“Why did she leave?” I asked.
“Wouldn’t bury a story.”
“About who?”
“Mercer.”
Dex looked up again at that. Pierce saw it. He knew he had just confirmed something bigger.
“Now you understand why I didn’t want to give her name,” Pierce said.
“You gave it late,” I said.
“I gave it when I decided you might not be worse than them.”
“That’s not trust.”
“That’s survival.”
Fair enough.
My phone rang.
Dante.
“What do you have?” I asked.
“Face from Jace came back,” he said. “Name is Collin Vale.”
The room shifted at that.
Pierce went still.
“You know him,” I said.
Pierce nodded once. “Vale House isn’t just a location,” he said. “It’s tied to him.”
“What does he do?” I asked.
“Officially, investment and development,” Pierce said. “Unofficially, he keeps problems from reaching men
