Cohen starts to turn away. “I’m on his leash. Never forget that. The second he says the word, I’ll happily rip out your throat.” He glances over his shoulder at me. “Give me a reason, Eli. Just give me a fucking reason.”
It’s not a bluff. The Paines don’t bluff. They never have.
I make myself turn away, presenting him with my back, and walk through the door. It takes everything I have to close the door softly behind me, to not engage the lock. To not show a single bit of weakness.
Fuck.
I drag my hand over my face and wince at the pain the motion causes. This isn’t going to work. My people will wait to hear from me, but the sooner I get into contact with them, the better. It will prevent them from acting on their own and potentially fucking this situation up worse.
A soft sound has me spinning around. The mirror swings forward, and a familiar face comes into view. I don’t exhale in relief, but it’s a near thing. “You know I don’t want the passageways used, Marie.” Not until there’s no other choice. I have no doubt Abel will find them at some point—he’s too savvy not to figure out that the rooms don’t quite line up where they should—but I want to keep them as a last resort until then.
Marie’s expression takes on a stubborn set. “There was no other way to get access to you. We weren’t sure you’d be able to get a line out.” She tosses me a cell phone. “Now you can.”
I catch it. It’s a generic model that’s no doubt pre-paid. “Thank you.” I won’t need to use it now. Not with her standing right in front of me. “Gather our people at the rendezvous point, and stay out of sight. Don’t cause any problems. Don’t engage with any of the Paines’ people. Don’t do anything until you hear from me.” We’ll only get one chance at this, and it has to be timed perfectly.
“Yes, sir.”
“Make sure no one sees you on your way out.”
Marie hesitates. “We’re with you, Eli. As long as it takes, no matter what it takes.”
“I know.” I glance at the door. “Now go.” I stride to the mirror and ease it shut. It barely makes a click, but it feels particularly loud in the silence of the room.
Well, the problem of the phone is solved. I expect Marie will be able to escape the grounds again without being caught. All my people have been trained on moving through the compound without being seen. The events from eight years ago hang heavy overhead, even after my father died. I guess part of me always knew that Abel would be returning, but even if he didn’t, there was always the chance that one of the other factions would move against us.
I should have planned better.
I should have done a lot of things.
Regrets won’t help me now. I can’t go back into the past and change things. I can only look to the future and find a way forward.
13
Harlow
I don’t mean to fall asleep. I really don’t. But the events of the last twenty-four hours catch up with me and suck me under. I wake in slow waves, registering the heavy arm over my stomach, the thick leg between mine, the soft rasp of breathing against my neck. Not Eli. Abel.
I open my eyes and stare at the ceiling. There’s no going back now. There wasn’t from the moment Eli’s champion lost that last fight. There sure as hell wasn’t once Eli lost his fight.
As much as I tell myself that I’m making the best of a bad situation, that’s not all this is. I’m self-aware enough to realize that. There’s something about Abel that brings out a part of me I’ve kept buried since I put my father in the ground. She’s nothing like the woman I’ve become at Eli’s side, the one who will smile and politick and manipulate with soft words and softer actions. No, she’s dark and brutal and only too willing to cut down anyone between her and her goal.
The only difference between me now and then is that my goal has changed. It’s not as simple as survival. Of course I want to survive, but the weight of the faction hangs heavy around my neck. I can’t trust either Abel or Eli to put the people first. They have too much history, too much rage between them. They’d fight each other until the entire city burned, no matter how many casualties they'd cause.
I have to ensure it doesn’t come to that.
It might be possible if it were only those two I have to juggle, but Abel bit off a whole mess with the people his brothers chose for Brides. He’s alienated both Amazons and Mystics. Given half a chance, they’ll crush our faction between them for the insult he offered.