Page 64 of Tail Me No Lies
“You, what happened to my nephew?” he demanded.
“That’s not No—” She stopped herself. “Are you Distinction’s uncle? I didn’t know your contact info or I’d have sent a message.” The lie sounded painfully obvious, but she was tired and not thinking clearly.
“Do not lie to me, female. This is my Scourge.”
Like hell he is. He’s mine.
Ruth plastered a fake smile on her face. “Sorry. That’s Distinction, my mate. The bandages make it hard to recognize him. Maybe this Scourge is in another room?”
Nox’s face was hidden by bandages, but Ashen wasn’t having it. “Where is Harmony?” he demanded.
“We don’t know.” Ruth blocked Nox from view as best as she could, which, frankly, was ludicrous.
“He knows.”
“He doesn’t,” Ruth said.
“I want to hear that lie from him, not you, female.”
Right. They would be here all day at this rate. Her anger—always a constant companion these last few weeks—flared to life and drove out the good sense to keep her mouth shut. This was a dangerous man. She knew that. Nox told her that. Yet she couldn’t stop herself from saying, “First, my name is Ruth, not female.”
Ashen’s ears went back.
“Second, he really doesn’t know, and I’ll tell you why you should have figured that out,” she said, slowing as she spoke, like she was explaining a difficult concept to a child. “He was a distraction. Harmony left on a random ship, the first one she could get, and she kept that shit to herself. Do you know why? Because it was Nox’s job to make a scene and, I don’t know, get caught on camera, just for you to follow his trail.” Ruth folded her arms over her chest. “You were always meant to find Nox, which is why he couldn’t know where Harmony was headed.”
Ashen’s tail lashed from side to side. He looked pissed. The stone-faced men behind him took note. “I could have you killed for your disrespectful tongue, and no one would notice.”
She shrugged her shoulders. “The way I see it, either that’s not Scourge, and you wasted a trip, or you fell for an obvious ruse and everyone will know you were tricked. Your choice.”
Oh, hereallydidn’t like that.
Ashen stared daggers at Ruth. She stared right back.
A man who was all muscle moved forward. Her heart stopped.
Ashen held up a hand. The hired muscle retreated. “It seems this was a wasted trip.” He took a step to Ruth and placed a hand on the side of her face. Weird, but okay. He said, “Shame that is not my nephew. I had a message for him.”
Yeah, she bet he had a message for him. For once, she kept her mouth shut.
“If you do find him, can I trust you to deliver it?” he asked.
Ruth nodded of her own volition and because his claws pricked against her face.
“I understand why he and Harmony did what they did. I was wrong. I forgive them,” Ashen said.
“What?” The word came out more as a sound of utter surprise than actual language.
“I will leave him be as long as he stays out of my affairs. No obligations. No contact. That is the deal. Will he accept?”
“Yes, I mean…” She stumbled over how to continue the ruse. Ashen’s offer was too good to be true.
No obligations?It was hard to think with Ashen’s clawsright therein the danger zone.
“If I see him, I’ll give him the message,” she managed to say.
“Let us try again. He will accept,” Ashen said.
Ruth nodded. He patted her face like an affectionate uncle, released her, and left the room without another word.
