Page 123 of Gambler's Conceit

Vortex shakes his head. “He didn’t! I know Caleb. He wouldn’t.”

I don’t believe him. I don’t.

But at the same time…

Vortex had asked me who’d told me that, and it had been Grant—Grant, who’d had every reason to hate me and sow distrust in me. Of course he’d tell me that Caleb had been involved.

Maybe… Maybe he hadn’t been.

I don’t dare get my hopes up.

“Okay,” I say.

Vortex hugs me tight to him. “We’ll clear this up. Caleb wouldn’t have done that. Ever. He doesn’t fuck around with human trafficking pieces of shit.”

I flinch at his harsh tone, but I don’t pull away.

The car parks in the hotel’s parking garage. Havoc and Vortex get out of the car, pulling me along. I go with them, trying not to stumble.

God, the misery is so hard to work through, and it’s hard to have a coherent thought.

They herd me to the elevator, but instead of going up, Vortex pushes the down button.

Two floors down, and we’re in an echo-y, concrete hallway. The ceiling is low, and it feels like it’s trying to press down on me.

Vortex leads us to a room with the door ajar.

It looks like an office, although there’s no computer. Dust tickles my nose.

So does the scent of blood, though I don’t see the source of it.

Caleb sits in the armchair, facing away from us. He’s holding a gun in his hand.

Kneeling on a tarp on the floor a few feet away is Raymond, arms behind his back and head bowed forward.

I freeze, the mere sight of him almost more than I can stand. Memories wash over me, thoughts I don’t want to have, and when he looks up and smiles…

His face is bloody and bruised, and I guess Havoc had a go at him. He doesn’t seem cowed, though. “We’ll always find you, little one,” he taunts.

Havoc gasps sharply. “What’s he doing here?”

Vortex stalks across the room, punching him in the face. “You don’t talk to him,” he snarls before turning to Caleb. “Caleb, we have a problem we need to clear up right away. Seven thinks you sold him out.”

Caleb sneers. “No. I’ve been keeping tabs on any chatter about Seven, but Grant… he put some pieces together and reached out to the Lockwoods.”

Raymond starts laughing. “You snooze… you lose.”

Vortex hits him again, but Raymond still keeps grinning at me after an initial grimace. “You shut the fuck up before I rip your tongue out,” Vortex growls at him. “I can do a lot more than just kill you.”

I’m still standing there, frozen, and I flinch as Havoc’s arms come around me from behind. Trembling, I let him pull me against him, and his lips brush my hair again.

“It’s over for you,” Raymond says, ignoring Vortex. “We know where you are. Kill me if you want, but you know it’s only a matter of?—”

Vortex punches him again. “Caleb, if you don’t fucking shoot him, I swear to fucking god I will beat him to death instead.”

“What should we do, Seven?” Caleb asks, his voice toneless. “Should I shoot him? Should Vortex break his neck? I know there are knives here somewhere. We could stab him. However you want him to die, you can have it.”

I stare at Raymond, not comprehending what Caleb is saying. “You… You can’t. He’s right. They know where I am now. If you don’t give me back, if you kill him… It’ll be… It’ll bewar.”

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