this, how?” Bastion grunts.

“Because Iris is the one who freed her.” Lorraine appears, holding a tray.

“I doubt it,” Bastion sneers, and Lorraine tuts, pulling the bottle of water away when he reaches for it.

“Doubt all you want, but she’s—”

“Lorraine,” I mumble, and Jig’s brows fly over his head.

“Lorraine? Wait, are you . . .?”

She smiles tiredly and says, “Yes, Jig.”

He staggers back, clutching his neck before he barks at me, “You knew, and you never told her.”

Bowing my head to my chest, I close my eyes once more. What was I supposed to do? Some secrets aren’t mine to share.

“Don’t blame her, son. This wasn’t her doing,” Lorraine says sharply, but Jig just snorts and looks away.

“You don’t understand. None of you do,” she insists, setting a water bottle before my cage.

“Then how about you tell us?” Bastion snarls.

“Watch it, Bruno. You’re on thin ice with me,” she says, and he snorts, pounding his head against the wall.

Lorraine grabs the bars to his cage and cocks her head. “Careful, it’s been a while, but I still know my way around a pair of box cutters.”

Her eyes drop to his dick, and he flinches before turning his head away.

My lips curl, and I smother a grin that fades when Jig barks, “You think this is funny? How am I supposed to tell Alice her mom is playing house with a bunch of thugs?”

Sighing, I meet Lorraine’s knowing gaze and say, “Jig, you’re not telling her anything. We leave, we die.”

“Fuck,” Cyn says, slamming his fist against the wall. I wince at the dull thud and rub my aching brow.

“Not to beat a dead horse, but I told you, and you fuckers wouldn’t listen.”

“Yeah, well, maybe if you’d been a little more fucking obvious,” Jig sneers.

“Obvious? What was I supposed to say, Jig? You need to stop because if you don’t, you’ll die? I’m pretty sure that’s what I said. You didn’t listen. Fuck.”

Jig clenches his jaw and grabs the back of his neck as Bastion interjects, “So, what? Her mother went to Paddy McCafferty. You’re saying it was all a lie?”

Lorraine sighs, touching her throat, an action I’ve come to understand she completes without thought but often indicates her distress. “That woman is lost. She’ll do whatever her husband tells her.”

“Then why? Why is she so important?”

“Because she’s the key to bringing down a criminal organization that’s run from within. It’s the biggest case in the history of the United States. Corruption at the highest level,” Lorraine says.

“The president,” Cyn says, and she nods.

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