Chapter Three #2
Seth sat back in his chair and considered me. “Realistically? Until we put Iron in the ground. Or until whoever’s paying him stops caring about you. Which could be never.” That was about what I expected, but confirmation did not make it better.
“I want to see the files,” I said, abruptly changing the subject.
Seth raised an eyebrow, glancing at Antonio again. “What files are you referring to?”
“The stuff my sister got. I want to know who was coming for me that night, and what they’re willing to pay. And then, I want to know what happens to the women who don’t make it to Haven and who bought them.”
He drummed his fingers once, then stopped. “You don’t trust us to protect you?”
I shrugged. “I want to know what’s coming. If you can show me, do it. If you can’t, then don’t pretend I’m safer here than anywhere else because I’m telling you right now, knowledge is power, and I’m through being weak.”
A long, thick silence followed. Seth’s gaze sharpened. “You remind me of someone.” He didn’t elaborate. Instead, he leaned back and turned his attention to Antonio.
“If she wants this, I’m not going to deny her,” he said. “Have Kass see to it.”
Antonio gave me a curious look, like he couldn’t quite figure me out. “Do you want the raw data or the summary my team created with clear ties to each individual we’ve currently identified?” That surprised me. I didn’t expect either of them to give in this easily.
Seth rose from the table. “Antonio, we’ll talk after you get Miss Garrison settled.”
Antonio didn’t speak until the sound of his father’s footsteps faded. “You blindsided him,” he said.
“I won’t be a pawn,” I said. “Never again. I don’t like surprises.”
He actually smiled. “Neither does he.”
“Will you really let me see what you have?” I asked. “Because I want the actual names.”
“It’s already on the way,” he said. “Your sister had a lot of really good information. So far, we’ve verified everything she collected.”
I drank the coffee, black and hot, and watched him over the rim of the cup.
For the first time since I’d been taken from Enclave éclipse, I felt the momentum swing solidly in my direction.
I might not know much about the men in this house, but I knew both were powerful and got what they wanted.
If anyone could do something about this whole fucked-up mess, I guess it would be the Miles family.
I finished my coffee and stood to leave the table. Antonio moved to my side and guided me out of the kitchen with a hand at the small of my back. He walked me to the suite he and Seth had assigned me. The hallway was wide enough for us to walk side by side.
The wood floors were old but had been expensively refinished and preserved for durability. The walls carried framed sketches and paintings. A few small sculptures sat in various nooks or shelves.
Halfway down, I saw a painting that didn’t fit.
It showed a sunrise, all oranges and wet blue, the paint laid in beautiful, textured lines accenting the color gradients and swirling clouds.
It hadn’t been framed, but rather the stretched canvas leaned on the floor against the open door of what looked like a small study.
I slowed to look, but Antonio kept moving. He must have realized I wasn’t with him because he slowed, turning to look for me. “You like it?” he said, when he realized what caught my attention.
“Who did it?” I asked.
He didn’t answer immediately, just turned to me, his jaw tensed for a second. “Darby’s mother. I thought Darby should have it.”
“Why are you just now giving it to her?” I looked up at him.
“I only recently found out about Darby. When I did, Darby was resistant to my protection.” He gestured to the painting.
“Darby is very much like her mother in many ways. From what Darby has told me, the woman I knew and the woman who raised my daughter were two very different people. I wanted Darby to know the woman I fell in love with.”
“She was good,” I whispered. For some reason, his admission of love for his daughter’s mother hurt me in multiple ways. I ached for the man who’d lost someone he obviously cared about, but I also felt a stab of uncomfortable jealousy. For no fucking reason!
He nodded, but his face held strain and grief even now. “This way.”
When we came to my door, I punched in my code to unlock it. “Did Mae show you the comm panel?”
“Yes. She said if I need anything to use this.” I pointed to the panel by the door. “And they’d take care of anything I needed immediately.”
“We’re generally on our own out here, but we get resupplied as often as we need. If we don’t request anything, someone comes on Thursday afternoon.”
“I’m not going to run,” I said, again, throwing out a different topic of conversation. “If that’s what you’re worried about.”
“No. I’m more worried you’ll decide to burn the whole place down around me and my father.”
“Is that what she did? Darby’s mother?” I had no idea why I asked the question. It was a low blow to a man who’d been nothing but kind. If a bit pushy.
He held my gaze for a long, hard second. Then he shook his head, once, and left, closing the door between us without acknowledging my question.
I took a breath and sighed. Seemed like I’d royally screwed that up. Scrubbing a hand over my face, I explored my suite. It was huge, and I could see myself living here comfortably for several weeks. Or months, even.
The main room was dominated by the windows, a wall of glass that looked out over the ridgeline.
A stone fireplace was on one wall, wood stacked carefully beside it.
A slate-gray sofa, oversized and deep, faced the windows, with a rug underfoot so plush my feet sank in.
A small kitchen sat to the right, with rustic charm but modern efficiency.
Two bedrooms branched off the main space, both with more of those windows and beds that were nests of down and expensive linen.
The master bath had a shower the size of a walk-in closet, and a tub big enough to drown in.
Everything was monochrome stone, metal, or wood, with no clutter or anything personal.
I paced every inch of the place, running my hand along surfaces while looking for anything to indicate I was being watched or monitored.
Like I’d know if I was. This place was more high-tech than anything I’d ever been around.
The second bedroom looked like it had been converted to an office, so I set up my laptop in it.
Once I had the information I’d asked for, I’d start going through everything.
After that, I’d make my list of people who needed to die.