CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
The cabin seemed to have rescinded it's warmth from our last arrival. Jace
waited as I left the car first. I didn't look behind, but I heard him closing
the garage and some locks being set. When I heard a slight swishing sound, I
looked behind and saw that he was erasing any footsteps we might've left that
would've proclaimed our arrival. It took him another moment to perform the same
clean-up on the driveway, but when he was done, he walked first into the cabin
and I caught a few quick glances and sweeps of the interior.
"You don't relax much, do you." I noted as I dropped my coat on the couch. I
took out the guns and placed them on the stand by my elbow. I kept the vest on.
So did Jace. He kept his guns on too.
Jace had moved into the kitchen, but he looked back and asked, as he set the
briefcase on the kitchen table, "What do you mean?"
"This job. I get it, I really do. Living undercover and lying. You watch your
back, but you really can't mess up, can you?"
An emotion passed in his eyes, but it was pushed to the side as he shrugged,
"I chose this life."
"So what? You can't get out?" I called from the couch as I dropped onto
it.
"You can stop it, you know. I'm not going to grill you." Jace said tiredly.
He grabbed a beer from the fridge and offered me one as I laid down. I nodded my
acceptance and as he crossed to hand it over, he sat on the parallel couch.
"Stop what?" I asked and watched as he took a drink of his beer.
"Stop the game. You're assuming that I waited until getting home before I lit
into about your checkmate back there, but I'm not planning on it so you can stop
trying to control the conversation."
"That's not what I'm doing." I swung my legs to the floor and sat up.
"Yes, it is." Jace took another drink. He looked tired, alert, and dangerous
at the same time. "You knew what I wanted and you did your own thing. It was
good. It was well-played. If you knew those woods better and had more experience
at playing 'fuck this' cards, you could've won."
" 'Fuck this?' " I echoed.
"That's what you were saying, wasn't it?" Jace yawned briefly and stood to
stretch. I glimpsed the same lion in his cat-like movements and innate grace
that blended perfectly with everything about him.
Angel born without mercy. The same sentiment entered my thoughts again, this
time with more emphasis and I remembered that kiss, with the thorough tongue
exploration.
Jace caught where my thoughts trailed, but he remarked over his shoulder as
he moved to the table, "You knew that I'd come after you, but you also knew that
I wouldn't let them take chase. I had to get you, but I had to keep them away at
the same time. It was nicely played. Checkmate."
"Didn't win."
Jace quieted, pulled the chair out to emit a scraping sound, but I caught the
muttered, underneath his breath, "You will someday."
I opened my beer now and asked, "That's not what you wanted, is it?"
I took a drink as he flipped the locks open on the briefcase. He sighed as it
swung open, "No. It's not."
"If I was really good, I would've thrown out what I wanted and just returned
for them in the morning. You know, when you were passed out after a night of
wild 'fuck you.'" I grinned slowly.
"Well, if you'd done that, I'd take that offer and send Oscar out while we're
doing the 'fuck you' game." Jace threw back and flashed a dazzling grin over his
shoulder.
We both knew I hadn't done that and we both knew I wasn't offering anything
of the sort. It was still a fun taunt and I saw a slight lessening on his
shoulders.
"Are you serious?" I chuckled and took a drink. "You relax when we're
bickering."
"We're not bickering. We're flirting."
"We're doing nothing of the sort." I lied.
"Honey," Jace said smoothly, "Your checkmate was almost brilliant, but don't
kid yourself. It was also foreplay."
"What?"
"You and I talk on more than a couple of levels. By the time you admit that
to yourself, we'll already be in bed." Jace shook his head, laughed, and bent
over to study the briefcase's contents.
"That's the girl I want."
"What's in there?" I finished my beer and laid back down.
"You can't have me."
"Not what I wanted." Jace remarked, flatly. "But it's something."
"What are you talking about?" I stood up and crossed behind him. I expected
him to block my view, to order me away, or for an outright attack.
Nothing.
Jace let me come and I saw what had him bewildered.
Inside the briefcase was a stack of papers that wore the official seal from
the United States Congressional Office of Appeals.
"What are those?"
"Congressional reports." He nodded and took another breath.
"What?"
"Marcus has more than one senator in his pocket, doesn't he?" Jace mused.
"Yeah."
"Who?"
"Hauge and Kirchek."
One was a Democrat and another a Republican. They had nothing in common.
"Why them?" Jace asked.
I shrugged. "I think Kirchek is on the transportation and shipping law
committee or something. I wasn't Marcus' narc. I never paid attention."
I was trying not to know what I did know about him.
Jace pushed back his chair and asked, "You want another beer?"
"Sure." I replied, absent-mindedly, as I skimmed Petrie's planner. "This is a
Day Planner."
"Yeah." Jace murmured as he returned with two more beers.
