Her eyes widen. “Nothing!”
“Then why can’t you look at me?” She continues to avoid my gaze and I step out into the hall, flipping the latch to catch the door before I do. “Let me give you a little advice, ma’am,” I drawl. “If you want to try and play games or fuck with someone, make damn sure it ain’t us. We didn’t get where we are by being naïve. Now, I’ll ask you one more time. What do you want with Rookie?”
“I need him for a job, okay?” she says, her body sagging with relief from finally telling the truth.
“Now, see there?” I coo, like I’m talking to a small child. “How hard was that?”
She gives me the finger and I close the distance between us until her body is a mere inch from mine. “That’s strike one, Diem. Don’t lie to me. At the end of the day, my brothers will choose me over you every time. I will pull the plug on this whole operation. Now that Death Mob is out of the picture, you need us as much as we need you. Don’t fucking forget that.”
I turn on my heels, pushing open the door and waving my hand for her to come in. Dragging her feet, she gives me the evil eye as she walks through, then looks to Rookie, who’s standing on the other side of the room. “What is this? A sleepover?”
I shut the door, standing in front of it to block her escape. Rookie mirrors my position, his arms crossed and looking just as pissed as I feel. Taking a seat on the bed, Diem puts her head in her hands. We wait for her to speak, which she takes her precious fucking time doing.
“I need you to take out Clark,” she says, meeting Rookie’s eyes.
He gives a one-shouldered shrug. “All right.”
“And,” Diem starts, pausing to bite her lip. She stands, lifting her chin high and finding her balls. “I need you to take his place.” This time, Rookie looks to me and it’s my turn to shrug. “We have a rat in our family. Until Dorian is sure who it is, you two are the only ones he trusts.” She turns to level me with a look. “After hearing your speech about family, he thought you would protect me to no ends considering I’m Dirk’s sister. I guess he sees me as part of that family you’re willing to give your life to protect.”
“So why not just ask Shady to step in as your second?” Rookie asks, clearly not comfortable with his new job title.
“Because it complicates things,” she snaps, keeping her eyes on me.
“Complicates things how?” His words are deliberately slow, making sure she understands them.
She takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “Because some people already know about us. Word is spreading fast and if they think we’re a couple, they’ll look to him for guidance instead of me. I’m the first woman to ever hold this much power in the business. If things were like they used to be, I would have married and my husband would hold the power. Some people still see the Underground that way. It will take some time to adapt. Until then, the rumors about us will just have to stay rumors.”
How fucking convenient for her. “Well the least you can let me do is handle Clark. I mean no sense in wasting all this talent for nothing,” I say, flexing my arms for her.
She rolls her eyes. “Can’t do that either.”
“And just why the hell not?” I ask, a little offended.
Walking toward me, she smiles. A very pleased look crosses her face when she reaches me. Standing on her toes, she whispers in my ear, “Because you’re the bait.”
Of course I am.
* * *
I let Rookie and Diem have their little private powwow, while I stay in my room and sulk. I don’t know why she thinks they need privacy. He’s just gonna tell me everything anyway. I’m not jealous that Rookie is getting what I consider a promotion; actually, I’m happy he is. I don’t trust anyone with Diem as much as I trust him. I just hate being out of the loop.
When Rookie finally comes back, he fills me in on the plan. In a nutshell, Clark thinks that I’m the one who is supposed to die. Lucky for me, I get to ride with him tonight to “handle something,” where he is supposed to shoot me in the back of the head and leave me. But Rookie will be there to take him out before he does, only after finding out who the leaks are. I’ll also be packing just in case shit turns south. What makes me nervous is that if Diem wants Clark dead, it’s because she or Dorian doesn’t trust him. So what in the hell makes her think he will follow through with her plan, and not devise one of his own?
I’m skeptical about the whole ordeal, but I keep it to myself. I do, however, tell Rookie to watch his back and to not put too much trust into Diem. His response is a glare and a reminder that he isn’t a rookie anymore. Still, I don’t like it. So I decide it’s time to devise a plan of my own.