24
Ididn’t fucking like this at all.
Heart grins, eyes on his sister and Wren but then slowly moving them to me. “The Syndicate.”
My teeth clamp tightly together, the muscle in my jaw aching, “What about them?”
“Well, it appears you have some information on them, I want it.”
I scoff, “I have fuck all.”
“That’s not true, now is it?” Heart licks his teeth, his glass of whiskey dangling between his fingers before he throws the liquid down his throat and pulls out a cigarette, placing it between his lips where it just dangles there.
My mind whirls back to Ainsley. I have no fucking idea if she is even still alive, I haven’t heard from her in weeks. She has or at leasthadthe information but where it is, I had no fucking idea.
“You’re referring to Ainsley,” I lean back in my chair.
“I am,” he confirms, “she got into the Syndicates servers just before we managed to breach it, downloaded everything. The breach alerted them, and they locked it down before we could get anything, but I know your girl got that info. I want it.”
“Why?”
“Let’s just say the Syndicate have a lot to pay for,” he growls, eyes flicking to his sister who still appears to be infatuated with Wren, cooing and touching her hair. Wren looks at ease with the attention if not a little confused, but Isobel wasn’t a threat to her, probably to me and the other men in this room but not Wren.
It wasn’t a secret her distaste for men in general though no one knew why exactly.
“Well, Ainsley is not around at the moment,” I tell Heart, “Though, should she come through with the information, I’ll have a copy sent to you.”
“That’s not really going to work for me, Alexander,” Heart says, lighting the cigarette between his lips.
My eyes narrow, “And what’ll happen if I can’t provide it?”
His eyes flick to Wren and before anyone can even move or even so much as blink, I have my gun at his temple with the safety off. “I wouldn’t even let the thought cross your mind, Heart.”
“A deal is a deal, Lex,” he turns, not an ounce of fear in his eyes as he stares at me, “I did you a favor, you owe me, if you cannot pay up, do you not think it fair I take back what I gave you?”
I hear his men levelling their guns at me, at Ryker but not at Wren, my own men preparing for a fight that cannot happen.
“You shoot me, Lex, I get her anyway, my men will snatch her right from your grasp and ship her off to somewhere you’llneverfind, even if I’m dead.”
“I thought you weren’t interested.”
“Can we all stop talking like I’m not in the room!?” Wren snaps, stepping away from Isobel to come closer to me.
“Stay where you are!” I order.
“Fuck you, Lex, Kingston, you’re asking for something we don’t have.”
“Then get it,” he snaps, “I don’t care how you fucking do it, I want that information!”
Isobel sighs heavily and dramatically, throwing herself into a vacant chair at the table. She snatches the bottle of whiskey from the table and unscrews the cap, sipping directly from the bottle.
“You boys want to get your dicks out?” She smiles manically, licking the whiskey from her lips, “Someone grab me a ruler, we can settle this.”
Wren pinches the bridge of her nose before she curls her delicate hand around my forearm and begins to push down, trying to get me to stand down.
“This won’t do anything but start a war, Lex,” she whispers.
She was right. Reluctantly, I drop my weapon and haul her to me, tucking her against my chest.