I looked up and saw him studying me. He stood right behind me. "I was under
the impression that this isn't supposed to be a Day Planner."
He lifted a beer in offering.
I took it.
"Did he have two Planners on him?" Jace asked and moved into the living
room.
I left the planner and dropped on my previous spot. "Are you going to make a
fire tonight?"
"No. They're going to be looking and I don't want to make it any easier on
them."
"There are more cabins than just this one in these woods."
"Yeah, but I want this cabin to look cold and abandoned. They can check all
the other ones."
"And no, he only had that one Planner."
Jace's cell phone buzzed. He opened it, closed it, and laid it on the couch's
arm.
"Oscar? Or Stirley? Or no," I grinned, "Maybe it's the waitress. Was it?"
"Sometimes," Jace smiled seductively, "You can be annoying."
"Like right now, when I'm asking questions that you don't want me to
ask?"
Jace took a drink from his beer.
"Are you trying to get me drunk? You want to go a round of 'fuck you'?" I
took my own drink.
Jace finished a third of his beer before he replied, "You'd be a lot more
enjoyable then."
"You find me funny. I amuse you." I reminded him.
Jace laughed briefly, "That's right. You do, but not when you're being an
inquisitive bitch."
I narrowed my eyes, finished my beer, and asked sweetly, "Are you hoping that
I leave for bed? Is someone coming over and you don't want me to know? Is that
why you're trying to piss me off with second-grade insults?"
"I knew what the word 'bitch' meant in second grade, but not 'inquisitive.'"
Jace commented and finished his beer.
"Can we set new rules?"
Jace watched me as he rested his head on the back of the couch, looking tired
and yet delectable. He arched an eyebrow.
"How about we drop the lies and mind-games." I suggested. "If you don't want
me to know something, just tell me, and I'll play nice and not ask."
"What's the fun of baiting and evading, then?" Jace smiled.
"I'm being serious." I dead-panned.
"Fine. Go to bed and shut the door." He said simply.
"So someone is coming over."
"Yes. Now leave. And don't listen."
"Can I get another beer to drink myself into oblivion?" I asked and arched an
eyebrow. I turned and grabbed my coat. I slipped my hand into the pocket and
flipped open my own phone. It was already on silence, but I wasn't risking
it.
Jace studied me.
"I want a beer."
"Get it yourself."
"If I grab one, I'll take it to smash over your head."
Jace narrowed his eyes.
"Just being honest." I said bluntly.
Jace turned for the fridge and I knelt and quickly grabbed his cellphone. I
punched in my number and left it open in the same position on the couch cushion,
turned downwards. I felt the answering buzz on my phone and silenced it
immediately.
Jace swung back with the beer and I held out a hand.
A knock sounded at the door.
"I'm going." I said tightly and skimmed the door, but I couldn't see who was
on the other side. I doubted that Jace cared if I knew who it was, but it was
what they would be talking about that concerned him more.
He still didn't want me to know what I didn't want to know.
Jace waited until I had closed my bedroom door, nice and tight, before he
opened the door.
I only heard a faint murmur as Jace opened the door so I punched up the
volume, changed clothes, and washed up in my bathroom.
"Hold on." Jace's voice came louder from my phone.
Scott laughed in the background. "You sent her to her room."
"It was needed." Jace said, business-like and no bullshit. "Where's Glean
think you are?"
"Hookers come in handy sometimes." Scott had a laugh in his voice.
"Where's he at?"
I toweled myself clean and changed into a camisole with some long underwear
that I had found earlier in the dresser. Jace wanted the cabin to look neglected
and he want all nine yards. He turned the heater down far enough for my breath
to be visible. I quickly pulled a long underwear shirt over my head and curled
in the bed, underneath the blankets with my phone curled next to me.
"…nothing for us." Scott was finishing.
"Keep your ears out for any extra security or shipping jobs." Jace remarked
and I nearly jumped as his voice sounded like it was in my room, right beside
me. I turned down the volume and heard Scott ask, "Anything in particular?"
"No, but we got something tonight. It'll stall them. They'll either had
limited space and need extra security or they'll stall their next shipment, so
they might need an extra line for shipping."
"What'd you get?"
Jace didn't answer for a moment and then I heard papers ruffling and a
resounding click.
"What's that?" Scott asked.
"There's a secret compartment."
Scott whistled. "Comes in handy when you don't want your own spy to see what
you found."
"Maya's not a spy." Jace said shortly.
"You still haven't proved that theory." Scott pointed out.
"Oscar wants me to tell her what the shipment is."
"You can't do that." Scott said quickly, hastily.
"I know." Jace answered, distracted. "Here. Hand those off and
cross-reference the names in the database."
Scott whistled, "Wow."
"I know. Like I said, that should stall them for awhile."
"Until they draw up more—" Scott started.
Jace interrupted, "You've been here long enough. Watch your tracks when you
leave."
