Chapter 57
Raine
I’m sure the rumor mill will go into overdrive now I reappeared at the Golden Claw looking like a fucking corpse.
I’m taking a massive risk by showing up here.
I don’t know how much Carson knows, if he’s even trustworthy, if he and Soren are on good terms. Hell, he might see me and order his men to throw me out on my ass.
But the way I see it, I don’t have much of a choice.
I pace around the dressing room and wait to be let in to see Carson.
The girls were excited and more than a little weirded out to see me.
I reluctantly embraced hugs from both Ava and Imogen.
Ava held on a little tighter. I think we’re trauma bonded after all we’ve been through.
She told me bad luck follows me everywhere and suggested I look into having a spiritual cleansing or, at the very least, investing in a few sage sticks.
I laughed in her face. There isn’t enough holy water or herbs on the planet to cleanse me from my sins.
One of Carson’s security guards appears at the door and jerks his chin for me to follow.
He walks me through the VIP floor until we reach the mirrored entrance to the UVIP room.
The door opens, and Carson stands there.
He walks forward, looks me up and down with steely eyes, and gestures to the curved sofa.
“Take a seat.”
“Thanks,” I reply, lowering myself down carefully. I wince as I slide myself back against the sofa. He doesn’t look pissed that I’m here, which I'm taking as a positive.
“Well,” he says, settling opposite me, “you’re back from the dead.”
“In the flesh.”
“Jesus, Angel. Or whatever your name is.” His mouth flattens. “What the fuck?”
I attempt to sit straighter, but my muscles hurt. “How much do you know?”
“I know enough.”
He’s playing his cards close to his chest, which I expected. I need to play on his ego, get him to drop his guard a little.
“Listen, I’m sorry. I didn’t come here to cause you more trouble.”
“More than you already have?”
I sigh, clearly I need to eat some shit here. “Yes. More than I already have.”
“You’re messed up in some serious shit. My club was trashed twice because of you. Cost me a lot of money.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
Carson lets the silence stretch before he asks, “Why are you here?”
I hold his gaze. “I know you helped him. And me.”
“I’ve got a soft spot for him, it seems. And for you.” Carson tilts his head. “Even though you’re both fuckin’ liars.”
I wince, this time not from my injuries, but from the blunt character assessment. “Fair."
"So, why are you here?" Carson repeats.
"I’m here because I need to find him.”
“Lukas?” Carson asks.
I nod.
“Or Soren?”
Okay, so he knows. “Soren.”
Carson frowns. “He wasn’t in a great way when I saw him last.”
“I know. That’s why I need to find him. Do you know where he is?”
Carson shakes his head. “No. All I know is that he’s off-grid. Mentioned something about clearing his head before they send him away.”
Send him away. I pick at my fingernails and lower my voice. “You know about them, don’t you?”
“The Agency?” Carson nods and clears his throat. “Yes. I know about them. You work for them, don't you?”
“I did … I don’t anymore.”
Carson’s eyes narrow, deciding whether I’m speaking the truth. I understand why he’s suspicious, but for once, I’m telling the truth.
“I know about your mission. The retrieval of PARM-17.”
I don’t respond, instead choosing to swallow and run my tongue along my bottom lip.
“Carson, I just need to find Soren.”
“He still works for the dirty dogs at the Agency.”
“Yeah, I’m aware.”
“So if you don’t work for them anymore, but he does, why do you need to find him?”
God, is he for real? He would know, he just wants to hear me say it.
"Carson, please."
“You want answers? Then you’re going to have to be more honest and transparent with me.”
I hold Carson’s gaze and blow it all to hell. I’ve got nothing to lose and a big Soren-sized prize to gain.
“He traded his freedom for mine. Basically sacrificed his life for mine.” The words burn as I say them aloud.
How do I explain that I used to see in technicolor, now all I see is gray?
“Have you ever loved someone so much you feel like you’re dying the longer you spend apart?
Well, I’m fucking dying, Carson. I need to find him. ”
I watch Carson with an eagle eye. He’s giving me nothing, no tells at all. I can’t tell if my brutal honesty is working in my favor or against me.
“So,” I say after a few moments. “Can you help me find him?”
