Now that the pain has started to trickle away, I take a sip of my drink and walk over to collapse in one of the chairs by my desk. I kick out the other one, and Lars takes it.

“Is this the kind of story you’re going to tell me and I’m going to wish you didn’t?”

“Probably.”

He takes a long breath. “Okay. I’m ready.”

I fill him in on everything. Starting with the anger that drove me to Rev in the first place and ending with my very close brush with death and an elementary school promise.

“So he tried to kill you?” Lars asks, looking as confused as I am.

“Obviously.”

“And then he helped you and promised to let you go if you keep quiet?”

“Exactly.”

Lars huffs, leaning back in his chair and extending his long legs out in front of himself. “You’re a fucking idiot for going there alone.”

“You weren’t here.”

“I was … fuck. I was stuck in traffic.” He’s barely holding his frustration together. “You should have called me. You almost fucking died.”

“But I didn’t.”

“But you might have.”

“And yet, here I am.”

Lars crosses his arms. “This sounds fishy.”

“Wouldn’t know. I’m deaf now.”

He rolls his eyes and for the first time almost looks amused. I’m not totally joking, though, because there’s a soft ringing when things are silent. “It’s a cosmetic … setback. You can still fucking hear.”

“Maybe, but not with all this blood in my ear.” I tilt my head to the side like I’m trying to clear out the block.

“I’ll get the first aid kit and try to …” He gestures at my ear. “I think you might need more scotch.”

“Noted.”

“And …” Lars studies my face again. “You’re going to do it? Hide out?”

“I don’t think I have a choice.”

“But you also don’t have the luxury of disappearing. Colin beat you to it.”

That makes me straighten, hit with an idea. “Wait. Do you think this guy got to Colin first?”

“You think he’s the reason Colin’s missing?”

My heart is beating a little faster. “It’s not exactly a stretch? He showed up to kill me and told me to disappear. If someone put a hit out on me, wouldn’t they have done the same to my brother? And if it was the same guy …”

“Colin could be dead, or he could have been issued the same ultimatum you were.”

He’s right. “Schrödinger’s Colin.”

“I don’t think you’re supposed to joke about your missing brother after being shot.”

“How many people do you know with a missing brother who’ve been shot to fact-check that?”

He thinks for a moment. “Just you.”

“Cool. Then it’s allowed.”

“What are you thinking?”