The voices faded slightly.
"Snuff the light." Scott said.
"What light?"
"The fridge light flashed before. That's how I knew you were back." A pause,
"Oh—hey—there's some stuff going on in New York that you might want to be aware
of."
"What are you talking about?"
"Glean's been chatting with some bosses up there. Quite a bit of familiar
names are taking over Broozer's old territory."
"Mallon's moving into New York?"
"That's my guess. He's had no interest before…makes you wonder what that's
about."
"Hand those papers over. Pass the results through the proper channels." Jace
dismissed him and the door shut and was locked.
I shut my phone off and pulled the memory card form inside. It wouldn't leave
my name, but I still didn't want to chance if and when Jace reversed the
call.
Jace stayed below. After an hour of waiting for his footsteps, I drifted off
to sleep for the remaining few hours before daylight.
It was 4:00 when I dozed and it was 5:30 when I woke.
My room was pitched in darkness. The door was shut. And my phone was still
beside me.
Suddenly it pierced the quiet and I cursed as I scrambled to turn it off.
"Thought we were supposed to 'drop the lies'?" Jace taunted from the
corner.
Tiredly, I sat up and leaned against the bed's headboard. "What was
in that briefcase?"
Jace's smoky greys twitched in amusement. It was dark, but I still saw the
pewter that smoldered in his depths.
"How are we supposed to move into the 'Trust circle'," His lips quirked into
a grin, but he continued, somberly, "when you call for a truce just to get my
back turned on you."
"What are you talking about?"
Jace lifted his phone and dialed.
My phone rang.
"Seems that Kenneth Hoffman isn't available right now." Jace snapped his
phone shut. The ringing stopped. "When are you going to stop the games?"
I leaned forward and the blankets dropped to my waist.
"That's sexy." Jace chuckled at my long underwear.
"I'm warm." I shot back. "And the games will stop when you tell me what I'm
supposed to not know."
The chuckle vanished abruptly as Jace clipped out, "When I've got you tied so
deep into this crap that, even if you were a spy for Mallon, there was no
redeeming star for you in his camp."
"Are you serious? I could've told Petrie who I was. I could've called
Marcus—"
"—You already did that." He finished for me.
My mouth closed with a snap. "That was different."
"No, it wasn't." Jace leaned closer and rested his elbows on his knees. "And
you did tell Petrie who you were."
"What?" I asked, dumbfounded. "How in the world did I do that?"
"You stabbed him, twice."
"A lot of people use knives."
"No. My world uses guns and fancy fighting moves. Your world uses blades.
It's your trademark, Maya. You reach for the blade when you fight. I've seen it
enough times to know it's who you are, I'm sure it won't take Petrie or Marcus
long before they put it together."
"It was dark. He wouldn't have known it was me."
"You're a girl, you stabbed him, and you took something from him. Sounds like
you."
"I hit him hard. He wouldn't know that I was a girl."
"You smell like a girl. You run light, like a girl. And he would've felt your
hand, even as you brushed against him, just for a moment. It's innate. He knows
you were a girl. Like it or not, but your secret's out. You're on my team and
you're here."
"Marcus already knew that."
"So you are a spy for him." Jace mused.
"No. I'm not. I'm dead if I go back now."
"But he loves you…" Jace baited.
"Cut the bullshit! I have no life when I go back. Marcus is smart and Zara
gave him the tip-off to follow me back. He'll know everything and I'm sure that
he's got guys staking out my nephew, Krein, Cherry, god—even Munsinger. These
people are my family. I care about them and Marcus will use them if he thinks
I'll fold for them."
Jace was listening.
I continued, "The only reason that my family, my nephew, is safe is if Marcus
has absolutely no way to get ahold of me. He can't hold them for blackmail if he
can't get in touch with me."
"So give me something to believe you. Give me something so that I can let you
in." Jace whispered, silkily.
"I don't have anything—"
"Yes, you do!" Jace cried out. "You know something and you're not telling me!
Tell me, Maya!"
It was so easy. Tempting. I could fold right then and there. I could tell him
all, but…
"Jace is beautiful to look at, but he's lethal, Maya…He's not going to
give you the answers or self-redemption that you want from him. Trust me. He's a
very evil person."
"Marcus doesn't want you because he loves you or because you know where his
sister is." Jace informed me.
"What?"
"He's not looking for you because you know where Gabriella Mallon is. He
wants you for a different reason and it's not because he loves you, even though,
he might think he does."
"What are you talking about?" I sat perfectly still. Waiting for his
words.
"I know why he's looking for you. And he knows that I know. So you really are
either a gift from God or you're the poisoned apple. If you really don't know
how you can help me, whoever brought you to me, is either an ego-maniac or one
of the dumbest people in this world."
"What," I bit out. Hard. "are you talking about?"
"You're keeping something from me. I need to know what it is."
