CHAPTER THIRTEEN #3
Her laugh is soft and small, eyeing him up all over without the slightest hint of apology.
They’ve always been reasonably close, as close as anyone gets to Céliane or Lee as Kade is allowed to call her.
She’s one of the deadliest people he knows and the most unpredictable.
Lee is the head of Last Light, a shadow syndicate made up entirely of women, highly trained mercenaries specialising in contract killing and little else.
They operate worldwide, using Varrow City as one of their primary bases.
Lee isn’t part of the Varrow City Accords, but Iron Star maintains good relations.
Lee hops down from the console, switching to accented English, mostly for Riley’s sake. To Kade, there’s nothing quite as melodic as French speakers deciding English is worth the effort.
‘You seem out of sorts, darling. Shall I read the cards for you?’
Kade knows better than to refuse such a generous offer from this woman but it’s not exactly the time. ‘Later, if you would?’
‘What have I told you about making mansions of now?’
‘Céliane.’ Riley never calls her Lee even though he could.
Lee swipes console screens with lukewarm interest. ‘Yes?’
‘We should talk to Kade alone, don’t you think?’
‘But I like your little techs watching me, mon trésor,’ she says to Riley. Lee narrows her eyes at the screen. ‘That’s him,’ she confirms and Kade knows instantly who it is she’s talking about. ‘Where is he now?’
They all look to Kade, who says, ‘I have no idea.’
Riley asks, ‘When is he coming back?’
‘How should I know?’
Subtle unhappiness clouds Riley’s expression. ‘Boys, take five.’ Cole and Finn leave the Watch as they rarely do. Lee has grown bored of the console now, so she hops back up to sit where she was before, legs swinging as she looks between them. ‘Lying to my face, huh?’
‘I’m not—’ Kade stops himself, jaw tight.
Riley’s a human lie detector and Kade knows that better than anyone, but just this once it’d be nice to get something past him.
He doesn’t want to share his conversation with Lachlan.
He switches the focus. ‘Is it true what he told me about the perimeter defence?’
Riley doesn’t even flinch. ‘We have defensive systems, you know that.’
‘Do we have the sonic disruptor thing?’
‘Oh, you mean the Hush Line?’ Lee asks innocently.
‘How do you know the name?’
‘I engineered it for Tanner when he asked,’ she explains and his suspicion clicks into place.
‘I developed many things from his scribbles back in the day, but this was one he declined to use as it was too extreme by his own calculations. I personally suggested the use of one-way orienting, but he was afraid the old man would weaponise it against his son,’ Lee says, staring at Kade, comfortably intense.
A million new questions bubble up, demanding answers, but Kade’s voice turns small and he feels small when he asks the thing he needs to know the most, ‘Am I him? Was it me?’
‘I never saw Julian Penhalyx.’
‘That’s not what I asked.’
‘But my sister did.’
‘Your sister?’ Kade knows only very little about Lee’s sister, for she is rarely spoken of and personal conversations with Lee require careful footing.
‘She’s the reason I’m here.’
‘Oh?’
‘She stole something of mine to give Tanner his newest shine,’ Lee says, decidedly less soft. ‘They were friends before.’
Kade thinks backwards.
Am I supposed to know any of these people?
…Clara, Blaire, Fenwick…
‘Clara? Blaire?’
Lee smiles. ‘She should have kept that name. It suited her.’
‘Your sister was Lachlan’s friend?’
‘She was, still is, I believe, although likely not from his perspective.’
‘What did she give him?’
‘A book we both agreed to safeguard from mankind.’
‘That’s where he got his ritual from?’
‘So it would seem.’ Lee looks to Riley. ‘I’m making it your responsibility to get the book back, and don’t you dare go near my sister.’
‘I won’t.’
‘I can only give you one day before I intervene.’
‘We’ll have it by then.’
‘I trust that you are not foolish enough to try anything,’ she warns Riley softly. ‘That ritual called to him and no one else. I have already told you that what you seek is not in there, mon trésor. You trust me as I trust you, yes?’
Lee and Riley stare at one another for a long, tense moment before he breaks first to civility. ‘Yes, of course.’
‘Excellent. I will return tomorrow night. Be in possession of it by then or I shall be most disappointed.’ Lee winks at Kade. ‘à bient?t, mon c?ur.’
Then she’s gone, and Kade waits for the hammer to fall.
‘You lied to me.’
‘I didn’t lie, I just… some things are private. I’m allowed secrets.’
‘No, you are not,’ Riley corrects sternly. ‘You lied to me in front of her.’
‘You care too much what she thinks of you.’
‘Céliane is—’ Riley cuts himself short. He hardly ever does that. ‘This isn’t about her. It’s about you, my second in command, my best lying to my face. If I ask where Tanner’s gone and when he’s coming back, you tell me.’
‘So you don’t like being lied to then?’
‘Don’t start something you can’t finish.’
