“I haven’t yet decided what to do with it but if we hand it over at all, it’ll be me to do it.”
“You could say I stole it and ran off. Blame it all on me.”
“You’re not listening, Blue. I wouldn’t have him come after you.”
“I’ll be long gone, Zeke.”
He stops at that. He looks surprised and that surprise catches me off guard.
I clear my throat thinking about being long gone. What was my plan for when this ended? It was loose at best and anyway, so much has changed. But I may not have a choice apart from disappearing. These are dangerous men and not only dangerous to me. This may be the only way to keep Zeke safe.
“You and Jericho, you have a life here. You have family here. I can take Wren and we can go to Canada, like I’d planned,” I say, making it up as I go.
“You think he wouldn’t track you down in Canada?” he says with a snort.
“I—"
“Anyway, we just moved her,” he says, and I hear thewe.
I step closer to him, touch his face with both hands. Stubble prickles my palms. He hasn’t shaved in a few days.
“I know you keep warning me, but I care about you?—”
“I told you not to?—”
“Well, I do. You’re helping me when you don’t have to, and I won’t let anything happen to you because of me, Zeke. I won’t.”
“No, Blue.”
“I can do it, I just?—”
“We’re not discussing this.”
“I get a say in what we do with that information.”
“I said no and that’s final.”
“You’re not being reasonable. I bet Jericho would agree with me.”
“Well, it’s not up to Jericho, is it?” He walks around the desk to put the flash drive in a drawer. “Go upstairs. I need to think.”
“No.”
“Upstairs. Now.”
Zeke’s phone buzzes with a message and he pulls away. Taking it out of his pocket, he checks it and mutters a curse.
“Fuck.”
“What?”
“My brother is on his way over.”
“I can help. I can?—”
He grips my arm harshly. “Do I need to lock you in a room? Put your leash back on?”
“I—”