Page 93 of Jonas

Apparently he thought that one word said more than it actually did.

“That’s not an answer,” I pointed out.

“Do you honestly think I’m stupid enough to answer that question and piss you off?”

He made a valid point. Yet, I still pushed. “How about just one example?”

He closed his eyes and shook his head.

When he reopened them, they held humor and resignation.

“Women don’t like hearing the word no from a man. Typically, when a woman hears something she doesn’t like she gets pissed.” Jonas dipped his head in Lore’s direction. “And a woman who’s pissed at a man looks like that.”

He was right, this was a conversation best not had. Not because his opinion would piss me off but hearing about women from his past probably would.

“So you think Zane told her no?”

“I think Zane was being Zane. And since he’s Zane and doesn’t know her or trust her, he will have made that clear in a way that might not be all that nice.”

“Might not be?” I chuckled, knowing that was an understatement and I barely knew the man.

Jonas shrugged. “It’s possible. Unlikely but possible.”

More like it was highly likely Zane was less than nice when he explained to Lore he didn’t trust her.

Not that he trusted me, either. Especially since the first words out of my mouth had been a lie.

“Is there any chance that one day, he’ll trust me after the play I made to get a meeting with him?”

Jonas turned his attention from Lore angrily pacing the porch to me.

“If he didn’t trust you, you wouldn’t be here. Technically your role in this ended when your cover at Delcon was blown.”

“Lore was in the meeting and she’s going with him to meet POTUS,” I pointed out.

This time it was Jonas who took his time processing what I’d said.

“There’s a difference between you and Lore. You played the hand you were dealt. You had a job—to recruit the company—and to do that, you needed Zane in front of you. He understands the game. Hell he’s a master at it. It took us less than three minutes to figure out you weren’t who you said you were and didn’t work for who you said you worked for. And when you were called on it, you knew that play wasn’t going to work so you pivoted to the truth.

“Lore is a whole different breed. The fact that no one, including Nebraska, knows who she really is, who she really works for, or where her training comes from, means she cannot be trusted. In this case, she’s bringing something to the table; that means Zane has no choice but to keep her close. But a woman like Lore, she knows no one trusts her. If you asked, she’d likely tell you straight out not to trust her.

“What she won’t like is the consequences of not being trusted. From what I’ve heard about her, she’s good at what she does. Excellent, actually. So her not being able to play Zane and get her way is going to seriously piss her off.”

I lied, a lot. Dishonesty was a requisite of the job—whether it be to obtain information or conceal what you knew. If someone couldn’t lie effectively, their career as an investigator would be short-lived. Manipulation was another requirement, though I’d learned early on that finding information to use as leverage often was faster and more effective.

I had a feeling Lore had mastered manipulation and coercion. On that thought, I watched her gaze swing to the Escalade. Her glare was accompanied with raised eyebrows and pinched lips.

When we didn’t exit the SUV fast enough, both her hands came up in the universal ‘what the hell?’ gesture.

“We better see what’s wrong with her.”

With a heavy sigh, Jonas agreed. “Yeah.” Then in a low rumble he added, “Fuck.”

It happened as soon as Jonas and I were out of the car. Without any prompting, Lore explained her irritation.

“I was asked to leave the house.”

I didn’t know what to say to that, so I waited for Jonas to field her declaration.