Page 158 of Penny For Your Thoughts
“What?” He glanced down the road at the sound of a distant car approaching. No sirens blared, no lights flashed, but the sight of a police vehicle at the end of the street made him stiffen. “Tell me. I’ll do whatever you say. I swear.”
“Cooperate.”
“I am. I will.”
“No, I mean cooperate with the police. Cut a deal. Give them everything they ask for. Hand over the file boxes. Tell them everything you know about Lukyan and his operation. You throw that motherfucker under the bus in exchange for a lighter sentence. They’ll grant it. You’re a minor player compared to him. He’s who they want. You might get a year. Two at most. With good behavior, they’ll let you out in six months.” I didn’t know if this was true, but it sounded good enough to bait him.
“How does that help you?”
“When you give them a list of people who are involved, you leave Darcy Gingrick out of it.”
“Who?”
“The kid you shadowed at Evergreen. The one who helped set up the scam against Elwood Scarrow. Eject his name from your memory. Give them a false lead if you have to. I don’t care. If the police come for him, I’ll come for you. Understand? It won’t matter if you’re behind bars. I will get to you. I will fucking kill you. Do you understand?”
I was not a violent man. Not anymore. The thought of murder made me sick, but I knew how I came across to people, and Aaron was adequately afraid.
“Darcy Gingrick. Got it. Never heard of him.”
“That’s right. Keep it that way.”
The police car parked at the end of the driveway. Two constables emerged. “Is one of you folks Aaron Daily?”
Without breaking eye contact, Aaron said, “That would be me.”
35
Tallus
Araucous commotion outside my curtained area in the ER announced Diem’s arrival long before I saw him. The doctor signing off on my prescription painkillers glanced up from his pad with a frown.
Before he could race off to see what was going on, I announced, “That would be my ride. Told you he was coming.”
Ten seconds later, Diem tore the curtain aside with a clatter of metal rings and blew into the tiny exam room on a wave of fury and panic. “Tallus.”
“Hey, Guns. Are you causing trouble?”
His face was blurry. Without glasses, everything was blurry, framed with sharp edges of pain. I had a roaring headache that was threatening to turn into a migraine, and no one could figure out how to dim the lights.
The doctor handed me a script, and I squinted, bringing it closer to my face to read what miracle drug he’d prescribed.
“Ice it frequently for the first twenty-four hours,” he said.
Diem shoved the doctor aside and took my face roughly between his hands, tilting my head up so he could examine the injury. I was well on my way to a matching pair of black eyes and had a jagged split on the bridge of my nose that had required a tiny dab of medical glue—thanks to my glasses snapping in half and stabbing me.
I hissed and laid a hand on his forearm. “Gentle. I hurt.”
“Oh my god. What the fuck happened?” The growl in his voice told me he already suspected.
“Luke happened. That asshole has a right hook you would be proud of. Broke my nose and…” I held up what remained of my shattered glasses. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why this keeps happening.”
“I don’t care about your glasses. I care about you. Look at your face.” He gently stroked my nose.
“Not too pretty anymore, huh?”
“You’ll always be beautiful to me. Are you okay?”
“I’ll live. The swelling is going down. A nasty nurse made me ice it until my face was numb. The doctor reset it. It made me cry. He promised it wasn’t misshapen. Is it misshapen? Am I an ogre now?”
