Page 16 of Seizing Control: Part Two

My presence is an affront to the ethics the Adjudicator’s curia once held beyond reproach.

Having Layla De La Rue assigned as my chaperon feels like a double-edged sword. Layla is technically the enemy. Potentially a plant with instructions to report back to Gabriel. The agreement for her to live in the light under her real name as a world-renowned journalist and keep her side-gig as All-Seeing Skye in addition to acting as the head of the Intelligence Analysis team is a head scratcher.

Her lack of pigeonhole makes Layla a wild card.

Because, she’s not only an integral part of the curia, she’s also the youngest daughter of the mayor of Inadale. Her father is responsible for covering up Hugh and Alex’s attack on Cub. He also took a bribe from Joseph Kingsley to deny his own child’s deadly sexual assault. Daniel De La Rue is a dirty small-town politician who sent his daughter away to nullify the threat she posed to the men who hunted and raped her so he could protect his career.

This all of this means that I need to discover if Layla’s allegiance to the curia is stronger than her hatred of the men who hurt her. And if it is, the need for me to prove worthy of her fidelity as I lure her from under Gabriel’s influence becomes vital. The current Adjudicator has made it clear that he is playing games with Lily’s safety and my life as potential collateral without care or urgency. Every ally I can gather on my way to depose him creates another ace up my sleeve.

My current motto is to ask for forgiveness later instead of permission beforehand.

Anyone who demonstrates loyalty to me will have mine in return.

I don’t care if they start as friend or foe.

All that matters to me is the people holding my six at the end.

As the Adjudicator, I will protect Lily and bring justice back to the underworld.

That’s it—my only goals in life revolve around the safety of the woman who holds my heart and the integrity of the organisations, criminal and otherwise, that run the world. Fair play, honour, and honesty are my ethos. Restoring the rules-based order that Gabriel has allowed to falter will be the main aim under my command.

And I begin tonight with Layla De La Rue...

“Noah. Alex. They’re gone.” She lifts her head to meet my eyes as I name the two dead men. Arching my right eyebrow, I add. “With Hugh and Blanka to go.”

“How do you...” As she trails off, colour floods her face. Layla scoffs as she rolls her eyes at me. It’s an amateur effort compared to Lily’s, so her scorn doesn’t have any impact on me. “You read my file.”

“Yep.” I am quick to admit to my deceit. Just like I’m fast to call her out on hers. “As if you didn’t go through mine with a fine-tooth comb?”

“It’s not the same,” Layla protests. She shoves me in the chest with both hands. Biting back a smartarse comment, I raise to my full height and step out of her space. “I’m in intelligence. You’re just a... a.... argh!” After throwing her hands in the air, she stomps toward the exit. “Who the hell—” The short woman whirls around to face me and flips me the bird. “You know what... it doesn’t matter. I’m not discussing this with you, Lazarus. They’re my targets.”

“Fair enough.” I shrug. “Except you want me to kill them for you.”

“Oh, fuck you... I do the hunting... all you do is finish them off.”

“Whatever ya say, goth girl.”

Layla grumbles something mutinous under her breath. Chuckling loud enough for her to hear, I follow her out of the torture chamber and upstairs to the ground floor. Our footsteps echo along the empty hallway. For every stride of mine, Layla takes two. She can’t outrun me without breaking into a trot, and I know enough about her character to understand that she’d pluck out her own eyeballs before she giving me the satisfaction of seeing her run away.

“What if I added my list to yours?” Her steps falter momentarily in the wake of my offer, but she doesn’t come to a stop. “You could hunt them—or help me hunt them... then I can finish them off.” After we round the corner that leads to the main kitchen, Layla puts the marble counter between us, then she swings around to face me. Spying the interest in her expression, I remain out of her reach to give her the space she obviously needs right now. Hands palm down on the benchtop, I nod, then I expand on my proposal. “You have to agree that it would be an efficient use of our time and resources... and as a team, we can work together to keep Gabriel from discovering what we’re up to and putting a stop to it.”

Layla inhales through her nose.

I swallow deep while she mulls over the deal I’ve presented.

If I was a praying man, I’d be bargaining with God in the interim. Instead, I’m hoping like hell that I haven’t crashed and burned by approaching her too soon. Testing Layla’s allegiance was always on my wish list due to her inclusion in Gabriel’s inner circle. My worry was the risk of alienating her. But her decision to bring Noah to me yesterday was a signal of her faith in me. It also brought the idea of approaching her from the back of my mind to the forefront. Layla’s retort about her hunting down her targets so I could end them for her was the final tick I need in the pro column.

She trusts me.

Which makes the enemy of my enemy my friend.

Or my temporary ally, at the very least...

“I’m intrigued,” the black-haired woman murmurs after a definitive silence. Her eyes cloud with questions and cunning. I bite back a grin when she carefully hides the quick-wit and whip-smart intelligence that led Gabriel to recruit her as a teenager behind a benign façade as she asks me in a bland tone, “How exactly would this work?”

Relief burns through me. An inferno of liberation and a heady sense of reprieve. I empty my lungs, then gesture toward the dining table with a sweep of my right arm. “Why don’t you grab your laptop and make yourself comfortable. I’ll make us a coffee and we can nut out the terms to cement our alliance.”

The lightness in Layla’s step when she moves away from me elevates my hopes. I finger the jagged scar that bisects my throat and swallow down the impatience flooding me. I need to concentrate of my string of victories. In the short time I’ve been resurrected, I made a lot of progress. My list is shrinking. Slash is on the east coast, safely tucked out of the way from Lily, with the threat he poses to her nullified by distance. My sweet thing will have an inkling that I’m alive, thanks to the cum I left coating her skin and the new jewels I gifted her, which eases my way back into her life as soon as it’s safe. My boss is aware of my mistrust in his intentions, but he doesn’t know the full extent of my discontent with the schemes I know he’s enacting behind the scenes. I have persuaded Layla to consider allying with me to clear out the rest of the evil forces casting shadows over my woman and her children.

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