“But they don’t know you do.”
“Why would you agree to help?”
“Because they have something else I want.”
“Which is what exactly?”
“You won’t like my answer.”
“Tell me.”
He quiets and his hands drop away from me. “Death.”
My heart lurches in my chest. “What?”
“Look, that part doesn’t matter, just—”
“No, is that really the only thing you want?” The sheen in his eyes answers my question, and I straighten, furious. “If youthink I’m going to help you hurt yourself, you’re out of your mind!”
“You don’t even know me. And you know even less than you did before.”
“I know that twice now I’ve chosen you over them. I know that you were willing to sacrifice yourself to protect me. Tell me what else I have to know.”
He leans back and runs a hand over his face. “We’re headed down the same path again. We know how that one ends.”
“Exactly, so we can avoid it this time. What really happened the day I was locked up with you?”
He shuts his eyes and rests against the wall again. “They sent me a silent message while we were in the room. Either I give them information they wanted about a CEO of some corporation and make you forget about me, or you share my fate.”
“And you gave them the information.”
“That’s not much of a choice. They have short fuses, though. They’re back for more.”
“Senator Albertson?”
He nods, face drawn. “They’ve been working on that one for a while. I keep telling them there’s nothing they can use, but they won’t believe me.”
“Why not?”
“Everyone has secrets. They worked hard to arrange a meeting so I could get inside his head and learn his. They refuse to believe it was all in vain.”
“Was it?”
Our eyes lock. “No.”
My pulse races as I hug my arms around my knees.
Daniel squints at some imaginary object. “Not only could they secure federal funding for years with what’s in my head, it’s personal.”
“Wait… you’re…” My limbs go numb when it all comes crashing together, my voice fading to a near-whisper. “You’re their meal ticket. You’re what’s keeping this whole organization running.”
He flinches and clenches his jaw. “I was trying to protect you from that.”
“Protect me how?”
He shakes his head.
“What is it? It’s not your fault. None of this is your fault.” He ducks away when I reach for him, holding up his hand to prevent any further contact. It stings, especially when he won’t even look at me. “Just let me help you. We’ll figure something out. It’s not your fault.”