I sighed. I saw the coin flip in the air. I saw it's slow ascent and I saw
the slow descent. I saw how it landed and I knew, no matter heads or tails, I
was going to spill my tit for his tat.
It was time.
"I slept with Marcus Mallon because Gabriella needed to escape him. She met a
man who loved her and was good enough to protect her. That night, Marcus
would've spoiled everything. Gabriella would've disappeared even if Marcus had
found her, but I knew that I could stop him and she'd still live. She wouldn't
have, if he had found her."
Jace leaned back.
"I also saved Lily Galverson from a similar fate. Two of Broozer's men came
into a diner one night, the one where I used to work and Lily would visit me
there. I distracted them in the alley and Lily got away. I met Sal Galverson
after that."
"Lily Galverson never lived in Pedlam." Jace echoed an earlier argument, but
it didn't matter. I was right, even though it haunted me at times.
"I lost my virginity when I saved Lily. Sal paid for my hospital bills when
those guys roughed me up and I became a family friend after that." I waited a
moment, "Did you know that Sal Galverson had an illegitimate son?"
"Sal never had a son."
"And Lily was never in Pedlam, right?" I threw back, bitterly. The secrets,
regrets, painful memories washed over once more.
Lily had been in Pedlam. And Sal Galverson really did have an illegitimate
son.
"It's not by choice that Sal Galverson recruited Chief of Police Evans onto
his task force." I unclasped the lock and let it all flow free—or, well—most of
it.
"No. I know. Sal went after who was in charge. That meant Chief Evans."
"No." I shook my head, hearing Lily tell me it all on her last night before
safety, before Chance took her away. "That's not why, but you're right. He did
go after the heavy hitters."
"What are you talking about, Maya?" Jace asked, quietly.
"You needed land for your business, didn't you?"
"Yeah…"
"Kathlene Evans owned the thriving real estate business around Pedlam. Sal
Galverson went to the heavy hitter, but he didn't go to the daddy. He went to
the wife, he went a whole hell of a long time before he ever approached his
mistress's husband."
"What?" But Jace was deathly still. He already knew. His had a genius
intellect. He had already connected the dots.
I said it anyway, every sordid detail that Lily had whispered in my ear,
"Gabriella Mallon and Lily Galverson are the same person. Marcus Mallon is her
half-brother and he's the half-brother to her lover."
Jace stopped breathing. He sat there, still, and I felt his wheels churning.
A soft curse escaped his lips.
"There's a big age gap between Chance and Tray. Seemed that their folks had a
dry spell and out popped Marcus Mallon." I continued.
"And Lily knows that?"
"Lily's not related through blood to Chance or Tray. She's not foolish, but
she still loves him anyway and he was her ticket out from Marcus' watch."
"That's why I didn't know that Lily lived in Pedlam, because she was hidden
with his son. Sal never told me."
I took a breath and finished, "Marcus Mallon is running Sal's business
because he's his son. And Marcus is looking for Lily, but I'm not the only one,
now, who knows where she is."
Lily loved Rack's coffee bar, the same coffee bar that was a block east from
the Hope Center. The Hope Center, that was a drug rehab where Marcus' sister had
visited many times.
Lily and I knew a lot of each other's secrets. They were secrets that neither
of us wanted to be shared, but I just broke that code.
"You better tell me that was worth it." I vowed, quietly, tranquil and
strong. "I consider Lily a sister and a friend, so you better make that betrayal
worth it."
I sold out one family member to hopefully save the rest of them.
Jace met my eyes. Both of our eyes had adjusted long ago to the darkness. I
met and saw every detail in his face.
He answered my prayer.
"Marcus has four books that I need." He said softly. "He's titled each of
them. The Master, Key, Code, and Decoder. I know about them, but I haven't
gotten ahold of them."
"What are they about?"
"The Master is a list of all his products that he's shipping. We know that.
The Key is a list of all his meeting dates and locations. The Decoder is a list
of his agents. And the Coder actually decodes the other three. Everything's in
code and it's on paper so that no one can hack into it and no one can delete it.
If he's caught, all he has to do is burn 'em and there goes his most damning
evidence. I need those books to shut down this entire empire that should've been
killed when I shot Galverson."
"You need all of them." I sat back, stunned.
"No. I need three of them. The fourth would be helpful, but I don't think I
need it."
"Which one?"
"The Code."
"You can't read the other books if you don't have the code."
"That's where you're wrong, Maya." Jace stood up, slowly. He stood in front
of me and leaned closer, "You know the code. You can decode the books for me…and
Marcus knows that."
I sat back, stunned.
"That's why he wants you. That's why he killed Zara and Roobie. She sold you
to him first, even though she worked for Broozer. Marcus couldn't have Broozer
know about you, because they're competing for the Smokescreen."
And that's why I was God's gift or the poisoned apple.
"That's why I need you." Jace whispered.
