"You're not going alone," Knox said.
"I'm not asking permission."
"I'm not giving it." He pressed his thumbs against his eyes. "I'm telling you the plan changes. Before you walk into that office, we talk to Cade."
I stared at him. "Yesterday you wanted to put a bullet in him."
"Yesterday he told me something I didn't want to hear." His hand dropped. "He might have been right. And if he was, he's the only man in this county who's seen Eli."
---
The Rusty Spoon sat on the county line, a tin diner with a flickering sign and a gravel lot, neutral ground for anyone who didn't want to be seen. Knox parked at the back. Rook stayed in the truck. Knox wouldn't say why, but I understood. A Saint walking into a booth with a Vulture was already a risk. Two was a message.
Cade was waiting in the
