26. Chapter 22
Eli
“How the fuck did you come to the wise idea of robbing me?” Ryker’s voice is sharp and icy, just like his favorite knife.
He’s leaning over the desk, hands resting on the surface. Tense all over. Ready to pounce.
On the other side, Rowan Blane kneels. A man in his forties, a businessman, a member of the Pact. A customer of the underground casino in Feather. Not a happy customer, I might add.
“I didn’t do anything!”
He looks at Ryker with contempt. The guy’s got guts. Especially for a guy on his knees.
All it takes is for my brother to glance for a second at Dave, the bouncer. In a flash, Dave is by Rowan’s side and slams a fist into his jaw.
That must have hurt. Even watching it hurts. That’s why I’m rubbing my jaw right now, as if I were the one who took the punch.
Meanwhile, Rowan staggers and falls to the side.
The other guard grabs him by the jacket and pulls him back to his original position.
“Are you stupid or something?” Ryker asks with steely calm. “You think you can just come here and screw us over? You’re going to steal two million bucks right under my nose and I won’t notice?”
“Fuck you,” Rowan hisses. “You won’t need that money much longer anyway.”
Silence falls. The kind you could cut with a cleaver.
No one moves. No one speaks.
And then Ryker erupts in laughter. He pushes himself away from the desk, unbuttons his cuffs, and rolls up the sleeves of his shirt. He does it so slowly that if I didn’t know him, I would already be shitting myself in fear.
That’s the goal: to intimidate Rowan.
I watch the whole scene from a corner of Ryker’s office. Arms folded across my chest, boredom on my face.
That’s the job…
“Enlighten me, my friend. Why on earth won’t I need this money?”
Rowan bares his teeth like a rabid dog. “You won’t last long here. Aiden will take care of you sooner than you think.”
“Oh, Aiden…” Ryker shakes his head, clicking his tongue. “I assume you’re a team player?”
“I’m a team player for the side that wins. Always.”
“Maybe you’ll tell me how this is going to play out?”
“Fuck off, Elliot. I’m not telling you shit.” Rowan spits on the floor.
Ryker’s frozen calm smells of blood. He walks over to him and squats down. “You say shit? I’ll tell you something…”
The phone in my pocket startles me. It distracts me from the scene in the room. Everything else fades into the background.
Seeing Zoe’s name on the screen, I turn my back on everyone and answer in a hushed voice.
“Is it important? I’m in the middle of—”
“It’s urgent,” she blurts.
She’s breathing fast. I hear footsteps in the background—quick, nervous.
That’s enough for me. I tense up all over.
“What happened? Where are you?”
“Where are you? Are you with Ryker? We need to talk. Like right now.” Her voice rises. I hear her panic and feel my own.
Glancing over my shoulder, I see my brother still tending to Rowan. No one is paying attention to me.
“We’re at Feather. Tell me you’re safe,” I demand.
Only when she confirms it, I exhale. My muscles relax a little. Only then do I recognize how tense they’d been.
I close my eyes for a split second.
“I’ll send a car for you. It’s past midnight.”
“No. I’ll be there soon,” she replies and hangs up.
Damn it.
The phone lands in my pocket, and I spin on my heel. “Ry,” I call to my brother.
When he glances over, whatever he sees in my face makes him stand up straight. He understands without words.
“Dave, take our guest to the playground on 26th. I’ll check in on him later.” Without a glance, he gives the order to the guards.
The playground. An inside joke. It’s one of our spots dedicated to having “difficult” talks.
Such as this one.
The order is executed at once, even though Rowan is screaming. His screams mean nothing. Just like his moans and pleas.
When we’re left alone, Ryker raises his eyebrows in a silent question.
“Zoe will be here in a moment. Something’s happened,” I explain.
“Didn’t she say what it was?”
“No, but… I have a bad feeling.”
I pull out my phone again. Five minutes have passed. Maybe it’s too soon for her to get here?