Carson shifts in his seat. “You know they lied to me.”
This conversation is dragging on longer than it needs to. Carson seems to want to get something off his chest about the Agency, and whether I like it or not, I’m going to have to suck it up and listen.
I frown. “About what?”
“The money transfer. It was all an illusion, a clever trick to make it appear like the money had been transferred. But not one fucking dollar did. So, you could say, we have a common enemy now.”
That catches me off guard. It’s a brazen move by the overlords at the Agency.
I’ve never known them to do something like that before.
Money is meaningless to them; they have an endless supply.
They usually pay whatever price gets them what they want fastest. For them to fake the transfer instead of just making it … that’s unusual.
Carson continues. “They owe me twenty million, but the Senator? They owe him 230 million—he’s fucking furious. He’s held onto that shit for years and planned to use the money to fund his presidential run.”
The mention of Senator Wilson punches me in the sternum. Now I know my mom was the creator of PARM-17, does this mean the Senator knew her? Was he the redacted name in her file? I need to be certain. I need to know.
I keep my face as blank as I can. “Did the Senator ever tell you where he got it from?”
“PARM-17?”
“Yeah,” I press, more urgently this time. “Did he ever say anything about how got access to it?”
The look in his eyes says ‘bitch, why the fuck would I tell you,’ and he’s right. He doesn’t owe me any answers. Not after I’ve lied my ass off to him for so long.
“Listen,” I lean forward despite the pain.
“You don’t owe me shit. I get that. But you and the Senator don’t have a hope in hell of getting any money owed if you don’t tell me what you know.
Nobody knows the inner workings of the Agency like I do.
I can help. But you need to be straight with me.
Do you know how the Senator came to be in possession of the serum? ”
Carson leans backwards and splays his arms across the back of the curved lounge. His gaze tracks upward, probably weighing up the benefits of trusting me. After what feels like an hour, he finally speaks. “There was a woman.”
Oh my god.
“I don’t know her name. He just said he got the serum from a woman who was a part of some clandestine organization. It was the first time I’d heard of the Agency.”
I stuff down the growing feeling of panic as I piece it all together.
Senator Wilson is the redacted name. She obviously trusted him enough to confide in him about PARM-17.
Whatever their relationship was, asset or source or whatever, she was prepared to handover her work to him. That very decision is what killed her.
“They’re punishing him,” I state with conviction.
Carson looks me dead in the eye, brows furrowed. “What?”
“The fake transfer is a punishment.”
“Why would they bother?”
“Because he took something that was theirs. Now, they’re taking away something that’s his. Money and his chance at furthering his political career. It’s what they’ve done to me … Freed me, only to take away the one person that would make my freedom worth it.”
Carson stares at me, processing what I’ve said. He leans forward, bracing his forearms on his thighs. “Well. Seems we have quite the alliance now, don’t we? Because Angel?”
Angel? Doesn't he know my real name?
Carson settles back into the lounge and crosses a leg over the other.
“I want my fucking money.”
Yeah, and I want a beach house and a puppy named Pablo. The likelihood of either of them ever receiving that money is slim to none. The Agency will have them both killed before that ever happens. But if I can make Carson believe there is a chance … He might help me.
“I need to find him, Carson.”
“If I tell you where I dropped him, what will you do for me?”
Of course, nothing comes free. Carson might have found a sliver of kindness somewhere in his greedy heart to help us, but Carson doesn’t do anything unless it serves him. He has that over Soren and me now. Not a great position to be in, but fuck. Beggars can’t be choosers.
“I’ll owe you one.”
“A favor?”
“Yeah.”
I can basically see Carson’s brain running through all the possibilities on how he can use me in the future. I don’t care that I’ll be in his debt. I just need to find Soren.
“I dropped him off a couple of weeks ago, a couple of hours from here. It’s not a place though … It’s more of a dirt road in the middle of nowhere.”
My pulse quickens. His lakehouse. Of course! Soren wouldn’t dare allow Carson to see exactly where he lives. Not a chance in hell. An off-road location is better than nothing. It’s all I’ve got.
“Can you take me there?”
Carson nods once.
“I can,” he says. “But remember.”
“I’ll owe you one.”
“Yes. You do.”