Chapter 30
THIRTY
Bennett
Monday night has always been the social highlight of the week. I’m not anyone but myself on those evenings.
Not a boss.
Not a billionaire.
Not a movie star’s son.
Tonight feels very different, in no small part because I’m carrying two devices that are essentially going to spy on my friends. It doesn’t feel good. The idea that at the end of this evening, I’ll know for certain whether one of them is trying to attack me, feels worse.
We’re back at Worth’s place tonight. The venue was discussed on the group chat, but I’m not sure why we ended up here. I just skipped to the end.
There’s one bright spot in the evening—Nadia’s not going to be here. That piece of information caught my attention on the chat.
Surprisingly, Leo answers the door, and I take a step down in shock.
I hadn’t put my game face on.
“Wow, you look pissed,” Leo says. “What’s the matter?”
I shrug. “Tired. What’s your excuse for looking like that ?” I ask as I push past him.
Leo chuckles. He’s always in a good mood. Is it all an act? Does he hate me? If he needed money, why didn’t he just ask? Any of the five of us would have done anything for him.
I’m trying to keep an open mind, but I’ve seen the data. I made Aarvi take me through it this week and the evidence against Leo is compelling. I just want to see it all for myself.
I’m still holding on to some threads of hope. Efa could be lying—it could all have been an elaborate misdirection to protect her or whoever she’s working for.
Every time I think of her, it’s like slicing open a fresh wound. I just want to put a bandage on and forget about her.
Heal.
I’ve got to push past it and get through tonight.
Aarvi and I went through the devices that could track the attacks. We’ve got the same thing that Efa used, and then something bigger with quicker processing power that’s the size of a tablet. I’ve had it sewn into my jacket and I’ll keep it nearby.
I’m the first to arrive after Leo. Worth hands me a glass of whisky with an oversized ice cube, like he’s been expecting me.
“Cheers,” he says, holding up his own glass.
Leo knocks my glass with his beer bottle and we head to the sofa.
As if it’s uncomfortable, I take my cell from my pants pocket and slide it onto the table in front of us. Except it’s not uncomfortable and it’s not my cell. It’s the tracker.
At least Nadia's not going to be here.I’m sure she’s fine in different circumstances, but having someone else here on a Monday night, among the six of us, alters the dynamic.
The dynamic.
Can our easy friendship really have been faked for all these years? And if it started off real, when did it go sour? How long has Leo been pretending? And is it personal to me or does he hate us all? Was I a planned target or just in the wrong place at the wrong time?
“You okay?” Worth asks, pulling my attention from my own thoughts.
“Yeah,” I reply.
“How’s Efa?” he asks.
I glance across at Leo, who’s wrestling with the remote control. I turn my attention back to Worth and shrug.
“Had a fight?”
I nod. “She’s young,” I say. I don’t want to get into it.
“She didn’t seem that way to me,” Worth says. “But I haven’t spent much time with her.”
She doesn’t seem that way to me, either. I don’t know if it’s because her parents died when she was so young or that she’s had to put up with so much since, but she was older than her years. Apart from that first night together, I never really noticed the age gap between us.
But was that part of the plan? Maybe she just tried to be everything I might have wanted in order to get close to me.
I rub the bridge of my nose. My mind’s still so full of her. I can’t keep a lid on my thoughts. The more I try to push her away, the more vivid my memories.
“How’s work?” I ask Worth. When he doesn’t answer, I glance over at him.
He looks between Leo and me. “Good.”
“Good,” I say.
Is it me making this awkward, or is it Worth? Is he in on it? Does he know what Leo is doing? Are they all trying to bring me down?
“I’m going for a shit,” I say. I need some time to recalibrate. If I carry on like this, I’ll give the game away.
“Thanks for telling us,” Leo says. “Do you need one of us to help or something?”
“Fuck off,” I say, and it feels like the first honest thing I’ve said since I got here. If Aarvi and Efa turn out to be right, I will ruin Leo.
There will be nothing anyone can do to stop me from bringing him to his knees in every way imaginable. He will end up rotting in a southeast Asian prison, penniless, his reputation ruined.
But I need proof first.
I leave my phone on the table. As I stand, I wonder if I should take my jacket with me. If someone picks it up, it’ll be clear that I’m carrying something in there. But if I take my jacket to the bathroom, I’m sure to get shit for it.
In the end, I abandon it and head out. Hopefully by the time I get back, Jack, Fisher, and Byron will have arrived, and Worth’s spotlight will be off me.
I head back into the living room exactly seven minutes later. I figure that’s an acceptable time to have a shit, not that I’ve ever timed myself.
I haven’t brought my actual cell with me. I didn’t want to risk having too many devices on me, but I can’t help wondering whether Aarvi has gotten the data she needs by now. I want to get out of here as soon as possible. But ESPN hasn’t even been turned on yet.
I’ve got hours of this torture left. I have to sit here, wondering who’s my friend and who’s my enemy. Did my mother feel this way all the time? Did she constantly wonder who was using her and who genuinely wanted to spend time in her company—not because she was rich or famous, just because they liked her ?
I don’t allow myself to miss her. Not anymore. Her loss drove me on for the first few years after her death—my need for survival fueling my business decisions, helping build my fortune. But every now and then, I’d like to be sure of someone. Anyone.
I thought I had that in my friends, and now even that’s gone to shit.
What am I left with?
I manage to sit through the next three hours without flinching every time Leo speaks to me. But it’s not easy. And now I can’t help questioning everything Worth says or does, as well.
Why are we at his place again? Are he and Leo making sure these evenings happen at one of their places to ensure things go according to some secret plan? Is that how I ended up here? Was I tricked? I wish I had my phone so I could scroll through my messages. Why didn’t Fisher, Jack, or Byron offer to host?
Maybe they’re in on it too.
I scrub my hand through my hair as if I’m trying to pull every thought from my brain.
“You seem really focused on the game tonight, Bennett,” Fisher says.
It’s almost like I’ve forgotten people can see me. I’m losing it.
“What can I say? I’m a Broncos fan,” I deadpan. I get up to go and fix myself a drink. “Anyone want anything?” I ask.
“Sure, I’ll take another beer,” Leo says.
Next Monday if he asks me for a drink, I might be lacing it with arsenic. I head over to the bar and it feels good to get some space.
Until Worth follows me. He doesn’t say anything, just takes the bottle from me and tops up his whisky. He grabs more ice from the machine and plops a huge cube into my drink, then another into his.
“You know you could talk to her,” he says. “I’ve never seen you with anyone who seems to get you. And isn’t equal parts intimidated and hoping to get a ring on her finger.”
My brain careens from thoughts of my friend’s betrayal to thoughts of Efa. What’s worse? Her betrayal or Leo’s?
“Yeah, she wasn’t intimidated,” I think aloud. “That would have been…” Worth’s right, if she was trying to get close to me to launch an attack on Fort Inc., she would have been more likely to have been submissive and uber charming rather than call me, what was it? Oh yes, dickwad.
I really hope it’s not her.
But that means it’s Leo. I’m not sure what hurts worse.
“Is it irreparable?” he asks.
I sigh. I haven’t spoken to her in a week. I have no idea if she’s even still in the country. “I don’t know.”
Finally, I reach my limit. I need to be alone. “I’m out.” I can’t bear pretending to be anyone but myself among these five people. And I won’t do it any longer.
I grab my phone and jacket and head out—ready to find out who has betrayed me.