Within, he motioned for me to have a seat. I had it, caught up in my own confusion. I'd been with Iz a second ago, and why had I headed up?
Scribe tented his hands upon his desk and sighed at me. "I saw what you did with her."
The world ended in that moment. The voice that'd been telling me to run let out a shriek that would have woken the dead. I got right back up and moved toward the doors, my heart in my throat.
"I'm not angry with you, son. Sit back down or I will be."
I stopped in my tracks and shivered. "I didn't mean for it to go so far. I was just trying to stop her. You have to understand what she did; what she threatened to do. What she kept doing, sir. I just didn't want to see her hurt anyone ever again. I couldn't-"
"I know what you couldn't. I understand. And if I'd been a little smarter, I'd have done it when she got pregnant with Emma."
"Pardon?" I choked.
He nodded. "There. Now you know a secret of mine. I know a secret of yours. Makes us even, doesn't it? You could ruin me with that. Wasn't illegal or anything, but there'd be plenty of questions about my suitability to run this heap. I'd be out on the street quicker than you could believe."
"Christ. Lamar, man, you put your dick in crazy," I whispered, horrified.
Though I wasn't some kind of idiot, I knew how babies were made, you just don't think about your boss doing that kind of shit. You especially don't think about them doing it with an employee of the company. Sure, he was right that it wasn't technically against any kind of rules that I was aware of, but there's something to be said about discretion and that wasn't fucking it.
That nod came again. "Never regretted it after Emma, either. Best thing that ever came out of Dreamweaver being a part of us. I scrubbed up her nails so they can't trace DNA to you, moved her body out of the room so there wouldn't be a problem. I asked the wet work guys to get in there and clean up so you don't have to deal with it."
"But... why? I haven't done anything for you so you'd save me." I sank back down into the chair. "I mean, hiding a murder? That's fucked. I screwed up. I shouldn't have done it."
"At most you'd face a self-defense charge. She attacked you, tried to kill you, and you put her down because you had to."
My mind swam at the possibility. I hadn't wanted to be off the hook for the murder, I'd just wanted people to understand that I'd been pushed to it. Scribe was protecting me, but for what reason? Because he never did anything without a reason. I landed on it after a moment. "What do you want from me?"
The smile that curled his lips disgusted me. I looked away and out the nearest window, wondering what would happen if I slung the chair through it and took flight. I'd get away from Scribe, I'd get away from Isabella. But I'd leave Cassie laying in a bed, completely alone. And that wasn't acceptable.
"Confidence. I want you to back up what's coming. It might not make sense to you, but it will. If you trust me, you'll be rewarded."
It took all of my self-control not to grind my teeth down to the bone. "Can I have the night to think about it?"
"Fine. But be here bright and early. 7 am sharp, you understand? And if you decide against it, you still come and explain to me why not."
I nodded, got up, and left.
My car had been smashed by an alien called a Kipa, usually about human-sized and irritating to deal with. The one who'd crushed it had been the Godzilla-sized version that I'd never seen before, because that's just how my life was going at that moment. I supposed it was for the best. It didn't pay to drink and drive, and I was going to go get wasted before the bars closed for the evening.
The bus was good enough. I hopped on it, rode it five miles down to the seediest part of town imaginable and set to making myself horribly sick.
Did you know that going out to drink on an empty stomach is a really bad idea? Most people learn that when they're in college. I had, too, but I wasn't aware of how stupid I was being until the third gin sour hit and the world tipped slightly to one side.
I did what any sensible man would do in that position. I tapped the bar for another and waited for them to have time to serve the guy who was all alone. Not that there was anything wrong with it, but surly, beefy guys like me usually get a side-eye if they turn up and brood all over their drinks.
It's because we cause trouble.
And I wasn't any different than the rest of them.
"You a real piece of shit, ain't you?" said the friendliest voice I'd ever heard in my life.
Picking up my next gin sour, I closed my eyes and tried to stay calm. "I sure am."
The punch came swift and I hadn't expected it quite so soon. It knocked me from the stool and sent me sprawling across the floor. The alcohol soaked into my shirt, guaranteeing that I'd hear it from Iz when I got home. Fuck it, she may as well have plenty of reason to yell at me. I peeled myself from the ground and looked at my new pal.
He was a man of about my height, though much heavier than I was. Dark hair, dark eyes, dark everything.
