“I’ll have someone drive you home.”
“That isn’t necessary.”
“It’s nearly two.”
“I’ve been outside after two before.”
“That does not make walking across Detroit at two in the morning a sensible transportation plan.”
I looked at him.
“You always talk like a board meeting?”
“Only when I’m tired.”
“That’s unfortunate.”
A surprised laugh escaped from the room behind us.
Mara.
Harlan glanced toward the door.
Then back at me.
“At least let my driver take you.”
I was tired enough to accept.
“Fine.”
“And, Rue—”
Here it came.
The check.
The reward.
The offer that would somehow make what happened in the garage feel like a transaction.
I braced myself.
Instead Harlan said, “You asked what happened when Mara heard your name.”
I lowered my coat.
“Yes.”
He hesitated.
“Did your mother’s name happen to be June?”
Every muscle in my body went still.