You idiot. You could have asked how long she’d need. It’s the middle of the night.
Maybe I shouldn’t listen to her and…
My eyes dart up. Ryker is already sitting in his chair, watching me. Too closely for my liking.
“Sit down before you make a hole in the floor.”
With a puzzled expression, I squint. Then I glance at the spot where I’m standing. At Ryker. At the corner where I was standing a moment ago.
What the fuck?
I didn’t even notice I was pacing like a sleepwalker.
He’s right.
Before I take a step toward the chair, the office door swings open and Zoe bursts in.
She’s panting heavily, like she’s been running. Her face is flushed, eyes wide.
“You’re here,” Zoe says with obvious relief.
She collapses into a chair; the other one is mine. My eyes don’t leave her.
She’s fine. Calm down.
“Want something to drink?” Ryker asks.
I’m about to get up, but she shakes her head.
“Then what’s the matter?”
“It’s about Damien. I saw him today and—”
Without hesitation, I cut her off. My raised voice makes her jump in her seat. “What the fuck? I must have misheard. You saw him?”
Her wide eyes meet mine. “That’s not the point—”
“That’s exactly the point! You met up with him without telling us?” I can’t believe what I’m hearing.
Our eyes lock in a battle. Neither of us intends to back down.
I have the urge to bend her over the desk, lift her dress, and teach her a lesson—the kind that would make her remember this day for a long time.
“Are you fucking stupid? Or just reckless?”
I regret those words the very second they leave my lips. Ryker says my name in warning, but I ignore him. Zoe, on the other hand, leans back. A slap on the cheek would have less impact.
You fucking moron!
“I’m sorry... I’m sorry,” I say, raising my hands in surrender and shaking my head. “I got carried away. This shouldn’t have happened.”
Zoe’s eyes narrow to slits. They’re sparkling dangerously. “Say that to me one more time, and you’ll learn firsthand what my wrath feels like.”
Ryker acts as a buffer between us. I shut my mouth, and he takes over.
“Zoe. Eli wanted to say that you’re putting yourself in unnecessary danger. And he’s worried about you,” he says to her in a gentle tone.
“I know…” She sighs. She gives me a quick glance and turns her attention to my brother. “I just wanted… to find some valuable piece of information. I was failing. My findings hadn’t yielded anything meaningful thus far. And it bugged me.”
“You’re not letting anyone down,” I reassure her. “It’s difficult to get answers from a man whose life depends on keeping secrets close.”
“But tonight, when he was driving me home… I pretended to fall asleep on his shoulder.”
I clench my jaw. Better that than say something stupid again.
Zoe’s gaze now jumps from Ryker to me and back.
“Go on,” Ry encourages her.
“He thought I was asleep. Someone called him. I don’t know who. No names were mentioned. But…” She pauses and rubs her forehead. “I heard bits of the call. Something about a takeover before the ship sets sail.”
Ryker leans back in his chair. The gears in his head are already turning at full speed. He squints and analyzes.
“What else?” I ask.
“Just that there’s supposed to be a container. He mentioned Terminal Four. And it’s supposed to be Friday at ten p.m. I don’t know… what it all means. But it seemed important to me.”
“Because it is important.” Ryker peers at me, and we piece together what we know.
Terminal Four.
Friday.
A transfer in a container.
“This is big.” I deliberately emphasize the significance of this information. “What you found out—”
“No one has ever uncovered Veirix’s transfer plans,” Ryker finishes for me. “You did a great job, Zoe. Are you sure Damien suspects nothing?”
“Absolutely.” She nods in agreement.
“They’re planning a transfer right under our noses,” I say to Ryker.
“Yes. And we—” He rubs his chin, planning in his head. “We’re going to shut them down.” He leans back once again.
Calm. Too calm.
His gaze drifts to me.
“And then…” A slight smile. “We’ll see who’s really pulling the strings.”