Page 83 of Shielded Heart

That meant there was still a chance of surviving this. There was a chance ofstoppingit.

Arcanthus coiled his tail tighter around the chair leg. “Now you’re getting the hang of it, Straek. Loosening up. That warms my heart. This is the part when we get to the juicy information. What is your boss’s name, and where I can find him?”

The groalthuun swallowed. “He’s going to find you first, and you’ll be fucking dead.”

Frowning, Arcanthus raised his pinky. It took all his willpower to keep from smashing Straek’s face, to keep from unleashing his fury on this groalthuun—the one who, as far as Arcanthus knew, had started all this trouble.

“Just when I thought we’d turned it around,” Arc said. “I’m going to ask you one more time, Straek. I want you to think long and hard about this before you give me an answer. Think about what it means if you don’t tell me what I want to hear. Think about what my friend is going to do to you. He’s been quite upset since your people attacked us at that apartment building, and he’s bristling to have an outlet for his frustration.

“Who is your boss, and where can I find him?”

Breathing raggedly through his nostrils, Straek stared at Arcanthus. His large eyes were filled with warring terror and hatred.

Arcanthus could guess at what was going through the groalthuun’s head—would the consequences of betraying the Syndicate be worse than those incurred when Arcanthus lifted his thumb?

Arcanthus might’ve felt some sympathy for an individual in such a predicament, but not forthisindividual. At best, Straek had been scoping out Samantha with the intention of kidnapping her and selling her into slavery. That was inexcusable.Anythreat against Arcanthus’s mate, no matter how minor, could not be tolerated—and enslavement certainly wasn’t minor.

The chamber door opened. Arcanthus looked over Straek’s shoulder.

Razi entered the room, holding something in his hand. “Got his holocom here, boss. Made sure it wasn’t reporting location before we brought it back.”

The groalthuun’s scales paled.

Arcanthus shifted his attention back to Straek. “Well, this new development doesn’t seem very conducive to your continued survival, does it?”

Straek jolted forward; he was halted abruptly by his bindings. “No! No, youneedme.”

Smirking, Arcanthus curled his splayed fingers into a fist and lowered his arm. “Oh? Do I?”

“You do, yes, yes!” Straek twisted his neck to look at Razi, who stood just inside the doorway with the holocom on his open palm. “It’s secured and encrypted. You’re not getting anything out of it without me.”

“Straek, old friend, I’m not sure if you’re severely overestimating your importance or severely underestimating my capabilities. I suppose it doesn’t make much of a difference either way, does it?” Arcanthus leaned forward and settled a hand on the groalthuun’s knee. “Name and location. It can be that simple.”

Straek shook his head and said in a weak voice, “They’ll kill me.”

A new layer draped itself over Arcanthus’s anger. The time for calm had passed, and Straek’s holocom would undoubtedly prove more informative than its owner—the technology could be tampered with but could keep no secrets from a person of sufficient skill.

He couldn’t let go of the fact that, even now, Straek was more afraid of the Syndicate than Arcanthus. He knew it was petty, but he didn’t dismiss the notion. Perhaps Archadgrown soft over the years—he’d preferred to build his operation on trust and quality work, and he’d usually had to rely on violence and intimidation only when the informants who spread his aliases to potential clients forgot their places.

Perhaps Straek was too dumb to understand his inevitable fate. Perhaps his skull was too thick to comprehend the most immediate threat to his life.

Or, perhaps, Straek’s boss truly was that terrifying.

Regardless, Arcanthus’s patience had been exhausted.

Arcanthus turned his head slightly to meet Thargen’s gaze and lifted a hand. “May I borrow your knife?”

Thargen scowled, turned the knife in his hold, and rose from his chair. He extended his arm and settled the grip of his knife on Arcanthus’s waiting palm. “I wanted a piece.”

Arcanthus nodded as he closed his fingers around the grip. “I know. But Straek chose to stalkmyterran, and I will not allow that to go unanswered.”

He held up the blade in the space between himself and the groalthuun, letting the overhead light gleam on the freshly sharpened metal.

Straek leaned back as far as his chair allowed, straining against his bindings. The entire chair rattled as his struggles grew in desperation. “Let me go. I won’t tell anyone anything.”

“Even were it not for my expansive experience with untruths, Straek, I wouldn’t believe you on that.”

“Then at least let me out of this chair like the vorgal said! Let me die fighting.”

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