Page 173 of Perfect Liar

Will had asked Ben to supervise us.

Ben gestured for my hands, unraveled one wrap, and tightened it.

“These must be quite snug to protect the joints. And John’s right, you know. You are delicate. There’s nothing wrong with that…you’re not supposed to be a fighter.”

His lectures were his affection. But still.

“That’s quite sexist, Ben. Any woman can fight if she trains for it. I need to defend myself. What if I’m attacked again?”

Ben rolled his eyes.

“Christ, you’ll never be without proper protection, and you know it.”

“Have either of you heard from Will today?”

I hadn’t heard a word from him. I knew only what Ben or Thomas told me. And it hurt like hell knowing Will cut me off again even after we agreed not to let it happen anymore.

Ben and John said “no” at the same time.

I rolled my eyes back at them.

“Where is Thomas this morning?” I asked.

“Looking at the monitors last time I saw him,” John said.

Ben narrowed his dark eyes in warning.

“Don’t put him into a difficult position, Ellie.”

“I want to talk to Will, that’s all. God, you act like I can reach through the phone and drag him back through it by his ear.”

“Can’t you?”

I squared my shoulders.

“I want him to come home.”

“Exactly, and he’ll say no, but then you’ll plead with him, and he’ll give in, because no doesn’t mean no when he’s saying it to you. Listen, if he comes back before he finishes what he set out to do, if you guilt him into it, he’ll get distracted, and you’ll be at greater risk…and one of you will die. So for fuck’s sake, let him do what he needs to do.”

He walked away with a smooth stride and his chin high.

I should have told Ben that I wanted to be an extension of Will’s strength, that I wanted to protect the man I loved. I should have shouted it at his fucking confident back.

Thomas understood me.

An unexpected wave of sadness rolled through me.

Isabel would have loved Thomas.

Isabel, my beautiful sister, the perfect liar.

I squeezed my eyes shut for a second to block out the fact that she had lied to me so perfectly about Lissie, about Ethan, about our father, and who knew what else, then I headed upstairs to the war room to find Thomas.

When I got there, Thomas had his back to the door while staring at the monitors and talking on his phone.

“You’ve tied my hands, so you fucking fix it.”

He paused, listening for a minute before going on.