The Arrangement

“Yes,” replied Austin. “And it’s a damned good thing we were, because—”

“And just how were you watching me?” asked Dallas. “No wait…” she sat up in her chair. “Could we start with why were you watching me?”

Austin was standing, but now he pulled up a chair. He flipped it around and sat down on it backwards, resting his arms on the back.

“We were watching you because your brother told us to,” he said.

Dallas flinched visibly at the mention of Connor. Her face twisted into a scowl.

“My brother is dead.”

“Yes,” said Austin, trying to be patient. “But he told us before he died. His last message to us…”

He glanced at me and I shook my head just the tiniest little degree. I did it almost imperceptibly, hoping Dallas wouldn’t notice.

“Anyway,” Austin went on, “he told us to look after you. To make sure you were alright, because he might…” He fumbled. “Because he might…”

“He might be killed,” said Dallas sullenly.

Austin nodded. “Yes.”

The kitchen fell silent for a long moment. Then, almost as if a light bulb went off, Dallas’s whole demeanor changed.

“So then you know what happened to him,” she said hopefully. “You can tell me what… when he…”

I could see her struggle. The search for answers, the undying curiosity… pitted against the little voice in the back of her mind, screaming that she didn’t want to know. Not really. Not truly.

Because once she crossed that threshold, she could never, ever go back.

“Wait,” Dallas said. “When did he tell you this? He’s been gone a year.”

Austin stopped talking. Kane cleared his throat.

“Are you saying you’ve been watching me for more than a year?”

I folded my arms across my chest. At this point, honesty was the only real option.

“Yes.”

“You’ve been watching my house for a year? Driving by in the middle of the night? Looking for signs of trouble, waiting for someone to roll up in my bedroom while I was sleeping, only to—”

“It’s not like that,” said Austin. “We don’t drive past your house because we don’t need to drive past your house.”

She looked confused. Entirely uncertain. But I could sense an anger too, building inside her. Welling up, just beneath the surface.

Uh oh.

“There are cameras,” said Kane, nonchalantly, “set up in your home.”

He didn’t even seem phased when Dallas’s head whipped in his direction. Her jaw dropped to the floor.

“We’ve been watching you remotely.”

Five

DALLAS

“You’ve been WATCHING me?” I shouted, leaping out of my chair. “In my HOUSE?”