Page 318 of Lodestar

“Who are you?” The words were slurred. Weak.

I didn’t believe the fragility of his tone. He was running on adrenaline. Reinier knew what this had been—his only chance of escape.

“That you don’t recognize me hurts my feelings, Sheridan. I mean, you went to so much effort to eradicate me, you’d think you could remember who you tried to destroy.”

If my voice was bland, free from emotion, then so be it. If I lost control now, I’d just watch him fry on the floor of the shipping container like a piece of human bacon.

I had that in me. That rage. That hatred. And Conor had armed me with the tool to make it happen.

God, I needed to kiss him for that later—I had the best boyfriend ever.

Okay,fiancé.

Reinier finally flopped onto his back then peered at me with heavy-lidded eyes. “Star Sullivan,” he said after a long time of just staring at me.

“That’s right, Sheridan. Do you want points for remembering?”

He dragged himself onto his elbows. “I think that’s only fair,” he retorted, as snarky as ever.

“I knew you were high up the hierarchy,” I mused.

“You just didn’t know Iwasthe hierarchy.” He released a soft chuckle that, to me, sounded nervous. “Few ever did. Until now. What do you want?”

“You to die. Horribly,” I said pleasantly.

“I can give you whatever you want, Star. I have uncapped resources at my disposal.”

“Your world is tumbling down around you, Sheridan. You don’t have dick at your disposal anymore.” I smiled at him.“How does it feel to know that one of your sex slaves is holding the bonds to your freedom, hmm? Bittersweet? Annoying?”

“I knew I should have harvested your organs instead. I just preferred the prospect of you suffering more,” he growled.

Harvesting my organs?

I didn’t, not for a moment, let my expression falter.

“Sounds like this got personal a long time before I served under your directorship, Sheridan. Sharing is caring. Want to tell me when you started hating my guts?”

“In our Brothers we trust,” he mockingly sang.

“You thought I was a Brother?” I sneered.

“No. I knew who your family was though. Even if you didn’t.”

My mouth tightened. “How did you know that?”

He just scoffed. “What are you going to do with me? The director of the CIA can’t go missing. There are repercussions?—”

“I wasn’t a Brother before, but I’m not against using every option open to me when the time comes.”

“That old bastard—more faces than Janus himself.” He turned a stony look my way. “If you trust him, then you’re a fool.”

“I trust no one.”

It was only when I uttered the words that I realized that was a lie.

And that wasnota conversation I needed to have with myself right now.

Chuckles sounded outside, and his shoulders hunched as he whipped around as if he could see with his own two eyes what was happening. “What is that?”

---