The cabin seemed to have rescinded it's warmth from our last arrival. Jace
waited as I left the car first. I didn't look behind, but I heard him closing
the garage and some locks being set. When I heard a slight swishing sound, I
looked behind and saw that he was erasing any footsteps we might've left that
would've proclaimed our arrival. It took him another moment to perform the same
clean-up on the driveway, but when he was done, he walked first into the cabin
and I caught a few quick glances and sweeps of the interior.
"You don't relax much, do you." I noted as I dropped my coat on the couch. I
took out the guns and placed them on the stand by my elbow. I kept the vest on.
So did Jace. He kept his guns on too.
Jace had moved into the kitchen, but he looked back and asked, as he set the
briefcase on the kitchen table, "What do you mean?"
"This job. I get it, I really do. Living undercover and lying. You watch your
back, but you really can't mess up, can you?"
An emotion passed in his eyes, but it was pushed to the side as he shrugged,
"I chose this life."
"So what? You can't get out?" I called from the couch as I dropped onto
it.
"You can stop it, you know. I'm not going to grill you." Jace said tiredly.
He grabbed a beer from the fridge and offered me one as I laid down. I nodded my
acceptance and as he crossed to hand it over, he sat on the parallel couch.
"Stop what?" I asked and watched as he took a drink of his beer.
"Stop the game. You're assuming that I waited until getting home before I lit
into about your checkmate back there, but I'm not planning on it so you can stop
trying to control the conversation."
"That's not what I'm doing." I swung my legs to the floor and sat up.
"Yes, it is." Jace took another drink. He looked tired, alert, and dangerous
at the same time. "You knew what I wanted and you did your own thing. It was
good. It was well-played. If you knew those woods better and had more experience
at playing 'fuck this' cards, you could've won."
" 'Fuck this?' " I echoed.
"That's what you were saying, wasn't it?" Jace yawned briefly and stood to
stretch. I glimpsed the same lion in his cat-like movements and innate grace
that blended perfectly with everything about him.
Angel born without mercy. The same sentiment entered my thoughts again, this
time with more emphasis and I remembered that kiss, with the thorough tongue
exploration.
Jace caught where my thoughts trailed, but he remarked over his shoulder as
he moved to the table, "You knew that I'd come after you, but you also knew that
I wouldn't let them take chase. I had to get you, but I had to keep them away at
the same time. It was nicely played. Checkmate."
"Didn't win."
Jace quieted, pulled the chair out to emit a scraping sound, but I caught the
muttered, underneath his breath, "You will someday."
I opened my beer now and asked, "That's not what you wanted, is it?"
I took a drink as he flipped the locks open on the briefcase. He sighed as it
swung open, "No. It's not."
"If I was really good, I would've thrown out what I wanted and just returned
for them in the morning. You know, when you were passed out after a night of
wild 'fuck you.'" I grinned slowly.
"Well, if you'd done that, I'd take that offer and send Oscar out while we're
doing the 'fuck you' game." Jace threw back and flashed a dazzling grin over his
shoulder.
We both knew I hadn't done that and we both knew I wasn't offering anything
of the sort. It was still a fun taunt and I saw a slight lessening on his
shoulders.
"Are you serious?" I chuckled and took a drink. "You relax when we're
bickering."
"We're not bickering. We're flirting."
"We're doing nothing of the sort." I lied.
"Honey," Jace said smoothly, "Your checkmate was almost brilliant, but don't
kid yourself. It was also foreplay."
"What?"
"You and I talk on more than a couple of levels. By the time you admit that
to yourself, we'll already be in bed." Jace shook his head, laughed, and bent
over to study the briefcase's contents.
"That's the girl I want."
"What's in there?" I finished my beer and laid back down.
"You can't have me."
"Not what I wanted." Jace remarked, flatly. "But it's something."
"What are you talking about?" I stood up and crossed behind him. I expected
him to block my view, to order me away, or for an outright attack.
Nothing.
Jace let me come and I saw what had him bewildered.
Inside the briefcase was a stack of papers that wore the official seal from
the United States Congressional Office of Appeals.
"What are those?"
"Congressional reports." He nodded and took another breath.
"What?"
"Marcus has more than one senator in his pocket, doesn't he?" Jace mused.
"Yeah."
"Who?"
"Hauge and Kirchek."
One was a Democrat and another a Republican. They had nothing in common.
"Why them?" Jace asked.
I shrugged. "I think Kirchek is on the transportation and shipping law
committee or something. I wasn't Marcus' narc. I never paid attention."
I was trying not to know what I did know about him.
Jace pushed back his chair and asked, "You want another beer?"
"Sure." I replied, absent-mindedly, as I skimmed Petrie's planner. "This is a
Day Planner."
"Yeah." Jace murmured as he returned with two more beers.
