Page 59 of Liar
“Fine.” Aiko folds her arms across her chest. “We’ll table that since it’s not a top priority. Yet.”
I roll my eyes.
“When will you explain to Malcolm what you’ve found out? I’d like time to warn my father of the incoming shitstorm if that’s okay. I don’t have to give him all the details. Maybe just enough to keep him out of the country for a while.”
“Oh—well, that’s my dilemma.” I have to force the words out, considering what I’ve only seconds ago denied. “A raid will only work if a small, limited number of people know the truth.”
“Uh-huh.” Aiko tips her head, waiting for more.
Dammit, she’s going to make me say it. “For the FBI to succeed, no one at Briar Manor can know what’s about to go down. That includes Thorne. I can’t tell him what I know. I have to lie to him when it happens. If he ever finds out that I knew what his father had done well before the police broke down his door—that I was the leak who tipped off the FBI, he’ll never forgive me. Ever.”
To Aiko’s credit, she doesn’t wag her finger at me, singing I told you so! She makes a clucking sound with her tongue, then says, “Yeah. Thorne doesn’t seem like the forgiving type.”
“Tell me I have to do the right thing. Convince me to explain everything to Malcolm tonight.”
“I’m sorry, Ember. I can’t do that.”
“Why?” My voice cracks. I clench my hands. “I’ll save Raven’s Bluff. Damion will be stopped. Not even the best lawyers could get around the mountain of evidence against him if this goes through. Maybe I’d even expose the Societies, given that some of them actually assisted in hiding Savannah. I told you about that midwife, right? Right. I’m sitting on too much not to tell the police. In fact, I think it’s an actual crime if I don’t speak up.”
“It’s not worth it. Not at the expense of your soul.”
“Excuse me?”
“You’ve been through so much. You lost your parents and gained an absentee father. A secret society embroiled you in their fucked-up ways. A mysterious, handsome boy hooked you with his unsavory intentions—your words, remember.” Aiko holds up a finger to stop my counterargument. “Ever since you enrolled at Winthorpe, I’ve watched more pieces of you chip away. I fucking hate to admit this, but the first time in a long while I saw your face light up was this morning when Thorne approached you. You walked into school dejected and pale, Savannah trailing behind you, inanimate as always, yet … I sensed she was the reason you looked so shell-shocked. Now I know why. But back to Thorne—he’s awakened something in you, hasn’t he?”
“I…” Yes. His shadow’s entwined with mine, the dark forms coming together whenever there’s a chance.
“If you do this, you need to be sure you can handle it.” Aiko leans forward and rests her hand on my forearm. “I’m not talking about Thorne’s anger. You’ve withstood his wrath more than once. I’m more concerned with how you’ll defend against betrayal. Because that’s how he’ll see it. There’s no coming back from that, and it might just rip you wide open. He’ll devour the last, tender parts of you and spit you out.” Aiko adds in a softer tone, “He’ll find out. Thorne’s smart and horrifically good at sniffing out traitors. Somehow, he’ll deduce that you’re responsible for his family’s downfall.”
I search her eyes, my jaw involuntarily clenching.
“Savvy’s not kidding around, either. You’re the only one she’s told, and she made sure to do it with a failsafe—you’ll go down for Zeke’s assault.”
That sick feeling swirls, brushing against the back of my tongue. “I might deserve it.”
The more distance that grows between the mania I experienced in the Nobles’ tomb and now, the more I regret my actions. “Keeping my membership in the Societies or not, I shouldn’t have done it.”
“I agree it’s not like you. Not the Ember I’ve come to know. But, it’s in the past. You have to look forward, and you’ll be no good to anyone if you’re under arrest.”
Sighing, I rub my eyes. I’m between a rock and a sharp-edged knife. Having Aiko to talk it through with is helpful, except I’m nowhere near a solution that could punish Damion yet protect Thorne. I’m willing to sacrifice myself, but Aiko’s right. What good could I do in chains? Raven’s Bluff is far from purged. If they don’t find anything in Damion’s home, it would all be for nothing, with no plan B.
It’s then that an idea wriggles its way into my mind.
I lower my hands. “Not if we figure out another way.”
“Like what?”
I lean back. “Zeke.”
“The aiding and abetting jackass you practically put into a coma? What does he have to do with this?”
Saying his name out loud solidifies the thread of a plan weaving through my head. I give a confirmatory nod to a confused, information-overloaded Aiko. “Zeke will be the mole who tips off the FBI.”
Chapter 20
Thorne
Ember has disappeared again.