Given Read Online Free PDF Page B

out.”
    I grab some more plates and we carry them into the kitchen. “You know I didn’t come here to pig out and do dishes,” I say.
    He runs hot water into the sink and pours some soap in. The water begins to rise and bubble. “I’m not an idiot, Cam.”
    I wait for him to ask me what I’m doing there, but he doesn’t. After a few minutes, I can’t take it anymore.
    “I want you to come clean with me,” I say.
    He turns from the sink and looks me in the eye. “No pun intended?” he asks, flicking suds from his hand. Then he takes a plate and dips it into the water, grabs a sponge and begins cleaning. “You dry,” he commands.
    I grab a dishtowel and next thing I know, he’s handing me the wet plates and silverware and I’m drying them.
    “Natalia told me that you’ve been helping her,” I say eventually.
    Brody passes me a small pot. “So?”
    “So, she says that you’re supposed to be neutral, but you stuck your neck out to help her. At least, you somehow convinced her that’s what you did.”
    He shakes his head and throws the sponge onto the counter, folds his arms. “Why should I have this conversation with you, Cam? I don’t owe you anything.”
    I stare right back at him. “I never said you did. But I’m not going to let you play Natalia.”
    “I’m not playing her. What the hell do you know about it?”
    “I know you’re full of shit.”
    His jaw flexes. “Keep talking like that and see what happens.”
    “She’s scared and she’s in trouble,” I tell him, inching closer but keeping my voice down so his parents don’t hear any of this. “And you’re taking advantage of her.”
    Brody snorts. “I’m taking advantage of her? Is that what I was doing when Nat and I caught you hooking up with my sister?”
    Anger flares inside of me. How dare he bring that up? It has nothing to do with him. I want to reach out and punch him in his face, but I force myself to keep it together.
    “You’re not really helping Nat,” I tell him, deciding to ignore his comment. “You might be able to fool her, but you can’t fool me. You always have an angle, Brody.”
    Finally a flicker of worry crosses his face and I know I’ve gotten to him. “You’re in over your head, Cam,” he says. “Way, way over. You should just lie low and hope to God things work out better for you then they did for the last…” And then he catches himself and stops talking.
    “The past becomes the present, right Brody?” I say, quoting the line from the papers I found in Hadley’s room.
    His expression morphs into something resembling fear. “Where did you hear that?”
    From the living room comes the sound of canned laughter from the TV, followed by Mr. and Mrs. Martin’s hearty, clueless guffaws.
    I shrug. “I’m not as stupid as you think I am, Brody. And you’re not half as smart as you think you are.”
    His expression darkens. “You ever heard that saying, ‘a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing?’ Well, that was meant for guys like you.” He points a finger at my chest. “You have no idea what I’m dealing with. You don’t even know who you are.”
    “Leonid, of course.”
    His jaw twitches and his eyes widen temporarily. But Brody is a master of controlling his expression. “Who told you that, Cam?”
    I smile slowly. Obviously I don’t know what that phrase meant or who Leonid is, but I was hoping that saying these things in front of Brody might help me get some answers. And it’s working.
    “Cam, you need to answer me,” he says. He crosses his arms over his chest.
    “This is serious.”
    I grin. “I don’t see what the big deal is. After all, I don’t know anything, right, Brody? What are you getting so worked up for?”
    Suddenly he grabs me by the shirt and throws me against the wall. His face presses into mine. “I’m not going to let you destroy everything I’ve worked for, Campbell. I’ll fucking kill you first.”
    I close my eyes and focus on that place I found