And I’m feeling just as taken aback as he is.
“Of course I was. Who did you take me for?”
Logan sags onto the couch at the other end of the room, letting his head fall into his hands. “I took you for the guy who repeatedly told me that we had to kill her. I took you at your word.”
Damien crosses the room and looks at him with a shadow of suspicion. “And you’d have gone along with me?”
Logan averts his gaze, staring back at me while I wait with bated breath. “You know I always go along with you. I’ve been loyal since first grade. I’d take a fucking bullet for you, Damien.”
“I knowyouwould,” mutters Damien. “But you wouldn’t lethertake one. Would you?”
I try to follow along, feeling more confused than ever. Why the hell wouldn’t Logan let me die? Who the hell am I to him?”
Logan stares back at his friend, clearly deciding it’s no use to pretend anymore. “So, what does that mean?” he says bitterly. “This whole time, you’ve been testing me?”
“No, not exactly.” Damien sighs. “Shedoesneed to die.”
I don’t know how Logan can possibly look as crestfallen as I feel, but he does.
“Still, expecting you to remain loyal when I’m planning on killing Piper is asking a whole lot of you,” adds Damien. “Especially with the way you supported me when I wanted to keep Seraphina safe. There was no reason to believe Seraphinawasn’tguilty of taking the nanochip, but you went along with me even though I was putting all of Devil in jeopardy.”
“Right,” says Logan, his disappointment partially giving way to discomfort.
“So you told Piper,” concludes Damien.
“Told Piper what?”
Damien hisses in frustration. “You told her who sheis. You told her she’s Lia’s daughter.”
I arch forward, my heart beating wildly in my chest.
What the fuck?
Lia’s daughter? What are they talking about? I’m Laura’s daughter. Laura Day. They’ve got it all wrong.
The next moment, I’m sagging backward, laughing weakly. Yes, that’s what it is. They’re wrong. This is a case of mistaken identity or something. This whole time, I’ve been in danger because Devil thinks I’m someone else. I was fucking beaten up and nearly raped because they thought I was someone else.
But then… why were my parents killed?
I’m back to feeling lost as Damien glances at me. He freezes, a mirror of Logan who hasn’t moved ever since Damien said those words.
“Actually, I didn’t tell her a thing,” snaps Logan. “But you just did.”
I guess my face must convince Damien of that, because his usual neutral expression slips, and he sits down suddenly on the couch beside Logan, still staring at me.
Logan is also watching me, and through my haze—in equal parts due to my vision and my confusion—I sense that his mind is working fast.
“You said you were going to save her,” he begins.
“No, not save her,” interrupts Damien. “I wastryingto save her. I didn’t make any promises.”
“You were trying to,” concedes Logan. “But then you said shehad to die because she knew. Except she didn’t, Damien. She didn’t. You fucked up. If you kill her now, you’ll be punishing her foryourfuck-up.”
Damien turns slowly to face Logan while I gasp. I can’t believe he’s talking to the CEO of Devil like that. Does he have a death wish?
But Damien doesn’t seem the least bit angry. He merely shrugs his shoulders in thought. Well, I guess they really are friends. The kind of friends who hide things from each other while at the same time talking plainly.
“You’re right,” agrees Damien finally.