Game of Lies. Amanda K. Byrne

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СКАЧАТЬ deepest part of the dark.

      I wonder if he’s alone.

      “Did you sneak away from your bodyguard? And isn’t it past your curfew?” The knives are strapped to my ankles. There’s no way to retrieve them without giving away what I’m doing. I stay where I am and cross my fingers that Isaiah’s alone and not armed.

      Of course he’s armed, and if someone isn’t behind me, he’s slipping. Confronting me without a weapon is stupid, and if there’s one thing we’ve learned over the past month, it’s that Isaiah’s not stupid.

      “I underestimated you. Again. I assumed because you’d become part of my world, you’d play by my rules.” Using the dark to hide, he’s a fuzzy, vague Isaiah-shaped outline. Coward.

      But I can’t taunt him into coming at me. I do the next best thing.

      I say nothing.

      “You’ve done a good job. Kept me on my toes, and made it damn near impossible for me to go anywhere. Did me a favor too. I needed to make some cuts, keep everything lean. Easier to control that way.”

      If I remain where I am, silent and still, will he continue his movie villain act and keep talking? The longer he talks, the more time I have to figure out a plan. This is too good an opportunity to pass up. Isaiah came to me. I need his cockiness to be his undoing.

      “You’ve decided against taking out Tris, I’m guessing.”

      “The risk is a big one,” I agree. “Though I haven’t ruled out eliminating him as well. In your absence, he’s the only one that seems to have the balls to do what you’re doing. I imagine Andreas and Anton would be happy to see him gone.”

      A hand closes around my throat. “My balls are none of your concern.”

      Tris’s voice is nothing like I imagined it would be. The soft, sibilant hiss is strangely calming. “Isaiah thinks you’re a smart girl,” he murmurs. “So let’s see how smart you are. A smart girl would walk away and let the damage she’s caused stand instead of creating more.” Cool metal presses into my temple, and it takes all my willpower not to tense up.

      A gunshot will attract attention we don’t need. He has to know that. I can use that.

      Two against one, and I have to assume both are armed. Both men are taller and stronger than I am. I can’t see either of them, and of the two, I only know for certain where one of them is. Getting out of this situation unscathed is unlikely. Getting out alive is possible—it’ll just take some ingenuity on my part. Tris won’t let down his guard, so expecting him to lower the gun is out.

      “Why are you here, Isaiah? You know Nick and Constantine are in the house, and you know Nick’s going to come looking for me any minute.” I shift my feet, bumping my head against the barrel of the gun.

      “You’re right.” The frown’s evident in his voice. I peer into the shadows, frustration growing the longer I stare at his indistinguishable face. I need to see him. Isaiah continues. “Dom’s been distracted tonight, though, hasn’t he? The launch is coming up. Has he managed to fix the app?”

      Nick has been distracted, now that I think of it. If he wasn’t, he would have forced me to change places with him more often.

      “How did you find me, anyway?” I slouch a little, my back brushing against Tris’s chest. His grip on my throat tightens in response.

      “That’s none of your concern.”

      Huh. Cryptic. I switch to a more immediate problem. “So are you going to make a lot of noise and take me out here, or do you have a plan to smuggle me out of the backyard and over to your house?”

      “The gun’s a precaution,” he says. “An insurance policy of sorts. Tris won’t have to use it as long as you cooperate.”

      Yippee.

      “You still didn’t answer my question. Why are you here? And are we going inside sometime soon because I’m getting cold.”

      The night quiet settles around us while I wait for Isaiah’s answer, Tris’s hold never wavering, the gun steady. My best shot is to drop down, away from the gun, rather than grabbing his hand and trying to pull it away.

      “I’m here to get you, Cass. So we can discuss this like adults.” Isaiah finally moves from the shadows. “We can talk here or across the street, though if we have the conversation here, it will likely be cut short when Dom comes looking for you.”

      From one heartbeat to the next, several things happen at once. The back door opens and Nick steps onto the deck. Two more men enter the yard, heading for Isaiah. Constantine comes up behind Nick, talking like they were in the middle of a conversation. I jerk in Tris’s hold, dropping to my knees to get away from the gun, Tris falling with me as he tightens his grip.

      This is not going to end well.

      Chapter 5

      Someone shouts. A dark blur races from the porch to the yard, and one of the two new men goes down hard as he’s tackled from the side. It takes a second for the other guy to realize what’s going on. He yanks the tackler to his feet, and from the hoot of laughter, I can tell it’s Constantine.

      I can’t believe he’s laughing about this. The man sure has a bizarre idea of a good time. A shot rings out, Constantine’s attacker stumbling and falling to the ground, leaving Constantine to face off with Isaiah and the guy he tackled.

      Nick takes a step toward us, blocking my view of the fight behind him. He hasn’t said anything. Why hasn’t he said anything? I push the rising panic down and scrabble for calm. Nick’s thinking. That’s all this is. Tris hasn’t let go of my throat. His hand squeezes hard, choking the air right back out, and my heart’s pounding in my ears. He shoves the gun into the side of my head. “Nice try,” he says. Before I can recover, he lets go of my throat, grabs first one wrist, then the other, yanking them behind my back and cutting off my only route to a weapon.

      Memories of Isaiah binding my arms and legs, his knife slicing into my skin, threaten to overwhelm me. I shut my eyes, the sounds of Constantine’s fight echoing in my ears. He can handle himself. He’s not my concern. I need a plan. An escape route. Isaiah rendered me helpless. As long as the safety stays on, I’m not this time.

      Tris is behind me, and while he’s holding my wrists, I can move my hands. His legs are spread, knees on either side of my calves, evening out the height difference a bit. I hope it’s enough.

      “Drop the gun.”

      My eyes snap open. The first lick of fear dances up my spine as Nick stands in front of me, gun pointed at Tris. I shake my head, heedless of the oily metal pressed to my temple. Bad plan. Horrible plan. He’s got more to lose than I do. I won’t have him shot because he got in the middle of my problem.

      A click, and Nick’s flicked the safety off. The fear races higher. Tris is a highly trained law enforcement officer. If I do anything now, the risk he’ll squeeze the trigger is much, much higher than it was twenty seconds ago.

      Another click. The safety on Tris’s gun. There’s nothing standing between me and a bullet in the brain now. I bite my tongue. This isn’t happening. СКАЧАТЬ