“Who knows? The govies or the families?”
“Both,” Clarissa said. “The families want to steal her before the govies break her and make her completely useless. Which means you’re not the only one looking into her whereabouts. It’s too dangerous to break her out, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“I’m not going to break her out,” he said.
“Well, whatever you’re going to do, think twice before you move forward with it.”
“What does that mean?”
Clarissa gave a frustrated grumble, and then shot him a look so piercing, it made him pull back at the vehemence of it. “I’m not sure I trust you anymore.”
“What?” Confusion was followed immediately by exasperation. He rarely could follow her thought process, and this was one of the times he found that inability highly irritating. “How can you say that? We’re best friends.”
Her mouth pressed together. “Best friends who apparently keep secrets.”
“As if you don’t keep secrets from me.” Their relationship was built on loyalty, not honesty. “I’d never do anything to harm you.”
“I wonder if that’s true. The things you’re doing affect me greatly.” She let go of his hand and picked up her datapad once more. “As I said, I’ve come into possession of some interesting halo-images. I thought I’d share them with you.”
Dade felt his stomach sink. Numerous possibilities filtered through his head, none of them good. She knew something, and had known something for a while. But for her to press like this, whatever she was in possession of, made him worry.
The last few weeks played through in his mind:
Arden.
The club.
Undercity.
The kiss.
Her visit to the Sky Towers.
More kissing.
None of the things he wanted her to have images of. Any, or all, of them would earn her condemnation. Yet those things were tame compared to his other extracurricular activities. He forced himself to remain calm and waited.
Fiddling with the programs on her datapad, she opened an encrypted file with two sets of codes and a palm print. Then she turned the pad around, offering it to him. The first image confirmed his fears.
The photos were taken with a concealed camera. The images were extremely grainy with a green tinge to the black and white, indicating they were taken using infrared. It wasn’t the best setup to capture a clear picture, which made the subjects in them difficult to decipher.
At least, that would have been the case if the pictures hadn’t been of him.
There were four photos in total of him and Arden in the club. They were side and back shots, their features obscured by other dancers and from the nanotech haze of their masks, which was fortunate. Added to that, the strobes in the club had cut the images with light, further mangling their features.
Then there was the fifth and final picture. A straight shot of Dade wearing the Ghost’s mask. That was the money shot.
Even without a clear view of Dade’s face, what could be seen was the formal tunic from their engagement pictures. There would be no way to deny it. It would be obvious to anyone who knew him that Dade was the Ghost.
Not that he would deny this to Clarissa. She was way too smart for lies. He was more worried about the clear fact that he was cavorting with the enemy. The pressing issue became who else had seen these. He hoped that Clarissa had scrubbed off any digi-feed.
“You had me followed?” Dade asked.
“I never promised that I wouldn’t send someone to watch you.” She paused. “I admit I was surprised, and not much can shock me.”
“Just ask whatever it is you’re dying to know.”
“Fine.” Clarissa sat back, crossing her legs while regarding him like a specimen in a glass jar. “Let’s start with the girl.”
“It’s not a crime to meet someone in a club.”
Clarissa raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips.
The reaction put Dade on the defensive. “She was pretty. I asked her to dance. So what? You knew I was meeting a girl.”
“You’re saying you didn’t know that she’s high on the food chain in Lasair?” Clarissa asked sarcastically.
He didn’t say that. Though he was surprised. He had already figured out Arden was part of the gang even if this confirmation of her position had him rethinking his strategy.
“You’re canoodling with Lasair, and then you’re asking me for information on the Lasair girl the govies caught? What do you expect me to think?” she said with exasperation.
Dade cleared his throat.
She held up her hand, stopping him. “Don’t bother lying. It’s insulting. Especially with how you’re acting.”
“How is that?” Dade asked, curious yet offended. He’d never realized he’d had the ability to feel both emotions at the same time.
“Shifty. Like you’re hiding something. You haven’t answered any of my questions.”
“Because you’re asking things I can’t answer.” Not truthfully anyway.
“Why are you protecting her?” she pressed.
Because he felt like Arden was his to protect. Thinking that while sitting next to his fiancée was insanity, he realized, yet he couldn’t help how he felt. He simply shook his head.
“Fine, you’re not going to talk about the girl,” she said. “Are you going to tell me about the other thing?”
“What other thing?”
She tilted her head and stared at him.
Dade forced himself not to speak. Not to make excuses or lies. Silence would have to do.
Eventually Clarissa took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and exhaled in a long sigh. “I’ve been tracking the Ghost for months, and when I finally get close enough, imagine my surprise when I see you. It can’t be a coincidence.”
“Don’t ask me about it.”
“I can’t help if you’re not honest,” she said.
“I don’t need help.”
“I know you don’t want help, you’ve made that abundantly clear. But you do need help.”
The curtains rustled before the tailor stepped back into the room. “Excuse me, there’s a gentleman here to see you. He says he’s Mr. Croix’s cousin.”
Clarissa slipped into her social persona, as if they hadn’t been discussing treason. “Thank you. Send him back.”
The tailor bowed and backed out of the room.
“Rylick’s here?” Dade asked.
“He asked me to meet him for lunch,” Clarissa said. “I pinged him my location as soon as I found you.”
“Lunch? I thought he annoyed you.”
“He does. But he ziptexted me last night, telling me he was working on something for your father and requested that we meet.” She raised her eyebrow and pursed her lips.
“Interesting.” Dade frowned.
“I’d hoped you’d join us for lunch.”
Rylick swaggered into the room. He always looked like he owned the universe and expected everyone to stop and watch him. Even if the audience was less than impressed, as Dade was.
“Cousin,” Rylick greeted Dade before turning to Clarissa and kissing her on her cheeks. “I hate looking all over the city for you. I’m hungry.”