Page 44 of Unexpected Prejudice

“Thanks.” Shay-Lee then looked around. While doing so, he caught my eyes and got me to notice the back door. “I guess I’ll go.”

“Yeah. Let me walk you out.”

“By the way, what’s your name?” Shay-Lee asked as the two walked out of the room.

“It’s Kai,” the man answered while I seized the opportunity, got up from my hiding place, and quickly sneaked out the back door.

Only once I was outside could I breathe in relief. That was way too fucking close.

I rounded the house and waited until Shay-Lee parted ways with Kai.

They talked for a few more minutes, during which Shay-Lee did everything he could to flirt with the man. He laughed and touched the stranger’s arm. He moved his hand through his golden hair and fluttered his eyelashes, flirting Kai’s suspicions away, and I guessed it worked.

“What did you two talk about?” I asked once we were back inside Shay-Lee’s G-Wagon.

“Why? Did it make you jealous?”

“No,” I lied.

“I just made sure he wasn’t suspicious or anything. He wasn’t. He actually invited me to his restaurant.”

“For real?” I gaped at him.

Shay-Lee was a master of deception. Not only was he caught up breaking in and getting away with it, but he also got a dinner out of it.

“Yeah. He gave me his restaurant’s name and told me to say I was his guest. Nice, isn’t it?”

“Very.” I pursed my lips while ignoring the itchy feeling in my chest. “Why were you so happy about that phone call?”

“Jordy…” His voice was low, almost like a warning.

“After we almost got caught? No fucking way you’re keeping silent,” I protested.

Shay-Lee sighed and then pulled the car to the side of the road. Putting it in Park, he turned to face me in his seat. “Last week, I was at Miles’s house when Andrei arrived. I told Miles’s parents about Andrei’s criminal record, and it seemed to do the trick, but after I left, Andrei told them his tear-jerking story that made them change their minds about him. I only know about it because Miles gave me hell the next day for trying to mess with his relationship. While scolding me, he also mentioned Andrei’s mom died and that I should feel sympathetic considering how I’d also lost my mom.”

Shay-Lee’s hands gripped the wheel a bit tighter. “It really pissed me off, you know? Miles comparing my mom to that junkie who allegedly overdosed on crack.” Letting go of the wheel, he leaned in his seat and rubbed his thighs. “Anyway, Andrei told Miles his mom was dead, and he lied. That phone call confirmed it. The inmate’s last name was Bespalov, the same as Andrei, and he was the one she was looking for. I don’t speak Russian, but she used the word ‘Mama.’”

Did he pick up all this from a call lasting less than thirty seconds?

“Obviously, Andrei doesn’t want Miles to know his mom is alive enough to lie about it. And it gives me an advantage.”

“So, all of this just for a secret?” I asked.

“Just a secret?” Shay-Lee reached and touched my cheek. “Oh, Jordy… don’t underestimate secrets. They’re deadly.”

His words were as cold as ice, and I shrank in my seat. Your secret’s safe with me. That’s what he told me the first night he saw me at the convenience store. I should’ve been scared, or at least worried, but I wasn’t. Him knowing my secret brought me closer to him, and if that was what it took, I was willing to let him know all my secrets.

“My dad’s in New York for the weekend,” Shay-Lee said, his voice low and dragging. “So, what do you say? Want to keep me warm tonight?”

He could’ve asked me to come over, but no, he had to say it in a way that sent shivers down my spine. To use words that were a spell to my poor soul.

Unable to speak, I nodded.

“Good.” He smiled softly.

Removing his hand from my shoulder, he pulled the car back on the road.

“What about your dad’s girlfriend?” I asked, remembering how last time he told me he hated her. What if she was around?