I looked up and saw him studying me. He stood right behind me. "I was under
the impression that this isn't supposed to be a Day Planner."
He lifted a beer in offering.
I took it.
"Did he have two Planners on him?" Jace asked and moved into the living
room.
I left the planner and dropped on my previous spot. "Are you going to make a
fire tonight?"
"No. They're going to be looking and I don't want to make it any easier on
them."
"There are more cabins than just this one in these woods."
"Yeah, but I want this cabin to look cold and abandoned. They can check all
the other ones."
"And no, he only had that one Planner."
Jace's cell phone buzzed. He opened it, closed it, and laid it on the couch's
arm.
"Oscar? Or Stirley? Or no," I grinned, "Maybe it's the waitress. Was it?"
"Sometimes," Jace smiled seductively, "You can be annoying."
"Like right now, when I'm asking questions that you don't want me to
ask?"
Jace took a drink from his beer.
"Are you trying to get me drunk? You want to go a round of 'fuck you'?" I
took my own drink.
Jace finished a third of his beer before he replied, "You'd be a lot more
enjoyable then."
"You find me funny. I amuse you." I reminded him.
Jace laughed briefly, "That's right. You do, but not when you're being an
inquisitive bitch."
I narrowed my eyes, finished my beer, and asked sweetly, "Are you hoping that
I leave for bed? Is someone coming over and you don't want me to know? Is that
why you're trying to piss me off with second-grade insults?"
"I knew what the word 'bitch' meant in second grade, but not 'inquisitive.'"
Jace commented and finished his beer.
"Can we set new rules?"
Jace watched me as he rested his head on the back of the couch, looking tired
and yet delectable. He arched an eyebrow.
"How about we drop the lies and mind-games." I suggested. "If you don't want
me to know something, just tell me, and I'll play nice and not ask."
"What's the fun of baiting and evading, then?" Jace smiled.
"I'm being serious." I dead-panned.
"Fine. Go to bed and shut the door." He said simply.
"So someone is coming over."
"Yes. Now leave. And don't listen."
"Can I get another beer to drink myself into oblivion?" I asked and arched an
eyebrow. I turned and grabbed my coat. I slipped my hand into the pocket and
flipped open my own phone. It was already on silence, but I wasn't risking
it.
Jace studied me.
"I want a beer."
"Get it yourself."
"If I grab one, I'll take it to smash over your head."
Jace narrowed his eyes.
"Just being honest." I said bluntly.
Jace turned for the fridge and I knelt and quickly grabbed his cellphone. I
punched in my number and left it open in the same position on the couch cushion,
turned downwards. I felt the answering buzz on my phone and silenced it
immediately.
Jace swung back with the beer and I held out a hand.
A knock sounded at the door.
"I'm going." I said tightly and skimmed the door, but I couldn't see who was
on the other side. I doubted that Jace cared if I knew who it was, but it was
what they would be talking about that concerned him more.
He still didn't want me to know what I didn't want to know.
Jace waited until I had closed my bedroom door, nice and tight, before he
opened the door.
I only heard a faint murmur as Jace opened the door so I punched up the
volume, changed clothes, and washed up in my bathroom.
"Hold on." Jace's voice came louder from my phone.
Scott laughed in the background. "You sent her to her room."
"It was needed." Jace said, business-like and no bullshit. "Where's Glean
think you are?"
"Hookers come in handy sometimes." Scott had a laugh in his voice.
"Where's he at?"
I toweled myself clean and changed into a camisole with some long underwear
that I had found earlier in the dresser. Jace wanted the cabin to look neglected
and he want all nine yards. He turned the heater down far enough for my breath
to be visible. I quickly pulled a long underwear shirt over my head and curled
in the bed, underneath the blankets with my phone curled next to me.
"…nothing for us." Scott was finishing.
"Keep your ears out for any extra security or shipping jobs." Jace remarked
and I nearly jumped as his voice sounded like it was in my room, right beside
me. I turned down the volume and heard Scott ask, "Anything in particular?"
"No, but we got something tonight. It'll stall them. They'll either had
limited space and need extra security or they'll stall their next shipment, so
they might need an extra line for shipping."
"What'd you get?"
Jace didn't answer for a moment and then I heard papers ruffling and a
resounding click.
"What's that?" Scott asked.
"There's a secret compartment."
Scott whistled. "Comes in handy when you don't want your own spy to see what
you found."
"Maya's not a spy." Jace said shortly.
"You still haven't proved that theory." Scott pointed out.
"Oscar wants me to tell her what the shipment is."
"You can't do that." Scott said quickly, hastily.
"I know." Jace answered, distracted. "Here. Hand those off and
cross-reference the names in the database."
Scott whistled, "Wow."
"I know. Like I said, that should stall them for awhile."
"Until they draw up more—" Scott started.
Jace interrupted, "You've been here long enough. Watch your tracks when you
leave."
