CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE #3
‘Is he a Paranatural?’ Seth demands baldly.
‘Rephrase your question.’
‘Is he a Paranatural, boss?’
Oh, he’s pushing so hard. Kade’s fingers twitch nervously by his side.
‘Why don’t you ask him that yourself?’ Seth’s cheeks colour instantly and he tongues his teeth. ‘No? Then I suggest you stay away.’
A couple more people raise their hands.
‘Mara.’
‘What’s the larger threat?’
‘Unclear at this time but serious.’
‘Is it Sorrenko? A rogue outfit?’
‘When we know for certain, you’ll know too. Timo.’
‘How long are we likely to be in lockdown?’
‘Few days, not likely more.’
‘And he’ll be here for all of it?’ Seth asks quietly, no mistaking the anger that time.
‘Following Kade around like a lost puppy.’ Even Seth’s street teams move slightly away from him when he says that.
‘Are we meant to close our eyes and pretend not to see it?’ His voice is getting steadily louder.
‘This fucking thing can’t be killed because he’s one of them!
Paranaturals can heal fast. And look, I know you have a soft spot for them, boss, but not all of us share it.
They’re dangerous. If you don’t believe me, go see my brother in the Cold Room. ’
Riley looks untouchable as ever, but just this once, Kade wishes he’d show a little emotion, show the other that it’s OK to feel this way, acknowledge their loss and confusion rather than staying stone calm and unaffected.
‘Kade is handling Tanner on my orders.’
‘Do you know how weak it makes us look to play host to the fucking monster that tore us apart?’
‘Seth,’ Kade says before he can stop himself. ‘Enough.’
‘Am I the only one seeing this? Tanner breaks in, fucking annihilates us, and now we tiptoe around him hoping he doesn’t do it again? It’s pathetic.’
The silence that follows spreads fast and cold, isolating Seth where he stands breathing hard, still staring directly back at Riley.
Riley’s cool blue eyes stay fixed steadily on Seth, expression unreadable.
Then, very softly, he says, ‘You don’t know who you are without him.’
Seth flinches almost imperceptibly. ‘What?’
Riley continues in the same quiet tone, almost thoughtful.
‘Gage did. That’s the difference between you, isn’t it?
You built yourself around being half of something and now the other half is gone, so now everything is unstable.
Your sense of self. Your judgement. You think this is about Tanner because rage is easier to carry than loss, but deep down it’s that your brother died, and you don’t know who you are without him.
Gage always knew, so maybe when he died, he took the both of you with him. ’
The room is dead silent.
Seth is stricken.
Riley lets the quiet build up around his soft-spoken assertion before he gently points out, ‘You’re spiralling, Seth, and everyone can see it.’
Colour floods Seth’s cheeks in an ugly rush of red from the neck up. ‘I’m not the only one who feels this way.’
‘You’re terrified because you feel small.’
‘No, I…’ Seth swallows over a snagged breath. ‘I don’t! These are legitimate worries. That thing is a Paranatural! What if there are more like him? What if this is just the start of an-an invasion or something?’
‘Your brother never felt small for a second.’
‘Tanner isn’t human!’
‘He wasn’t afraid of anything, even when he died.’
‘We should l-lock him up and run tests or give him to Helixx!’
‘Your brother was all the best of yourself you saw in the mirror.’
‘MY brOTHER DIED AT THE HANDS OF A MONSTER!’
‘And your brother,’ Riley goes on, tone level, ‘would be the first to agree that if it’s useful to us, we work with what we’re given.
The other outfits we cooperate with have killed our people in the past. They attacked Kade the other night in the city, but the Accords hold up and we maintain this truce because that’s what keeps the most people alive.
Your need for revenge is just twisted grief with nowhere to go.
It’s childish and weak. Your brother would never have entertained it. ’
‘He can’t entertain anything. He’s dead!’
‘And you’re not.’
‘I… it doesn’t… that’s not it.’
‘You’re here without him for the first time in your whole life and it hurts so bad you can’t breathe, but mutilating Lachlan Tanner won’t make it better, and even if it would, he’s useful to us and that should be enough for you.’ Riley lowers his gaze slightly. ‘Is that enough for you, Seth?’
Five damning seconds pass with no answer until Seth gives a shaky nod, staring away. ‘Yeah, boss. It’s enough.’
‘Good.’ Riley looks directly at his bodyguard. ‘Kade?’
Kade goes where he’s bid, clears his throat.
He has no issue giving orders or addressing people, but this is a fine line to walk and after that…
he can feel how uncertain the room is, how unmoored.
Eyes track him the whole way over to Riley who, when Kade stands beside him, whispers under his breath in near total silence, ‘Pull ‘em back for me, dig deep.’
It’s a fucking tall order, but he’ll do his best.
Kade focuses hard, tastes salt on his tongue.
‘OK, look. I fought this guy when he came in, broke protocol to do it. I emptied a clip into his face, and he came back to life right in front of me. This is bigger than one breach and eighteen deaths. That doesn’t make it right, but it’s reality and,’ he says, borrowing a Riley phrase, ‘there’s no use dancing around it.
If Lachlan wanted to destroy Iron Star, we’d already be gone, but that’s not what he wants.
He attacked us under a severe misunderstanding.
The boss is right. We make deals with people who’ve tried to kill us.
We bargain with the other outfits despite blood being shed in the past. I think it’s fair to say that the core of this anger isn’t just the loss, but also the fear of the fact that, like the boss said, he can’t be killed. He’s different. He’s not human.’
Seth won’t look at Kade. He’s still staring determinedly down.
Kade will talk to him later, he’ll make it right.
‘I know some of you have a problem with things like that and it’s no secret I’ve never exactly been comfortable with it myself, but if I’m honest, deep down, that discomfort comes from fear.
Fear keeps people small and none of us were made to live small lives.
The Tower is our home. Iron Star is our life.
I trust this arrangement to stand while we figure out what the fuck is going on.
That doesn’t mean I trust Lachlan Tanner.
’ Kade’s gaze moves steadily across the room.
‘It means I trust Riley Harker. If he says Lachlan’s not a threat to us right now.
’ Kade gives the last part all the subtle emphasis he has.
‘Then I trust that completely and I’m asking you to do the same. ’
He falls silent, watching to see how it lands.
Almost everyone in the room seems to come around, the hostility thinning into slow acceptance. Everyone except Seth, who still hasn’t moved or even looked up. Kade will talk to him privately later.
‘We trust it,’ Luca says, and many people nod in agreement.
‘Thank you.’ Kade looks back at Riley for guidance, gets a tiny wink from his boss that loosens something tight in his chest. ‘OK, so. Let’s talk logistics.’