Page 53 of Master of Lies

“We had a deal,” I said. “He told me he’d left a flash drive with someone on the outside, in case something happened to him. It had all the information I needed about Boer. How he faked his death, where his money was. As soon as he was out, he’d arrange for me to get it. And it was going well. No one had noticed me. If things had gone according to plan, he would have been wearing the clothes you have on now. He would have been eating this food with me. We’d be in Phase Two, on the move.”

Freya looked as if she was bracing herself, her mouth tight. “So what happened?”

“You happened,” I said flatly. “You came bouncing in, flaunting your tits. Boer must have followed you via your phone to the prison. At which point, he copped to the fact that I was there, and arranged to have me and Mickey killed immediately. Consequences.”

Freya’s eyes widened. “Wait,” she said slowly. “You’re saying that it’s my fault they killed Mickey? I just now found out that Mickey even existed!”

“I’m not saying you did it on purpose,” I said. “But that’s what happens when you fuck around with things that are above your pay grade. Mickey was barely alive when I got to him. They cut pieces off his body. He died in my arms.”

Freya’s face had gone deathly pale. She looked at the chunks of meat on her plate, shoved her chair back, and bolted for the bathroom.

Great. Very smooth, Clearwater. My winning personality and charming dinner conversation had made Freya Masters toss her pot roast. That was a shame. I had no idea when or where the woman would get another decent meal.

It was so fucking stupid, to hammer on her like this, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself. Something about her just yanked on my chain.

I got up and followed her. There was water running in the bathroom. I stood outside, waiting for what felt like hours. Finally, the door opened.

Her face was blotchy, her eyes red. “I’m sorry I messed things up for you.”

I nodded and left it at that. It’s not as if I could say, “it’s no problem.” That would be a lie. Or “don’t worry about it.” That would be really shitty advice.

“I’m glad you’re starting to wake up,” I said. “Took you long enough.”

That brought back the spark of anger in her eyes again. Good. Better than crying or vomiting. That’s one thing about me a woman can really count on. I’ll be sure to piss her off on a regular basis. It’s a special talent of mine.

She crossed her arms over her chest. “So, Jed. Let me ask you this. Are there any circumstances under which you would forgive me for messing up your plans?”

“Nope,” I said. “None at all.”

Her chin went up and her lips flattened. “Ah. Really.”

“I don’t have the energy for social lies.” I told her. “You’re getting the raw, unpolished truth. Which is more than you offered me.” I turned away, heading back toward my computer set-up in the front room.

Freya followed me. “So it’s the lies that bother you? Because I was pretending to be someone I’m not? You did that, too, Jed. And for the same reason.”

“It is not the same,” I said stonily. “I was undercover, scoring crucial intel. You were playing dress-up and fucking with my head.”

“Worked, though. Is that why you can’t forgive me? Because I got you?”

“I don’t know what you got, besides thoroughly nailed,” I said.

Freya sashayed around to the front of the table and perched on the computer table. “Do you want to know something, Jed?”

That struck me as a risky lead-in. I tried to look away from the spectacle of her round, shapely ass, smack in the middle of my field of vision. “Probably not, but I have a feeling you’re going to tell me anyway.”

“That unforgivable sin of sticking my tits in your business? It’s the same sin that Sandee committed,” she said. “But you weren’t anywhere near as mad at her as you are at me. You weren’t anywhere near as judgmental. Why is that?”

I shrugged. “Sandee was a fiction. How I related to her is not relevant.”

“I disagree,” Freya said. “Why did Sandee get a pass, but I don’t? What’s so different about Freya Masters fucking up? Can’t I catch a break?”

I thought about it. “Sandee has an excuse,” I said finally. “Sandee was a babbling simpleton. Freya Masters should have goddamn well known better.”

“Why should I know better?” Her voice was impassioned. “I don’t know shit! Ethan won’t tell me anything. I have no option but to conduct my own investigation!”

“How did you hunt me down at the prison, anyway?” I demanded.

“I hacked the Drake brothers’ phones,” Freya admitted.

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