Chapter Thirteen
Brock
It’s finally time.
A message from the general has set into action what I’ve been waiting for, what I’ve long craved.
I am to become a GTECH.
With a hurried stride, I make my way through long-term parking and stop short with my Ford pickup in my line of sight. Dumbass Lucian is leaning against it, all nonchalant, as if me interacting with a member of Zodius Nation isn’t a major fucking problem. Addie could drive by any moment.
“Are you crazy?” I demand, stepping close to him, trying to block the view between the roadway and him by way of body position.
“That’s not a very friendly welcome,” Lucian chides, unmoved in every possible way by my concern.
I motion to the truck. “Get in before someone sees us.” I click the locks open and round the bed of the truck, lifting the tarp along the way to toss my bag under.
Lucian doesn’t move. “It was Creed who followed us last night,” he announces. “His unfortunate involvement demands aggressive actions. We’ve set plans in motion—Addie will be dead within the hour. I’ve arranged for the Secretary of State to pressure Lawrence for access to Red Dart during his briefing. You’ll step up to manage Red Dart while Lawrence grieves.”
Adrenaline surges, and I charge back toward him, facing off with him. “Lawrence entrusted me with his daughter. If anything happens to her, he’ll blame me. I’ll be the last person he trusts to take care of things while he buries Addie.”
“He can’t blame you for a car accident when he let that happen to her mother.” He smirks. “It’ll really fuck with Lawrence. And there is no way you could prevent such a thing.”
“You can’t be sure a car accident will kill her,” I argue, trying anything to shut this down.
Lucian’s lips curve sardonically. “You underestimate me, Brock. There’s a little alien something we call ‘Stardust’ in her exhaust. It’ll cause a brain aneurysm. It is undetectable in human testing. Her car will crash. She’s dead, regardless of cause. I suggest you get to the lab so you can be there by Lawrence’s side when he hears the brutal news. Be ready to take control.” The wind lifts, and he is gone.
I stand there for all of three seconds before I start running toward Addie’s car. If anything happens to Addie, I don’t care what the cause; Lawrence will go ballistic. And I’m not losing my chance at conversion over that bitch. By the time I reach Addie’s prior location, I’m out of breath, and her stupid little Beetle is sitting where it had been, with Addie nowhere in sight.
I huff out a breath of relief. She must have forgotten something inside the airport. I’ll wait. Thirty minutes later, there’s no sign of Addie. I lift the hood of her car and disable the battery. Then, for good measure, I pull out a pocket knife and slice two tires.
My final measure is a trip to her house before Lucian finds out she’s alive and decides to kill her some other way.