The voices faded slightly.
"Snuff the light." Scott said.
"What light?"
"The fridge light flashed before. That's how I knew you were back." A pause,
"Oh—hey—there's some stuff going on in New York that you might want to be aware
of."
"What are you talking about?"
"Glean's been chatting with some bosses up there. Quite a bit of familiar
names are taking over Broozer's old territory."
"Mallon's moving into New York?"
"That's my guess. He's had no interest before…makes you wonder what that's
about."
"Hand those papers over. Pass the results through the proper channels." Jace
dismissed him and the door shut and was locked.
I shut my phone off and pulled the memory card form inside. It wouldn't leave
my name, but I still didn't want to chance if and when Jace reversed the
call.
Jace stayed below. After an hour of waiting for his footsteps, I drifted off
to sleep for the remaining few hours before daylight.
It was 4:00 when I dozed and it was 5:30 when I woke.
My room was pitched in darkness. The door was shut. And my phone was still
beside me.
Suddenly it pierced the quiet and I cursed as I scrambled to turn it off.
"Thought we were supposed to 'drop the lies'?" Jace taunted from the
corner.
Tiredly, I sat up and leaned against the bed's headboard. "What was
in that briefcase?"
Jace's smoky greys twitched in amusement. It was dark, but I still saw the
pewter that smoldered in his depths.
"How are we supposed to move into the 'Trust circle'," His lips quirked into
a grin, but he continued, somberly, "when you call for a truce just to get my
back turned on you."
"What are you talking about?"
Jace lifted his phone and dialed.
My phone rang.
"Seems that Kenneth Hoffman isn't available right now." Jace snapped his
phone shut. The ringing stopped. "When are you going to stop the games?"
I leaned forward and the blankets dropped to my waist.
"That's sexy." Jace chuckled at my long underwear.
"I'm warm." I shot back. "And the games will stop when you tell me what I'm
supposed to not know."
The chuckle vanished abruptly as Jace clipped out, "When I've got you tied so
deep into this crap that, even if you were a spy for Mallon, there was no
redeeming star for you in his camp."
"Are you serious? I could've told Petrie who I was. I could've called
Marcus—"
"—You already did that." He finished for me.
My mouth closed with a snap. "That was different."
"No, it wasn't." Jace leaned closer and rested his elbows on his knees. "And
you did tell Petrie who you were."
"What?" I asked, dumbfounded. "How in the world did I do that?"
"You stabbed him, twice."
"A lot of people use knives."
"No. My world uses guns and fancy fighting moves. Your world uses blades.
It's your trademark, Maya. You reach for the blade when you fight. I've seen it
enough times to know it's who you are, I'm sure it won't take Petrie or Marcus
long before they put it together."
"It was dark. He wouldn't have known it was me."
"You're a girl, you stabbed him, and you took something from him. Sounds like
you."
"I hit him hard. He wouldn't know that I was a girl."
"You smell like a girl. You run light, like a girl. And he would've felt your
hand, even as you brushed against him, just for a moment. It's innate. He knows
you were a girl. Like it or not, but your secret's out. You're on my team and
you're here."
"Marcus already knew that."
"So you are a spy for him." Jace mused.
"No. I'm not. I'm dead if I go back now."
"But he loves you…" Jace baited.
"Cut the bullshit! I have no life when I go back. Marcus is smart and Zara
gave him the tip-off to follow me back. He'll know everything and I'm sure that
he's got guys staking out my nephew, Krein, Cherry, god—even Munsinger. These
people are my family. I care about them and Marcus will use them if he thinks
I'll fold for them."
Jace was listening.
I continued, "The only reason that my family, my nephew, is safe is if Marcus
has absolutely no way to get ahold of me. He can't hold them for blackmail if he
can't get in touch with me."
"So give me something to believe you. Give me something so that I can let you
in." Jace whispered, silkily.
"I don't have anything—"
"Yes, you do!" Jace cried out. "You know something and you're not telling me!
Tell me, Maya!"
It was so easy. Tempting. I could fold right then and there. I could tell him
all, but…
"Jace is beautiful to look at, but he's lethal, Maya…He's not going to
give you the answers or self-redemption that you want from him. Trust me. He's a
very evil person."
"Marcus doesn't want you because he loves you or because you know where his
sister is." Jace informed me.
"What?"
"He's not looking for you because you know where Gabriella Mallon is. He
wants you for a different reason and it's not because he loves you, even though,
he might think he does."
"What are you talking about?" I sat perfectly still. Waiting for his
words.
"I know why he's looking for you. And he knows that I know. So you really are
either a gift from God or you're the poisoned apple. If you really don't know
how you can help me, whoever brought you to me, is either an ego-maniac or one
of the dumbest people in this world."
"What," I bit out. Hard. "are you talking about?"
"You're keeping something from me. I need to know what it is."
