Page 186 of Chandelier Sin
Shit.
I’d been so wrong.
And unreasonably hard on her.
I swallowed my hate for Lance, for his cruelty. His continued existence on this earth was an abomination.
Stella reacted to Jake’s nod of encouragement, saying, “When my brother went missing, I reached out to Lance because he was A.J.’s boss. He invited me ontoThe Hades. I thought he could helpme find him, or that he might have news on what had happened to A.J. He’d just disappeared, and it was so unlike him. He was Lance’s skipper.”
“What happened?” I said, feeling the sting of guilt.
“He showed me Jake’s photo. Told me to seduce him. The next night, I was driven to Pendulum.”
Cameron tilted his head thoughtfully. “You don’t want to be passive in your brother’s rescue.”
“We’ve got this,” said Jake, but the words didn’t seem to reach her. She was just too shaken, as though she’d managed to be strong all this time, but now, she was starting to crumble beneath the pressure.
We gave her a few seconds to compose herself.
“Tell me what to do,” she said. “I’ll do anything.”
“Avoid Lance,” said Jake softly. “We’ll do the rest.”
She looked panicked. “If Lance finds out you know about A.J.—”
“He won’t,” Greyson reassured her. “As long as you don’t tell him.”
She shook her head frantically. “I wouldn’t.”
Cameron leaned forward, casually interested but seriously analyzing her because lives could depend on accurate intel. If we got this wrong, her brother could become another one of Lance’s victims.
I knew what it felt like to have a sibling in danger. My arrogance toward her dissipated.
“What have you told Lance about them?” asked Cameron.
“Nothing really,” she said. “I haven’t seen him since that last time at Pendulum.”
“Don’t tell Merrill about the sixth floor,” I said firmly.
“I won’t,” she said. “But Lance wants to know the name of your fourth partner.”
Of course he does.
All of us knew well enough not to look over at Cameron.
Stella peered up at Jake. “He ordered me to spy on your plans for Pendulum.”
Cameron sat back. “Thank you for sharing that.”
“You will not return to Pendulum under any circumstances,” said Jake. “Do you understand?”
“I promise. Have you reached out to Dean Hersey?”
“Who’s Dean Hersey?” I asked.
Jake shook his head, indicating he would explain that later.
Greyson was too impatient to wait. “Just tell us.”
