Cam nods. “Hi. Okay, so I found nothing new on Asher, but remember how I told you someone named Angel applied for the Cicada program? Well, apparently, after Kiera’s mom died, Wade hired a new chef named Angel.”
Kiera goes still. “Angel? She was my favorite staff member. Her name was Angelina, but she told me to call her Angel.”
Blood roars in my ears, “Do you know her last name?”
Kiera shakes her head. “My memory is foggy from then. I only remember bits and pieces, but I think it started with a W.”
Cam looks straight at me. “Sterling.”
“Don’t.” My hands curl into fists at my side. “I don’t remember much around that time either. It’s probably just a coincidence. Back to Asher.” I turn to Kiera. “He’s going to be the fall guy.” She nods, “But I need your help setting it up. Your programs, along with ours, will make this look real. Wade will never know it’s you.”
“What do you need me to do?” Kiera asks, stepping up to Cam’s computers.
“We need anything that Asher would have against your dad,” Cam explains. “Then we plant digital bugs that make it all trace back to him.”
“Asher knows about the murder. He’s my dad’s private defense attorney. He also has hinted about knowing more about Cicada, and if what Sterling said is true, that will fuck with my dad, too.”
“Okay, you two work on that. I’m going to grab the food out of the oven.” I push off the desk. “Cam, why don’t you grab the laptops and let’s move to the dining room?”
“On it.” Cam pushes to his feet, passing a stack of computers to Lila and Kiera.
“You could at least say please, asshole.” Lila snarks, pure sarcasm dripping from every word.
Cam’s eyes narrow. “Please, will you be of some assistance,” he bites out, “instead of sitting around looking pretty?”
Lila’s mouth curves into a malicious grin. “Oh, so you think I’m pretty?”
Cam groans and shoots me a look. “You owe me. Fucking big time.” I just laugh and head to the kitchen.Lila will be good for him.
Kiera follows me into the kitchen, setting the laptops down on the table. “They’re going to kill each other.”
“Probably, but it’ll be fun to watch,” I say, grabbing the sliders out of the oven. “Want to bet on who does it first?”
Kiera giggles. “All bets on Lila. She looks soft, but she will fuck some people up.”
“I’m sure. She threatened me after the charity auction.” Kiera doesn’t look surprised. Before either one of us can say anything else, Cam and Lila come in, still bickering.
“You know what? I think you’re just embarrassed that Kiera had you beat and you couldn’t figure it out before now.” Lila sets the laptops down a little harder than necessary.
“Fucking be careful, that shit is expensive.” Cam rounds on Lila, then cuts his gaze to Kiera. “And speaking of that,” he says, now focusing on her, “where did you learn to do that so well?”
“Umm, well, as a kid, I overheard my parents talking about the Cicada program, and my name came up a few times. I decided I was going to learn everything I could.” She swallows, eyes hardening. “I promised my mom I would take him down.” Kiera is smart—and she did it on her own.
Cam has no sense of what might be offensive as he asks, “How do you know Wade killed your mom?”
“Cam!” Lila and I snap at the same time.
“It’s fine,” Kiera says with a small shrug. “If we’re doing this, you probably need all the information. The night my mom died, she sang me tosleep with my favorite song. It was storming badly that night, and the thunder woke me up. I heard voices downstairs, so I took the servants' passage to the library and watched it all unfold through the peephole.”
Silence settles over the table, no one quite sure what to say. Cam, of course, barrels straight through it. “And how does Asher fit into this?”I’m going to fucking throat-punch him later.
Kiera clears her throat. “That one is harder to talk about, but my dad set up the relationship. And the things that came with it.”
Regret flickers across Cam’s face, and he shuts his mouth for once. He doesn’t need the details to understand it was bad.Karma’s a bitch, fucker.I lean forward, pulling the conversation back on track. “Okay, let's get back to work.”
“I’ve already wiped the traces of it being you,” Cam says, looking at Kiera. “We just need to point it at Asher now.”
I look up from the computer for the first time in hours and notice that it’s dark outside the window. Checking the time, I see that it’s eleven PM. “I think it’s about as good as it’s going to get.”