Theo #2
He sighed, pinching the skin between his horns, wrinkled from years of stress and overthinking. “You sure I can’t just torture all the knowledge out of you instead?”
It was a joke—I was pretty sure—but I didn’t laugh. “I want one of them to be non-G.P.O. I have someone in mind.”
“Fucks sake, Theo. I don’t see you for twelve gods damned years and then you show up, ask me to hire someone for you, and take another member of my team with them to live in the countryside for the rest of their careers?”
“Do you want the information on the fields I’ve discovered, or not? I’ve found seventeen of them and documented everything.”
He groaned. “Who do you want?”
“Mykie.”
“That’s gonna be a hard ‘fuck no’ from me. She’s the best I’ve got since you left,” he groaned. “Besides, if she goes, Ragen will leave too. You’d be taking my best assassin, security, and intelligence to go retire in Rainville and watch over some female who isn’t even a goddess.”
I didn’t know Mykie and Ragen had something going on. Truthfully, I didn’t know much about Ragen, and Mykie would sooner die than chat crushes with me. “Then give me Erith.”
Erith was from the same task force as Mykie.
Although far younger than his peers, he would share their work ethic and skills.
Most importantly, I considered him to be a very patient, gentle, and calm male from the few times we’d interacted.
Traits that weren’t particularly common in this field.
Traits that would be important if he would be living with the other person I had in mind.
“Erith,” he hummed. “Still a deep cut.”
“I don’t have a third pick.”
He rolled his eyes and tossed his head side to side. “Sure. Take Erith. Now, who is the outsider you’re partnering him with?”
“His name is Mitus.” I swallowed, emotions boiling as I named him. My biggest regret.
His eyes grew wide. “The kid you orphaned?!”
My jaw clenched.
I knew what I’d done. That night, as I screamed at Arne, all I could think about was the fear in the child’s eyes.
A child I didn’t know existed—much less was standing in the doorway—until I’d slit his father’s throat.
“Dad? What’s happening? Dad, I’m scared.
” I’d heard his small voice through the blood in my ear—an injury from his father’s attempt to claw himself free from my hold—as I climbed out the window.
Burdening me with my most painful scar. The memory haunted me.
“He isn’t a kid anymore.” I swallowed my rage. “I want him taken care of for life. Comfortably.”
I’d given him a job last year, the moment he turned twenty.
Legal drinking age. It was the least I could do after his guardian—the sister of his late father—passed away.
I guaranteed he made enough money to survive, and tolerated his shitty attitude.
He was young to be dealing with so much loss—mood shifts were to be expected.
I was confident he was a good kid at his core.
I didn’t want to step in as a father figure, and he wouldn’t want that if he knew what I’d done.
I could at least make sure he was provided for from a distance.
If I was giving up the pub for Vivian, I couldn’t guarantee his continued employment.
I needed to offer him the opportunity to move to Drifael as a final effort to make up for the past. There wasn’t any undoing what I’d done, and forgiveness was out of the question… but it was better than nothing.
“Theo, you don’t owe him anything.”
“I owe a lot of people more than I can repay,” I growled. I hated the way he deflected blame now just as much as I did a decade ago.
“His father was a bad person! He was helping people kidnap females and use them as batteries!”
“He was a fucking mailman!” I screamed, slamming my hands down on the table. “A messenger! Do you believe for a single fucking moment that he knew what was in those envelopes?! What percent of the people you’re killing do you think actually know they’re doing anything wrong?!”
I’d known when I saw the look in that male’s eyes that night that he wasn’t just scared but… confused. I’d seen the same expression from other people I’d killed and disregarded it. It wasn’t my job to question.
In an attempt to rectify my shame over traumatizing a young and innocent Mitus, I’d done some digging once I got back to headquarters.
What I found was devastating. In all the files I’d been given about my victims, only one item was left out; their titles.
It was hard to know who truly understood the evil of the corporation they worked for when the jobs included shit like recruiter, accountant, research scientist, management, driver, supplier, med tech, officer, and fucking mailman.
“This conversation is starting to feel familiar.” His posture shifted. A threat. I would lose this fight a second time if I tried to start it. And he would be less inclined to agree to my terms if I rocked his shit in the process of negotiating.
I could hear his original response in my head.
“They’re all cogs in a machine that need to be broken.
” I couldn’t convince him otherwise, and I didn’t come here to debate.
This wasn’t something we’d ever agree on.
But we could at least agree there was something sacred to be protected, and I needed his help with that mission. To protect Vivian.
“Erith and Mitus. In exchange for everything I’ve learned exploring the wilderness for a decade. Seventeen undiscovered fields. Thoroughly detailed.”
“Wouldn’t the right thing to do be just giving me that information? It’d help the cause without all the violence you’ve grown to hate.”
I don’t hate violence. I hate murdering the innocent. I scowled and forced my lips to remain closed. Swallowing that retort was painful.
“Seems you aren’t as righteous as you like to think,” he tsked. “Fine. I’ll have our administrative team figure out the logistics. Erith will reach out to Mitus. I assume he doesn’t know a single fucking thing about the energy war?”
I shook my head.
He snorted. “Erith has his work cut out for him then. Naja will escort you out. Don’t need you getting lost and finding your way to the restricted storage again.” The confidential files in that room had cost them their best hitman.
“Thank you.”
He turned back before leaving, black eyes peering down under his thorny browbone. The scales hadn’t grown back properly where I’d struck him. “Oh, and Theo?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t mention any of this to Mykie right now, or the deal is off. She’s in a bit of a provisional suspension period, and I don’t need her getting all riled up.”
“Suspension? Is she okay?” She couldn’t be if he was suspending his new favorite weapon.
“She stole some company resources and went rogue. Which would’ve been fine with me, had she not been so careless that everybody in the damn office knew.
I had to set an example. You understand.
Turns out she’s also been doing a lot of research on her own time.
Between the two of you, we might get a leg up on brains for once. ”
“I won’t tell her about Vivian for now.” I didn’t have the heart to swear off ever telling my friends. I wanted to be out and proud about having a mate. Not that I knew when I’d see any of them again.
“‘For now’ is all I ask.” He shrugged. “She’s had a little too much personal investment in the goddesses recently. It clouds her judgement.”
Maybe it was for the best Erith would be coming with me instead of Mykie. I’d seen what protecting Faeryn for Graysen had done to her drinking habit. Were they the reason she went “rogue”?
“Understood,” I nodded.
“Should things ever change with that mate of yours, you’re always welcome back,” he called out as he closed the door behind himself.
The implication hung in the air. “Should things change.” If Vivian becomes a victim, like his mate did, he’s offering me my old job back. An outlet for my rage and vengeance and need for justice. Just like this was for him.
I wouldn’t let that happen.