Page 173 of Ruthless God

“I mean it. You take him, you take me.” My hand goes to my stomach. “And our baby.”

Moretti’s lips press into a thin line.

Henderson lets out a low whistle. “Damn. That’s commitment.”

Dimitri sighs, shaking his head. “You’re not going to kill him, are you?”

Moretti exhales sharply. “No.”

My shoulders drop slightly, but I don’t move away from Claudius.

Moretti runs a hand through his long hair. “You’ll have to go before the Brotherhood. To let them know what you’ve done.”

“What if he doesn’t?” All gazes go to me. “What if he were to disappear off the same cliff that Gabriel died on?”

Henderson’s lips part in shock. “You want to kill him? After all that?”

“No! But the rest of the world can think he died.” I look up at Claudius. “You said it yourself. No one knows about this island. We’ll be safe here. Protected.”

“I did say that,” he says with a smirk.

Moretti asks, “How would this work?”

Claudius answers, “We tell the world I died and I agree to stay here. It’s a win for everyone.”

Dimitri says to me, “Cecely, are you sure? You haven’t known him for very long. I don’t want you to regret this.”

“I’ve known him longer than you think.” I squeeze Claudius’ hand and say to Dimitri. “This is what I want.”

President Carter asks, “And what about the auction?”

Agnes speaks up from the doorway. “That was Gabriel, or Gabe Ferrums.”

“GF,” President Carter mutters. “The initials on the card.”

Claudius lets out a small laugh. “Looks like Gabriel has a sense of humor. Ferrum is iron on the periodic table.”

I snort. “It was there all along, wasn’t it? Gabe Ferrums. Gabriel Irons.”

Henderson says, “This is too fucking weird. Do we all agree to let Irons live out his days here?”

A round of ayes fills the room.

Moretti stands. “It’s done. We’ll take Blanc with us.”

“What’s going to happen to him?”

“He will go before the Brotherhood and die.” He turns to Henderson. “Let’s get him out of here. I’d like to get home as soon as possible.”

Henderson stands and grabs Blanc, pulling him to his feet. One by one, everyone leaves until it’s just me and Claudius in the room.

The room is empty now. No more whispered negotiations. No more bargaining for survival. No more Brotherhood. Just us. I release a long breath, feeling the weight of everything settle into my bones. The danger. The choices. The consequences.

We are no longer part of that world.

We are ghosts.

I finally turn to Claudius and that damn infuriating smirk is back.

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