Page 26 of Obey

“How do we know we can trust her?” I asked.

A glimmer of a smile played over Frank’s face. “Because,” he said quietly, “she used to be Tinker’s woman.”

For the third time that night, the world around me grew suddenly still. “What?”

Frank went through the details quickly. Sioux and Tinker had gotten together when I was in prison, while Tink was running the Banshees for me and Devil was doing his utmost to destroy them. When Devil made the Steed official, he’d wanted as many women as he could get, and had managed to convince Sioux that Tink was going over to the dark side with him. She’d agreed to go as well, and by the time she realized that Tink was staying with the Banshees, Devil had had her trapped in his own organization.

“They stayed together,” Frank finished. “Saw each other when they could, though it wasn’t often, and she stayed as devoted to him as she would have been if they’d been married. Never strayed. She always found a way to help him if she could, even if it meant giving him information on what Devil was doing.”

“And then Devil had Tinker killed,” I murmured, my heart breaking for both of them.

“And she saw it,” Frank agreed. “Swore she’d do whatever it took to bring Devil down. And here we are.”

“And here we are.” My gaze sharpened on him. “She’s ready to make a move? What does that mean?”

“It means she’s willing to do whatever we need her to do, to get Saraya free. But we need to come up with a plan.”

Suddenly all the worries, all the cares, got into a line and started moving forward. We had a way into Devil’s operation. A way to get Saraya.

We just needed a plan.

I pushed past Frank and made my way to my desk, my mind spinning though the options. I didn’t want to sit around and wait anymore. I wanted Saraya out, like, yesterday.

And that meant that I already had several plans on hand. Written down, even.

We just needed to figure out which one was going to work best.

CHAPTER 12

SARAYA

I SPENT THE REST OF the day trying to figure out how I was going to pull the wool over Devil’s eyes for long enough to get away with the con—and with my life. The man was no rocket scientist, and never had been, but that didn’t mean this was going to be easy. True, he let his ego and raging libido rule his actions most of the time—along with his ultimate need for control—and that often made it easier than it should have been to get away with things. Stroke his ego, make him think something was his idea, and you could get away with a world of trouble.

Believe me, I spoke from experience.

But he was also the most paranoid person I’d ever met. He thought everyone and their brother—and the cousin who had never even met him—were out to get him, and he acted accordingly. When he wasn’t thinking he was the best thing since sliced bread, he was positive that everyone was out to get him and steal everything from him.

Perhaps, in the end, they came from the same place. If he was the best thing since sliced bread, then of course everyone would want what he had.

Still, the problem was the same. It made him crazy. I’d seen him shoot his best friend simply because he thought the man was planning something and spending too much time with me for it to be innocent. And it hadn’t even put a pause in Devil’s day. He’d pulled the trigger, watched Dutch’s head explode, and then turned around to have some dinner and play video games with some of his other friends. He’d told himself so many times that Dutch deserved what he got that he’d actually started to believe it, and when it came right down to it, he’d do the same with anyone else if he thought they were trying to pull one over on him.

It made actually pulling one over on him really, really hard. It took guts and a lot of luck to fuck over the guy who was constantly on the alert for schemes like that.

Guts, a lot of luck, and a really good plan. I’d managed it before, under slightly less life-threatening circumstances, but could I do it again? I had the guts. I knew that much. I wasn’t sure about the luck, but I had desperation, and surely that was just as good. Now all I needed was a solid plan.

I was in the middle of trying to sort one out—without writing it down, because heaven forbid Devil found actual notes outlining such a thing—when the door to my room opened. It paused, like the person on the other side of the door wasn’t sure they wanted to come in, but then swung the rest of the way, and hit the wall behind it.

By that time, I was on my feet and prepared for whoever might come through. I was tired of Devil coming in and finding me asleep and vulnerable. From here on out, I’d decided, I’d be on my feet whenever that door opened. At least then I’d have a spitting chance at getting away from whoever had decided to visit me. Or fighting against them as they tried to do whatever they’d come into the room to do.

It was going to make sleeping really hard, but I figured that was a price I was willing to pay.

This time, though, it was just Sioux, and I felt some of the tension melt out of my shoulders when I saw her sharp, chiseled face.

“Sioux,” I said, knowing the relief was clear in my voice. “Have you come with news?”

I hoped she had. I hoped like hell she’d figured out a way to get me out of this mess and into the desert outside the house. Even better if she’d figured out how I could take a phone with me—and some transportation, and maybe even some food for the road.

She shook her head, though, a smile played on her lips. “I’m afraid not. Unless you mean news about your next meal. It’s time for dinner.”