I sighed. I saw the coin flip in the air. I saw it's slow ascent and I saw
the slow descent. I saw how it landed and I knew, no matter heads or tails, I
was going to spill my tit for his tat.
It was time.
"I slept with Marcus Mallon because Gabriella needed to escape him. She met a
man who loved her and was good enough to protect her. That night, Marcus
would've spoiled everything. Gabriella would've disappeared even if Marcus had
found her, but I knew that I could stop him and she'd still live. She wouldn't
have, if he had found her."
Jace leaned back.
"I also saved Lily Galverson from a similar fate. Two of Broozer's men came
into a diner one night, the one where I used to work and Lily would visit me
there. I distracted them in the alley and Lily got away. I met Sal Galverson
after that."
"Lily Galverson never lived in Pedlam." Jace echoed an earlier argument, but
it didn't matter. I was right, even though it haunted me at times.
"I lost my virginity when I saved Lily. Sal paid for my hospital bills when
those guys roughed me up and I became a family friend after that." I waited a
moment, "Did you know that Sal Galverson had an illegitimate son?"
"Sal never had a son."
"And Lily was never in Pedlam, right?" I threw back, bitterly. The secrets,
regrets, painful memories washed over once more.
Lily had been in Pedlam. And Sal Galverson really did have an illegitimate
son.
"It's not by choice that Sal Galverson recruited Chief of Police Evans onto
his task force." I unclasped the lock and let it all flow free—or, well—most of
it.
"No. I know. Sal went after who was in charge. That meant Chief Evans."
"No." I shook my head, hearing Lily tell me it all on her last night before
safety, before Chance took her away. "That's not why, but you're right. He did
go after the heavy hitters."
"What are you talking about, Maya?" Jace asked, quietly.
"You needed land for your business, didn't you?"
"Yeah…"
"Kathlene Evans owned the thriving real estate business around Pedlam. Sal
Galverson went to the heavy hitter, but he didn't go to the daddy. He went to
the wife, he went a whole hell of a long time before he ever approached his
mistress's husband."
"What?" But Jace was deathly still. He already knew. His had a genius
intellect. He had already connected the dots.
I said it anyway, every sordid detail that Lily had whispered in my ear,
"Gabriella Mallon and Lily Galverson are the same person. Marcus Mallon is her
half-brother and he's the half-brother to her lover."
Jace stopped breathing. He sat there, still, and I felt his wheels churning.
A soft curse escaped his lips.
"There's a big age gap between Chance and Tray. Seemed that their folks had a
dry spell and out popped Marcus Mallon." I continued.
"And Lily knows that?"
"Lily's not related through blood to Chance or Tray. She's not foolish, but
she still loves him anyway and he was her ticket out from Marcus' watch."
"That's why I didn't know that Lily lived in Pedlam, because she was hidden
with his son. Sal never told me."
I took a breath and finished, "Marcus Mallon is running Sal's business
because he's his son. And Marcus is looking for Lily, but I'm not the only one,
now, who knows where she is."
Lily loved Rack's coffee bar, the same coffee bar that was a block east from
the Hope Center. The Hope Center, that was a drug rehab where Marcus' sister had
visited many times.
Lily and I knew a lot of each other's secrets. They were secrets that neither
of us wanted to be shared, but I just broke that code.
"You better tell me that was worth it." I vowed, quietly, tranquil and
strong. "I consider Lily a sister and a friend, so you better make that betrayal
worth it."
I sold out one family member to hopefully save the rest of them.
Jace met my eyes. Both of our eyes had adjusted long ago to the darkness. I
met and saw every detail in his face.
He answered my prayer.
"Marcus has four books that I need." He said softly. "He's titled each of
them. The Master, Key, Code, and Decoder. I know about them, but I haven't
gotten ahold of them."
"What are they about?"
"The Master is a list of all his products that he's shipping. We know that.
The Key is a list of all his meeting dates and locations. The Decoder is a list
of his agents. And the Coder actually decodes the other three. Everything's in
code and it's on paper so that no one can hack into it and no one can delete it.
If he's caught, all he has to do is burn 'em and there goes his most damning
evidence. I need those books to shut down this entire empire that should've been
killed when I shot Galverson."
"You need all of them." I sat back, stunned.
"No. I need three of them. The fourth would be helpful, but I don't think I
need it."
"Which one?"
"The Code."
"You can't read the other books if you don't have the code."
"That's where you're wrong, Maya." Jace stood up, slowly. He stood in front
of me and leaned closer, "You know the code. You can decode the books for me…and
Marcus knows that."
I sat back, stunned.
"That's why he wants you. That's why he killed Zara and Roobie. She sold you
to him first, even though she worked for Broozer. Marcus couldn't have Broozer
know about you, because they're competing for the Smokescreen."
And that's why I was God's gift or the poisoned apple.
"That's why I need you." Jace whispered.