Page 44 of Captured
I don’t answer. I couldn’t if I wanted to. My throat is shut, barely letting air through and my mouth is dry. We wait, minutes turning into more minutes as my heart drowns the sounds of the forest.
Where are those Drakians?
I scan the forest, doing my best not to look suspicious. No sign of movement between the thick greenery, no trace of any rescue coming from Rakir’s brothers.
Maybe it was a mistake after all? Maybe I wanted Rakir’s people to rescue us so badly I imagined seeing that ship land in the distance. But no. I saw what I saw. Too late to turn back now.
Finally, after about a half hour of wait, a black shuttle lowers in a cleared space to the side of our group. A few minutes later, the door slides up and a tall, slim figure walks into the light.
“Fred.” The name leaves my lips as my brother-in-law comes forward. He smiles, his perfect teeth glistening in the sunlight, his too-clean hair perfectly tame. His tailored suit frames his athletic body as he stops just ten feet away from me.
Everything about him makes me want to scream. His rehearsed smile, his too-clean look, the calculation in his cold blue eyes. He’s a monster in disguise, but I’m still shocked to see him here. That he’s working for the Senators should not surprise me, not after I was sent on this suicide mission for ratting him out to my sister.
I shouldn’t be upset about his betrayal, but I am. After all, he’s family.
“Juliet. You couldn’t just die like a good little girl, could you?” Fred shakes his head, but there’s no sadness, no regret in his gaze. “You’ve always been too clever for your own good.”
“I’ve always been too clever for you,” I counter, flipping my chin up. There’s a flash of anger in Fred’s eyes, but it’s gone as soon as it appears. He’s too much of a good politician to let a little thing like anger get the best of him. “But now I see it wasn’t just that I was too good for you. It’s that you were plain trash to begin with.”
“Charming as ever, sister.” Fred’s lips purse in a smile but I can see I got under his skin. “Now, what’s this I heard about you having my List?”
I reach into my pocket and retrieve the data frame. The clear crystal glistens in the sun and I can’t resist sliding a glance to Rakir. Everything I need to know about his feelings is clear in his yellow eyes.
“There.” I flick the crystal disk in the air toward Fred and watch in satisfaction as he rushes forward, catching it just in time. “Be careful. It’s hella fragile.”
Fred straightens and his face loses its politician smile. His features contort and he looks every bit as ugly as he is on the inside.
“You bitch. You’ll pay for this.”
I cross my arms and flick my hair, trying my best to look every bit the hard-assed bitch he thinks I am.
Fred holds my gaze, his face devoid of any emotion. He retrieves a small, black device from his jacket and inserts the data frame in it.
“It’s encrypted,” he bites his words, then looks up at me. “What’s the key, Juliet?”
I blink, taken aback by Fred’s words.
“Surely, your employer has the key to his own data frame.” I cross my arms, trying my best not to show the dozens of questions that shove at each other inside my skull. “General Jarrahdal doesn’t strike me as the kind of man who forgets.”
Or forgives.
“You’re clever, Juliet, but not as clever as you think you are.” Fred purses his lips in an ugly sneer. “I’m not working for Jarrahdal.”
Who, then? General Jarrahdal was planning to take over the Senators and the Presidency of the Human Alliance government. Maybe his enemies - and his friends - decided he was getting too greedy with power. After all, the Senators did not exactly work together as a family. If his list of so-called friends was long, I’m sure his list of enemies is even longer.
Losing the List has tipped the balance of power inside the Senators’ organization and now it seems they’re fighting amongst themselves. It’s a good thing, something I can use to my advantage.
He doesn’t know Sara is the key.
“If you plan on reading what’s on it, you’ll do exactly as I say.” I state with a calm, level voice. My acting skills really are worthy of a prize. “You need the key, or any attempt at reading it will self-destruct it. One mistake is all it’ll take.”
Right now, I must continue to bluff like my life depends on it. Because it does and so does Rakir’s.
“I’ll give you the key once Rakir and I are safe.” My voice is steady, but as I state my conditions, I know this is where the cracks in my plans start to show. I don’t have the key. “Pull out your men and let us leave. Then I’ll give you the key.”
Fred raises his eyebrows at me and the corners of his mouth lift even wider in a mocking smirk.
“And I suppose I have to take your word for it? That was your big plan?” He scoffs and I see my bluff has run its course. “It seems you forgot one thing. There are lots of ways to make a person talk and not all of them involve asking nicely.”
