Page 34 of Fate Awakened

“I’m here to make a deal,” he states.

“Any deal I make with you will have the stipulation that Brielle is off limits, and you no longer get to lie and use her,” I say, my anger seeping into my tone.

He launches out of the chair. His face hardened. His eyes wild. Before I see him move, Cain’s partner jumps between us, effectively creating a wall.

“Calm down.” His voice is low and controlled, like you would use on a bear you run into in the woods. After a few breaths, Cain takes his seat, and his partner, the reasonable one out of the two of them, turns to me.

“Listen to me carefully. You will not mention her again if you want to live through this.” He doesn’t wait for a response but simply strides back to the wall again, taking up guard.

I can see Cain visibly struggling to stay in the seat. I can tell he wants to hurt me almost as badly as I want to hurt him.

Anytime asshole.

“We were discussing a deal,” I state, waiting for him to let me know what he wants from me. I may not be thinking clearly, but this guy makes me forget my basic survival instincts and causes my pride to take center stage.

It’s because she wants him.

The thought is quick, but the pain it inflicts is resounding. I’ve been trying to talk to Elle for the last two months. Trying to get the nerve to move our relationship to the next level and maybe give us a real shot. Something always got in the way of the conversation, and, most recently, it's been this asshole snarling at me.

“We’re willing to let you go under one condition. We understand that you played an almost insignificant role in the grand scheme of this organization. We don’t need to keep you or your services around.” My mind blanks as I try to process what he’s telling me.

They’re just going to let me go?

He continues a moment later. “We do, however, have one task you’ll complete in order to, how should I put it, repay us for your participation in the theft. We wouldn’t want this to get messy after all.” He speaks slowly, as if he’s choosing every word carefully.

“And what task is that?” I ask, already assuming it is an impossible one that will get me arrested, killed, force me to move away, or a hundred other bad outcomes.

“We need you to go to your meeting tonight at the Stratosphere,” he says simply.

Wait, how do they know about my meeting?

My face must give away my thoughts because he pulls out my phone and sets it on the table.

Shit. It hasn’t been twelve hours. Everything is on there.

Cain smirks, pulling up one side of his smile in a way that makes my blood boil and my fists clench with the need to beat the smile right off his face. I have to exhale and intentionally loosen my jaw to try and calm down, never looking away from the stare-down I'm locked in.

I wait. Silently anticipating the sound of the other shoe dropping. When I can tell he has nothing else to say, I ask,

“And?”

“That’s it. Show up for the meeting. Act normal. Tell no one what happened today and live your life,” he finishes. His voice finally evened out to an almost casual tone.

“What’s the catch?”

There must be a catch.

“No catch. We’ll give you an earpiece and a mic. Have the meeting as scheduled. All we ask is that nothing about this situation comes up. Use the time to figure out who you’re in business with and what they want with you.”

“You want me to wear a wire? No way, these guys aren’t goons you see in the movies. My work for them hasn’t been legal, and if I were to guess, most of their business isn’t. They will search, scan, and, hell, maybe even force me to go to a new location. If I'm caught wearing a wire. I’m dead.” My voice doesn’t waiver. I know what this is. They’re throwing me to the wolves and hoping to gain information at the expense of my life.

Banging on the mirror pulls both of our attention.

“Excuse me. It looks like your communication devices are here,” he says, casually nodding to his partner as he walks out the door.

While the door is open, I notice an office-like hallway and a flash of red hair tossed up on top of someone's head, but it closes before I can see the person he’s talking to. I turn my focus to Cain’s partner.

“They still haven’t told me if Brielle is ok. Is she safe? Do you have her?” I ask, hoping she’s safe at home and only her cell phone has been tampered with.

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