Page 91 of Kill Your Darlings

“You’re okay, Keir.You handled yourself like a pro at the Q&A.Now walk me through what happened up here.Why were you in Rudolph’s room?”

Jesus.I hadn’t even had time to assimilate the unexpected proposal from Rudolph.Well, not a proposal.Hadit been a proposal?A suggestion, maybe.I didn’t want to pin too much on a casual conversation over 86 proof whisky.

I said, “I thought I’d grab my jacket before I joined you and Hayes—”

“Ha,” Finn growled.

“But when I got off the elevator, Rudolph was coming back from the pool and he asked me to have a nightcap.So, I said yes, we had a nightcap…”

“And?”

I swallowed.“When I left Rudolph’s, I spotted Colby standing a few feet from the door to this suite.He saw me, turned, and started to walk away, and I—”

“Pleasetell me you didn’t speak to him.”

“But that’s not a normal reaction, Finn,” I protested.“To just ignore this weirdo and his libelous manuscript when he’s trying to infiltrate my authors and find out my room number?That’s not what an innocent person would do.”

“You spoke to him.”Finn actually dropped his face in his hands, which scared the hell out of me.

“Ihadto.I couldn’t pretend I didn’t see him, so what’s my excuse for not asking the normal questions?”

Finn raised his head and scrutinized me.“Whatexactlydid you say to him?”

I related the entire conversation.

Finn heard me out in silence.

“You think I made a mistake,” I said.

“Hell, yes!I said don’t engage.What part ofdon’t engagetranslates to a hallway dissertation on cover letters and character names?”

“What choice did I have?I couldn’t pretend I didn’t see him.We looked each other in the eyes.”

Finn opened his mouth, but then closed it.

“Finn, he believed me.”

Finn’s brows drew together.

“I saw it in his face.He believes thatIthink it’s all a gimmick.Maybe he won’t believe it for long, but he believed it in the moment.”

Finn was silent, thinking.

“I went with my instinct,” I said.“That’s all I had.”

He said finally, “Ifit’s true that he believed you, that he believes you have no clue about what happened between Dominic and Milo, it gives you a tactical and psychological advantage.That’s a big if.Either way, though, it’s dangerous because he’s liable to double down to clarify the threat.”

“But it buys us time.Doesn’t it?”

“Maybe,” Finn agreed grudgingly.“You managed to avoid confirming anything, you showed no reaction to pressure, you kept your own cards hidden.He still doesn’t know what you know—or how rattled you are.”He added, “You took a hell of a risk.”

“I felt cornered.I had to go with my gut.”I offered it as both explanation and apology.

Finn let out a long, controlled breath.“All right.You were there.I wasn’t.You’re smart.You know the stakes.I’m not going to second guess you.”He met my eyes, grimaced, and said, “I mean, Iam, because the idea that you confronted him on your own scares the shit out of me.We don’t know how dangerous this guy is.But you’re right, if he bought what you said, he’s got to be very confused at this moment.”

I leaned forward and rested my forehead on his shoulder.He put his arms around me immediately.“What’s this?”he asked gently.

I moved my head in negation.

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