Lila didn’t answer.
“So the rumors are true? You’re thinking of sending her away, aren’t you?”
“After the executions. It’s cruel to keep her here, and it’s hurting her. She deserves a fresh start somewhere new.”
“Really? How’s she supposed to get that now?” He pressed his palm into her hand. “It’s all over the compound. Gossip channels, too.”
Lila skimmed the headlines on his newsfeed. Alex appeared in several. So did Lila. “It didn’t take the matrons long, didn’t it?” Her mother had known about Alex at breakfast, and she hadn’t even broached the topic.
That was not a good sign.
“Did she really do what they claim? Did she hit you?”
Lila nodded.
“The article made it seem like a brutal attack, like she’d gone crazy.” His eyes trailed along her face, as though he didn’t believe she’d been struck at all.
Lila had no desire to show him the bruises. “The High Council pushes drama, but it was assault. Alex forced my hand, whether she intended to or not.”
“So you had to arrest her? I’m pretty sure the Randolph heir and chief of security can do whatever the fuck she
wants.”
“That’s what you wanted to talk about, wasn’t it?”
He stepped into her space, his mouth far too close to her nose. “Drop the charges. Drop them or so help me—”
“So help you, you’ll do what?”
A patrol of six passed by the garage. The blackcoats cast a wary eye at Johnny. One even gripped the tranq gun at his side.
Lila waved them on. She didn’t need anyone to witness Johnny’s lapse in propriety.
The audience slinked away, as did Johnny’s temper. “Drop the charges. If she’s ever been your friend, drop them and let me go pick her up.”
“So you can rush in and play the hero?”
“Fuck you.”
“She’s already back at the compound. There’s nothing to be done.”
“Drop the charges.”
“No. Let me remind you of something. Alex chose to assault me in front of the High Council. Not just in front of one judge, or two judges, but all of them. She gave me few options. Do you know what sort of headlines would have been in the news if I hadn’t? The Allied Lands takes a dim view of assault, but it takes an even dimmer view of a chief or a High Council judge who lets it go unpunished right under her nose.”
“You arrested your own friend to preserve your reputation?”
“Not my reputation. Do you know what sort of problems would begin creeping up on the compound if I hadn’t? Problems with the slaves, with the servants, even with criminals picked up by the militia? I did what I could. I spared her from arrest in front of the matrons. I let her salvage that much pride, but she chose this. Don’t forget it.”
“How very generous of you.”
“I don’t get to pick and choose who to arrest, you ass. If she had done it at the great house when we were alone, then I would have gotten that choice, just like the last time her temper got the better of her. I didn’t have a choice there.”
“Keep telling yourself that. Now that we’ve gotten the Wilson fortune, Alex is useless. The chairwoman will sell her to the LeBeaus at auction, and they’ll put her in the mines.”
“I’m not going to let that happen. Alex is my best friend, regardless of how she feels about me right now, regardless of what you believe. So long as I’m an heir, she’ll stay on a Randolph compound where I can ensure that she’s safe and that no one’s making a mockery of her.”
“Yes, because you’ve done so well lately.” His nostrils flared. Before Lila could say anything else, he bowed slightly and dashed down the gravel path.