Chapter 14 #3
Jade scanned the letter, finding its contents as Nicolas said, though neither Grannam’s name nor seal could be found on the letter.
It was signed with a single “G.” Her lungs constricted as she read the incriminating evidence.
It might be that Arabella wasn’t behind the murders after all.
Matherson needed to see this. Even though Grannam tried to remain anonymous, Nicolas was certain the letter was written by him, which meant more evidence existed.
And if Jade found the receipts of the transaction at Evenshold Palace, or the poison itself, it would further solidify Grannam’s culpability.
But Nicolas didn’t want her passing any of this along to her commander if he so chose. And she had agreed to it.
Jade pushed the thought away. She would figure that out later. After all, Nicolas had said he wouldn’t want her taking the information to the military some of the time.
If Grannam had purchased poison, he could be using it to supply an assassin.
Could he be the one behind the killings?
The last victim was an advisor to Arabella, so it made sense that he would want to take out someone working closely with arguably his biggest threat.
Perhaps that was what Grannam and Arabella were discussing at the ball.
What if she knew he was behind the attack and they were working on a treaty?
“You provide me with the information I seek, and I will continue to share what I know.” Nicolas extended his hand, an unspoken request for Jade to return the letter.
She did so, though she was hesitant to relinquish such a piece of evidence.
The paper slid from her fingers as Nicolas retrieved it, then he folded it back and replaced it in the drawer.
“This is a partnership. There has to be give and take. I help you by finding these leads that your leadership in the military is unable to provide, and you help me by going where I cannot and obtaining further information or evidence against these contenders. The arrangement is mutually beneficial.”
He wasn’t wrong. His information had helped her get two promotions, had helped the military at large. All he was asking was something from her in return.
“Here.” He returned to her with his hand out again. “I’ll take you back out.”
Jade extended a tentative hand to take his and allow him to help her off the sofa. The touch of his warm skin sent a jolt through her, but she didn’t waver. She tilted her chin up, and their eyes met. With a deep inhale, she came to her feet inches away from him, their gazes locked.
Nicolas said nothing as he stared at her, his eyes moving away from hers enough to roam her face.
A sudden gust from the vent hit Jade, and she suppressed a shiver.
He released her hand only to move his to her lower back, gently guiding her toward the door.
She didn’t know this man nearly well enough to account for the flutter that overtook her middle.
Forcing her feet to move, Jade pulled away from him and moved toward the door, an icy chill left in place of his hand’s warmth.
“We’ll go out the way we came in.” Nicolas took long strides to the table, where he’d deposited both Jade’s blindfold and his gloves.
He gave no reaction to her withdrawal, seemingly completely unfazed.
In two swift movements, he slid on his gloves, then he picked up the blindfold and approached Jade.
Apparently, “out the way we came in” meant with her vision obstructed again.
Jade didn’t resist as he dropped the cloth over her eyes.
He gripped her upper arm as he did before, then Jade heard the click of the latch as he opened the door.
She took the opportunity of the walk back to test her knowledge of the path through the tunnels, but it was nothing like before.
Had Nicolas led her in a different direction? How many tunnels were down there?
Neither spoke until at last, Nicolas said, “We’re at the steps again. Let me help you.” He moved the hand that grasped her arm to her lower back again, ensuring that she didn’t tip backward as she took the steps. Jade’s heart stuttered with the pressure of his touch.
At the top of the stairs, Jade heard something slide into place before Nicolas led her further into the room and removed her blindfold, releasing her. She whirled around, hoping to catch a glimpse of something out of place to find the entrance to the tunnels, but everything appeared untouched.
Nicolas strode past her through the room, clearly expecting her to follow. He stopped on the rickety front porch and turned to face Jade.
The night song of frogs and insects was still alive and well out here, a raucous sound to Jade’s ears now after the deathly quiet of the tunnels and bunker. A bright white moon hung low in the sky, nearly time for it to set. It was later than Jade had realized.
“I’ll expect you back here after the dinner,” Nicolas said. “You will return to share what you learn. Leave a note in the house here, and I’ll know to look for you.”
Jade nodded and moved to pick her way down the precarious porch steps, but Nicolas grabbed hold of her forearm and stopped her, spinning her to face him again. Boards creaked in warning under Jade’s boots, and her heart rate spiked. Nicolas’s gaze had turned severe, his head angled down at her.
“Tell no one of me or our arrangement. I’ll know if you betray me, Jade.” Nicolas’s sharp eyes, once much softer and more comforting, bored into her. “That includes Captain Redman. It would be a shame if something happened to him.”
Jade’s blood turned to ice in her veins, freezing her from the inside out.
Nicolas knew about Theo. He knew enough about Theo and Jade to keep Jade’s mouth shut by threatening harm to Theo.
The mask Nicolas had worn in the bunker with Jade to earn her trust cracked, and slivers of a monster bled through.
Just as the thought passed through Jade’s mind, the mask settled back into place.
Nicolas released the grip on her arm and leaned back, his hand sliding down past her wrist to gently clasp her own.
His eyes softened once more, and his lips relaxed from a hard line into a curve.
“We’re a team, Jade, you and I. We’re on the same side.
The two of us alone can bring about change. ”
The warmth of his palm against hers and the shift in his demeanor melted some of the ice that still coursed through her.
Jade pressed her lips into something resembling a smile and gave Nicolas a small nod in reply.
He exhaled as if in relief and moved his hand to hold her fingers, then angled his head and brought her hand up to meet his lips.
A tiny shockwave traveled straight to Jade’s heart at the contact, sending it into a fluttering frenzy. She sucked a deep breath through her nose, but it did nothing to steady her heartbeat.
Nicolas released Jade’s hand, and she turned from him, taking the steps down quicker and clunkier than she had intended.
Her feet landed on solid ground on the remnants of the walk up to the house, the stone peeking through grass and weeds.
Jade threw a glance back over her shoulder at the spot where she had stood with Nicolas seconds before, but he was gone.
Jade started down the path, her feet carrying her quickly and quietly in the direction of Ivanelli base.
As she put distance between herself and the farmhouse, the world came into sharper focus and her thoughts began to reorganize from the jumble she hadn’t realized they’d gotten into.
Her mind cleared, like she was coming out of a fog she didn’t notice before, and she didn’t understand why.
She replayed the whole encounter with Nicolas, with her informant whom she’d finally met, on the hour-long walk back to base.
His proposal for her to work for him—which sounded more like a demand than a request now that she was out of the bunker and back in her world—was impossible.
What was she thinking agreeing to bring him information?
Her initial instincts were correct: it was treason.
It was idiotic to think she could get away with working for him alongside her duties in the military.
And if they were on the same side, why did he want her to keep this from Matherson and the military so badly?
What was he hiding? A sourness swirled in Jade’s stomach, unsettling her nerves.
She’d been close to refusing Nicolas in the bunker, but something had gotten into her down there.
Working for him hadn’t seemed like the horrible idea that it actually was.
She wouldn’t work for Nicolas after all. She couldn’t.
But Theo . . .
His threat against Theo changed things. How much did he know about Theo, about Jade’s relationship to him? This man had a plethora of knowledge he shouldn’t have. Jade wasn’t sure how it was possible for Nicolas to know so much, but he’d proven he knew plenty.
Jade would have to find a way around him, a way out of this. She wasn’t going to do his bidding, not if he was going to hold her hostage like this. She would tell Commander Matherson about him. She’d tell Theo.
In the quiet dark of the warm summer night, all alone on the empty road back to base, it was easy for Jade to promise these things to herself. But, the truth was, she was getting in over her head, and if she wasn’t careful, she would end up trapped.