"You did what?"
I flinched at Mr. Keys' sharp tone. Keeping my lawyer in the loop was tougher than I thought. To say the least, he wasn't happy that I was infiltrating a terrorist group or that I had plans to meet them later tonight.
"The Prince told me he would nullify our 'contract' if I helped him prove his innocence," I repeated slowly. "I wanted to see if the video was a fake and so we thought these people had fabricated the whole thing."
"Miss Borek, do you have any idea the position you are in?"
"I don't need you to lecture me," I snapped. "I know it was stupid. All I need is for you to help me. I need to talk to the Prince's lawyers. I've called their office and left a bunch of messages but they haven't called me back."
"You shouldn't continue to associate yourself with such a person."
"We both know that if I don't see this through then, the Prince would hold it over me until I die."
I sighed and settled on my bed. "Look, I need to talk to him. He never - we didn't - I don't know how to contact him."
Mr. Keys was silent for a long time. I looked at my cellphone seeing if he was still on the line. He was.
"Alright," he said after a while. "I'll try to contact his lawyers but don't hold your breath. From what you told me, they're ready to let the Prince drown."
"Thanks," I told him. "I'll keep you posted. Just . . . just, don't tell my parents."
"Miss Borek," he began.
"Please," I begged. "Don't tell them. They just know that I'm going out with . . . friends. I just needed to tell someone about all of this."
"I can't make any promises," he told me.
"If I don't call you later tonight and say that I'm fine then, tell them."
He sighed. "You're complicating this."
"I know but they wouldn't let me do anything if they knew what was really going on."
"Fine."
* * *
"Hey, you made it," Carlos called from the sidewalk.
He had immediately spotted my dad's car as we pulled up to the movie theater.
Unbuckling myself, I planted a kiss on my dad's cheek. "Thanks dad."
"Be careful," he said. "Call us if you need to come home. I'll come get you." He gave Carlos a long look. "Remember what we talked about."
My cheeks flushed. "I will," I assured him. "This isn't a date, you know. He's a . . . friend . . . an acquaintance really." I shrugged. "I need something to take my mind off of things."
"Alright. " He didn't sound convinced.
"If something happens . . . If he tries something," he began.
"I'll punch him."
Dad blinked in surprised. "I guess that works too. I was going to say call me."
"I got this," I told him. "I'll call you."
I planted another kiss on his cheek. Grabbing my purse from the floor, I got out. It wasn't really a purse. It was more like a pouch that slung over my shoulder.
Luckily, I beat Carlos before he could open the door for me. Like I told my dad, this wasn't a date and I sure as hell wasn't going to let Carlos think it was. That would lead to too much complications. Plus, I didn't want to give him the wrong idea.
As my dad pulled away from the curve, I waved at him. Carlos stopped beside me and waved too.
"Is Sonia coming?" I asked. "She didn't reply when I texted her."
"Uh, no," he stammered out. "No. It's just . . ."
I raised an eyebrow.
"I mean, Pat and the others are going to join us too but I don't know when."
"Shouldn't we wait for them? Didn't you say Pat wanted to talk to me?"
"Yeah, but it would look weird if we just waited outside. Let's go inside and wait for them in the lobby or -" he shrugged, "-watch a movie. They'll text me when they're here."
I frowned and crossed my arms. The urge to tell him that this wasn't a date was strong, but I didn't.
"Alright, lead the way."
I kept my arms crossed as we walked in case we "accidentally" brushed hands. The inside of the theater was fairly packed. Three long lines stretched from the open windows for tickets.
"I bought our tickets online," Carlos said from behind me. "Come on."
His hand touched my arm and pulled me towards the ticket attendant at the end of the room. I moved my arm away and followed him. Part of me appreciated what he was trying to do - I think. I wanted to believe that Carlos wanted some normality in his life and going to see a movie with a friend helped with that. I just didn't like that he acted like we something other than friends.
Once his phone was scanned, we were directed upstairs. I walked past the concession stand towards the escalator. Carlos kept pace with me.
"Hey Carlos, I need to ask you something."
He gave me a sideways glance. "What about?"
"That video, where did it come from? Did you guys . . . film it?"
He frowned. "Rin," he began.
"It's a simple question," I interrupted. "Yes or no."
We got to the top of the escalator and moved aside to let others pass.
"I know, what he does is wrong," I continued. "I know it's just not him but I want to believe the video is real."
"What makes you think it's fake?" Carlos asked quietly.
I shrugged. I kept my gaze in the blue carpet. "Honestly, to put it simply, the Prince has never done anything like this at all."
"That we know of," he retorted.
"True. But, do you guys even know where the video came from?"
"Why do you keep asking about the video?" he asked.
I bit my lip. This wasn't going the way I planned. "I've - heard rumors that the video was fake. I mean, could it be fake? What's going to happen if people find out about it?"
"Pat said it came from a good source. She trusts this source and we should too."
"So someone else filmed it and shared it?"
"Yes."
I nodded more to myself than to him. So the Purists hadn't filmed this. Who had? Maybe if I could go to the scene and look around, I would find some clues. Maybe there were surveillance tapes or something.
"That's good to know," I told him. "Let's wait for Pat."
Without waiting on him, I headed towards the bench. The film didn't start for another forty minutes. There was time for me to come up with answers to whatever questions Pat was going to ask me.
It hit right there and then. I . . . cared that the Prince was being framed. The whole situation was wrong. No matter how terrible he was as a vampire, no one deserved this. He didn't deserve to be framed. Besides, he didn't need anybody's help in turning people against him. He could do it himself. I for one wanted to give him that opportunity.