Page 184 of Merciless

“Hey, I’m not that bad,” I argue.

He shoots me a look that screams, ‘Yes, you are,’ but he doesn’t say the words.

“Barbecue chicken wings?” he asks.

“Uh… yeah, I guess,” I mutter, suddenly aware that I have no idea what she likes or doesn’t like. But I figure that after a week down there with mostly rations, she’s probably not feeling overly fussy.

“I told Letty that she could talk to Alana.”

I pause, my ass hovering over the stool I was about to sit on.

“Seriously?” I ask, finally sitting down.

“Yeah. I think Letty will feel better if she hears the truth from Alana. And it’s not like she has anything else to do.”

“I can think of a few things.”

He shakes his head as he places everything he’s going to need to make dinner on the counter.

“You’re an asshole.”

“And you’re—”

“Really?” he spits.

Rolling my eyes, I watch him as he embarks on making his own barbecue sauce to coat the chicken in.

“What are we going to do when Victor figures all this out?”

Reid’s shoulders tense, but he doesn’t respond right away.

“We need to get our army ready,” he finally confesses.

“You ready for that?”

“Could do with a few more weeks.”

“That doesn’t fill me with hope.”

“He won’t win, J. I’ll make fucking sure of that.”

“What can I do?”

“Get her talking. Anything she can give us that can help. Allies, enemies, anything.”

“Nothing too hard then,” I mutter.

“Tell her about Kane. Be honest. If she cares about him. About you,” he says, making my chest constrict, “then she might be more willing to help.”

“Don’t you think that maybe you need to give her a little honesty too?” I suggest.

“All in good time. I’m not giving intel to anyone until I know I can trust them one hundred percent.”

“Fair enough. But promise me something.”

He shoots me a look. “Don’t hurt her.”

His eyes hold mine for long silent seconds before they drop to the floor.

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