She let out a breath.
‘That was war,’ she said quietly. ‘Not murder.’
She didn’t specify which of them she was talking about.
Nine was unmoved. ‘Call it whatever you want, kitten. Killing’s killing.’
‘Then we’re both murderers,’ she said.
It felt strangely liberating to say that. How odd that it was so easy to confess her crime to the only person who really understood – somebody else who’d done the same thing.
‘Just… please don’t think I’m as bad as Nathaniel,’ she said. ‘I’m not. I want to do good things with my life. I want to help people. I don’t want to spend my life making my money. I want to spend my life doing good work. Being useful. Changing things.’
They were completely off-script now. She was winging it. Which was exactly what Raj had warned her not to do. None the less, her instincts told her Moran would see right through their carefully prepared lines. He seemed to have an instinct for honesty.
So honesty was what she’d give him.
‘I want you on my side,’ she continued. ‘But if you don’t want to be on my side, if you want to keep working for Nathaniel, that’s fine, too. You don’t owe me anything. I just don’t understand it. Because I know you hate him.’
He studied her for a long minute, as if making up his mind about her.
‘How do you know I hate him?’
He picked up his fork again. Allie took a long, relieved breath. And hoped he wouldn’t stab her with it.
‘Look, don’t freak out at me, but I’ve spent hours listening to you talk about him,’ she said. ‘I think you hate him as much as I do.’
He chewed his food thoughtfully, swallowing before he answered.
‘He’s as mad as a box of badgers, that much I’ll allow you.’
Allie’s lips twitched. ‘That’s a nice way of putting it.’
Moran turned his attention to his plate – he didn’t speak again for a few minutes. Allie suspected this was a tactic to throw her off, but she didn’t try to interrupt his meal.
He ate with mechanical thoroughness. Fast. Not messy, just efficient. Like a soldier.
When he’d finished, he pushed his plate away and picked up his mug of tea.
‘I didn’t know what he was on about that night,’ he said. ‘Some papers he wanted you to sign. Something crazy like that. I think he might have killed you if he got his hands on you.’ He took a sip of tea. ‘Just didn’t want to have to clean up the mess.’
‘He was asking me to sign away my rights to him,’ Allie explained. ‘My legacy from my family. From my grandmother. She left it to me. He wants it. I don’t want it, but I won’t give it to him.’
It was a miscalculation.
‘Family money.’ He spit the words out. ‘You rich people, squabbling over who gets how many millions. Living in your mansions. You don’t have a clue. You’re just a kid and look at you.’ He thrust a finger in her direction. ‘Already fighting over money. Clawing each other’s eyes out. Using working people like we’re not humans, too.’
Allie flinched. She was beginning to worry this wouldn’t work at all. His rage always seemed to be simmering, just beneath the surface. She had to do something to win his trust.
‘It’s not the money I want,’ she insisted. ‘I’ve never been rich. Don’t you see? This isn’t about money. It’s about power.’
He watched her narrowly. ‘Explain.’
‘There is a group of people who run things. The government, the courts. Not directly – you couldn’t find them if you wanted to. But they’re there. My grandmother was one of them until she died. Nathaniel is too, now. He wants the power she had. If he gets it…’ She shook her head. ‘I don’t even know what he could do. You know he’s crazy. I know he’s crazy. I just…’ She exhaled slowly. ‘I want to stop him. Then I want to get away from him. I want…’ She picked up her water. ‘I want to live a little while longer.’
He didn’t speak immediately. Seconds ticked by. Everyone in the restaurant seemed to have gone quiet. The big cook had disappeared, presumably into the kitchen. It was as if the whole building held its breath.
A complex array of emotions crossed Moran’s face. Resignation. Worry.
At last he sighed. ‘What do you want me to do? Tell me that, then I’ll tell you my decision.’
It was what she’d been waiting for. Allie leaned forward eagerly.
‘Nathaniel’s holding a friend of mine. A boy. His name is Carter West. He’s locked up somewhere in that farmhouse right now.’
Moran’s unsurprised expression told her he knew all about it.
‘I need you to unchain him,’ she said. ‘And get him out of the building. Tonight.’