‘You’re against lying, are you? So what’s this Hush Line bullshit then? Why have you never told me Lee worked for Penhalyx at some point?’
‘He’s not relevant to us. He never sets foot in Varrow City.’
‘Helixx is a global—’
‘I know you’re angry, and I know you’re hurt, but watch your tone.’
‘Why? Are you gonna hurt me?’
‘I’d no sooner hurt you than myself, but your head’s a mess and I need you thinking slow and clear so we can get through this. It’s my responsibility to get that book back from Tanner now. You’re going to help me.’
‘Not until we talk properly.’
‘I need to get the boys back in.’
‘So let’s talk somewhere else.’ Kade waits, heart beating fast.
‘Fine,’ Riley says at length, unwilling but earnest. ‘Let’s talk.’
?
Riley prefers Kade’s room whenever they speak freely as best friends, although it’s been happening less and less lately.
Something feels different between them.
Ever since before Kade can remember, Riley has been his anchor, his mainstay, his guiding star. North was whichever way Riley said it was.
Kade goes to his window and sits fully on the wide sill. Riley pushes a hand through his hair, then perches opposite him where there’s room, their knees meeting in the middle. This is how they sit sometimes. It’s just about the most childlike thing he ever sees Riley do.
‘Why didn’t you tell me about the Hush thing?’
‘You shouldn’t have been trying to leave via the grounds. It’s dangerous.’
‘You never told me about it.’
‘I’ve never tried it myself. I didn’t know how it felt.’
‘Riley.’
‘Kade, just listen.’
‘But you’re not telling me anything. You’re just making excuses. Look, if it was something to dissuade people from sneaking out or whatever—’
‘It wasn’t. No one tries to sneak out.’
‘Just me.’
‘You go outside more than anyone. I didn’t want people getting close. It’s a good security measure and we leave through the tunnels.’
‘Then why didn’t you tell me?’
‘I’m your boss.’
‘You’re my best friend.’
‘But your boss first. You know that.’
‘I thought I had some kind of disorder. With the…’ Kade frowns, thumb pressing into his wrist. ‘The bad feelings, y’know. It made sense.’ He looks at Riley, whose steady gaze rests on him. ‘Did you let me think I had PTTCD so I wouldn’t try to leave the grounds?’
Riley looks out at the darkening horizon. The faint scribble of city in the distance catches in his blue eyes. ‘There are things I can’t tell you.’
‘You can be honest with me, Riley. You can tell me anything.’
‘Kade, you have no idea how hard I’ve worked to keep everyone safe. Not just you or me. Iron Star. This whole fucking city.’ Kade stares through the glass as night creeps in. ‘I tell you what I can, what I know for certain.’
‘Am I gonna hate you?’
‘Probably, but I need you to hold it together.’ He lowers his voice, a slight frown marring his brow. ‘I wish I could love you better than I have, but we work with what we’re given, right?’
Kade hates that saying, despises any implication of inevitability. ‘Right.’
‘Seven years ago,’ Riley says, ‘Iron Star was very different. My old man ran what was essentially muscle for hire with a talent for controlling overflow. Troy Harker was a suppressor, but Iron Star, overall, was a mob. If you wanted it broken down, broken into, or broken apart, you came here with cash.’
‘I know all that. Tell me what I don’t know, Riley.’
Blue eyes hold the whole city, unblinking. ‘Iron Star carried out the abduction of the Penhalyx kids, but it wasn’t Troy’s idea,’ Riley tells him. ‘He was hired to do it.’
‘By who?’
Someone knocks and then opens the door without permission.
It’s maddening, but Kade can see right away something is wrong. Luca is breathless, eyes wide as he looks between them on the windowsill, wincing apologetically when he sees Riley. ‘I’m so sorry, but—’
Riley slips down easily, tranquil as ever. ‘What is it, Luca?’
Luca looks at Kade with bottled alarm. ‘The weirdo is… back.’
?
Lachlan apparently decided against using the front entrance this time because as they hurry down the main staircase, Kade can already hear shouting erupting from the lobby below.
‘How did he get in?’ Riley asks.
Kade instinctively keeps himself between his boss and the potential threat.
‘We, uh… don’t know,’ Luca admits. ‘Cole and Finn swear they never even saw him approach.’
‘Is anyone hurt?’
‘No, but he brought something with him.’
‘What kind of something?’
Luca shoots Kade a look that says enough on its own. You’ll see.
Kade grits his teeth, tells teams over comms to stand by should they be needed but finds only static. ‘Yeah, he took out the frequency too,’ Luca adds.
Riley pulls a gun out from his rear holster before they reach the next turn that will bring them directly into view. Kade does the same. ‘Let me cover you.’
The boss of Iron Star doesn’t seem to like it, but nods. Kade goes around first and sees a chaotic sphere of his people surrounding Lachlan who is holding… something in his hand raised high.