“And mocking you. Make him hurt.”
“He’s another student. This isn’t like—”
He leans in closer. “He’s mocking you. And guess what, little one? Your fellow agents can turn bad. Targets will grow on you, and many will feel like friends, but you still have to take them out when they turn on you. Grow some balls or get out of my facility.”
“I’ve proven I can take him out.”
“Halfway out,” he corrects. “We win here, no matter what that takes. And if you think compassion erases your past, it doesn’t. If you think anyone in the agency will work with you, trust you, or like you because you have compassion, think again. You will be the girl who won’t kill the enemy trying to kill her.” He looks up and around at the students. “The ones who end up on the ground are out. You’re gone. You die this death on the mat, and I save you from another death.”
The man on the ground makes a move, twisting toward me, and instinct kicks in. I’m small; he’s large. If I go down, I won’t get back up. I stomp on his chest and twist his arm as he tries to sweep my leg out from under me, and the result is bone crunching, his shoulder snapping. He screams in pain and my stomach knots.
My instructor leans in close. “That’s the daughter of Charlie Ferguson I was looking for. Win at all costs, or die forgotten.”
I blink again and we’re a foot from our destination, a million thoughts in my mind that I don’t have time to dissect. We are at the wooden doors, and I am about to become part of Kayden’s world in a whole new way.
He knows it, too, I know he does, and that’s why he stops and turns to look at me. “Ella—”
“Win at all costs or die forgotten,” I say. “Something someone said to me once. It’s true.”
“Who said that to you?”
“It doesn’t matter who,” I say. “It’s what it means to you and me. Whatever it takes, Kayden, and whatever that means, win. And I plan to win with you.”
His eyes narrow, some emotion in their depths I cannot name before he gives me a small nod and faces the door. Together we seem to breathe in, as if bracing ourselves for something life changing or relationship changing before we step forward into the room. All voices go silent at the sight of us, despite the expectation I would be here for this meeting. Maybe it’s seeing Kayden and me together like this. Maybe it’s sudden distrust. I do not know. But there is an obvious, drawn-out pause in the room in which all eyes are on me.
I catalog the room, taking in what is before me, remotely aware of a wall of monitors on one side of the space and a wall of maps on the other, while my key focus is on the giant round stone table in the center of the room. Eleven black leather chairs surround it, and one brown, that one etched with a hawk. Of those twelve total seats, five are filled with the Hunters Kayden has chosen for this challenge. But it’s the table that really draws my attention, particularly the etched design in the center that matches Kayden’s tattoo on his arm. A box, with chess pieces and the Italian words translated to “Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box.” In death we are all equal. Win at all costs or die forgotten. It’s the same message. How is it the same message?
Kayden motions me to the right, and I shake off that thought better explored later, quickly rounding the table toward my seat next to the brown one, and beside Sasha, while Matteo is on her opposite side. Since the last thing I need is to look like the supporting cast that needs support, I quickly reach for my chair, praying Kayden doesn’t attempt to be the gentleman he is and help me with it. Thankfully, he’s in tune with me on this and does no such thing, settling into his spot beside me at almost the same moment I do mine. Fortunately, Kayden is angled at just the right position for me to see his face and gauge his reactions to whatever takes place. Unfortunately, Carlo, of all people, is now sitting directly in front of me, center to Nathan, who is to my right, and Adriel, to my left.
“Everyone here has been briefed on the necklace,” Kayden states, getting right to the point, “and those of you chosen to attend this meeting were chosen for something unique you bring to the table. You all know what that reason is as it relates to you. But hear me on this: in turn, you’re being trusted at a level that reaches well beyond that of your fellow Hunters. Should you betray me on this, you will see a side of me that you have never seen. Are we all clear?”
Each of them raises a hand, as if this is standard, and I follow suit, only to have Carlo home in on me, silently questioning my presence in a way he soon will not.
“If that necklace falls into the hands of the wrong person,” Kayden continues, “it will give their illicit organization the kind of power we never want them to have. This isn’t a treasure. Anything worth this kind of money, with an active buyer who wants it, is a weapon we have to protect.”
“Who is the buyer?” I ask.
“Two billionaires who are willing to bid against each other,” Kayden says. “The ceiling seems to be three hundred million, the actual evaluation of the necklace is closer to two hundred million. And why are they willing to pay this kind of money for a necklace? It seems to be a game to them. It’s all about the power.”
Carlo chimes in on that one. “Two rich men with mobs, cartels, and governments chasing their tails. It’s insanity.”
“It is insanity,” Sasha agrees. “These men have no regard for the damage this could do to entire countries. I don’t even want to think about the impact of Niccolo or Neuville adding three hundred million dollars to their treasure chest.”
“At least Niccolo and Neuville operate with a mob code, no matter how fucked up it might be,” Carlo replies. “Alessandro has no code but greed, and that’s a dangerous way to operate.”
“Indeed,” Nathan agrees. “I’ve seen too much blood, thanks to the Hunters he turned into lawless pirates.” He eyes Kayden, shifting the topic. “I take it we have a lead on its location,” Nathan surmises, “or we wouldn’t be here.” It’s a statement rather than a question.
“We have a lead,” Kayden confirms, and then offering little more by clear intent, adds, “but not a definitive location.”
“What’s the lead and the source?” Carlo presses.
“More importantly,” Matteo asks, “is there anything I can do on my end to make that lead a little more solid?”
“More importantly,” Sasha says, “if this lead does pan out, if we find the necklace, what’s next? What do we do with it to ensure it doesn’t end up in the wrong hands?”
“We deliver it to the British government’s museum vault,” Kayden replies. “They have now officially contrac
ted our services, with the understanding that we remain anonymous to avoid any backlash.”