“Not in any words.” Lars rubs at his curls in frustration. “Look, none of us know anything yet, other than you were set up to kill St. Clare. That still has you as enemy number one in my books, so it’s going to take me some time to come around to this idea that you’re suddenly on our side.”

“Do I look like a killer?” Perry asks.

“No, and St. Clare is determined to trust you, so I have to as well. All I’m saying is that I’m keeping an eye on you, and until we know more, I don’t want to go anywhere or tell anyone anything. How do we know that the safe house your sister comes up with isn’t some kind of trap?”

“You don’t.”

“Exactly.” Lars reaches into the back of his pants and pulls out a gun that he drops on my desk. “I also found this in your bag. Who the fuck takes a gun to work in a cafe?”

“Well, it’s not like I could leave it lying around at home.”

“Why the fuck not? You don’t carry it with you unless you’re expecting to use it.”

Perry sighs, tugging his backpack higher. “It’s not loaded.”

Lars hesitates before checking.

“I don’t leave it at home because my place is notorious for being robbed.”

Mice and being robbed? Where the fuck does this guy live?

“We can’t stay here,” I remind Lars. Even if I didn’t think it was being watched, there are no beds, for one thing, and there’s only so long that we can survive off granola bars.

“What about your parents?” Lars asks.

“I don’t think we can go anywhere near family at the moment.”

I can tell he’s torn. It’s not an easy choice, and when he signed up for this job, neither of us thought it would be actual life and death. We’re way out of our comfort zone, and figuring out what to do isn’t easy. It probably also doesn’t help that I’m running off gut feeling than any kind of actual logic.

“Fine. We’ll visit the sister.” He turns to Perry. “But if you fuck us over, I won’t hesitate to make her pay for your mistake.”

Perry looks like he’s wet his pants. “I have no plans for that to happen. Intentionally.”

Unfortunately, his mistakes by this point are legendary, so that really doesn’t give me much hope.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

PERRY

It feels strange that I only saw Margot this morning, and for some reason, when I get to Elle’s place and spot her front door, I have the strongest urge to cry.

Over a door.

Someone help me.