Page 49 of Ruthless Keeper
Cain’s jaw ticks at the insult, but he doesn’t respond. “We have someone on staff who’s confident he can disarm Luther’s defense systems. Not just the ground-to-air ones, but all of them.”
There’s a slight pause. “Tobias has gotten that good?” Eric questions, sounding almost resentful.
“He has unlimited resources with us, and all the time he’d like to work on his particular skillset,” Cain says. “He’s had the better part of a year to double down and becomeextremelygood… and so he has.”
“I see.” Eric pauses again. “I have a crate of bombs sitting in a warehouse I can sell you. They’re military grade explosives—actually, the military hasn’t developed tech like this yet. In any case, they’re extremely powerful and extremely dangerous. You’ll need someone who knows their explosives to handle them.”
“I have a guy,” Cain says.
“Good. I’ll have details for you tomorrow. Try to upgrade your defense systems soon—otherwise, you’re just sitting ducks.”
Cain’s eyes narrow. He flicks a brief, strange glance up at me, then refocuses on the phone. “How are your… personal issues treating you? Do you require any assistance?”
Eric doesn’t speak for so long that I briefly wonder if he’s hung up or the call lost connection. Finally, he says, “I’m getting to that point, yes. I had no intention of bringing it up after hearing thetroublesyou’ve been experiencing.”
“No trouble is too large for us to abandon an ally in a time of need.” Cain gives me another odd glance. “What’s the problem?”
Eric blows out a long breath. “My sister,” he finally says. “She’s missing.”
Something strange niggles in my gut. A hidden instinct. Memories and old thoughts prickle at my temples. There’s a puzzle here that I don’t quite understand yet; a riddle I haven’t solved. A sinking sensation in my stomach tips me off that Iamabout to solve it, and I won’t like the result.
“I see.” Cain’s openly staring at me right now, and something about his eye contact jogs my memories. It gets me thinking about the times when we’ve met Eric in person. The fact that there’s always seemed to be something strangely… familiar about him. “Do you have any leads?” Cain goes on.
“None. Only that this isn’t the first time she’s dropped off the face of the fucking earth.” Eric sighs. “About a year ago, she vanished. I nearly lost my fucking mind looking for her. She came back a few months later with very little information to pass on—she doesn’t know who held her, only that they did. And, while I don’t know the specifics of her captivity, I can safely surmise that she was not treated well.” He audibly swallows.
Realization dawns on me with the impact of a nuclear detonation. My heart slams against my ribcage as if it’s trying to burst out, and a shudder that I can’t hide wracks my body.
About a year ago, I first kidnapped Scarlett. She escaped two months later, only to drop off the face of the earth.
Ifinallyconnect the dots that have been staring me in the face this entire time, but just far enough out of reach that I couldn’t see the bigger picture. Scarlett and Eric have the same eyes. The same nose. A similar facial structure.
Scarlett admitted to having a brother when I… persuaded the information out of her. That brother, evidently, is Eric. EricSharpe.
Jesus fucking Christ…
I glare at Cain, who’s still gazing at me with an unblinking expression. He knew. Heknew,and he didn’t fucking tell me. He possibly knew all along, even when Scarlett was still trapped in the annex, and he continued torturing the sister of our most powerful ally… because it made a point.
He’s not just a psychopath; he’s blatantly fucking insane, because it’s only a matter of time before Eric finds out that I’m the one who took Scarlett, and when he does, we’re fucked. He’ll be our number one enemy, and we don’t have the manpower or resources to withstand an enemy as well-connected as Eric.
We don’t have the capacity to outmaneuver or outsmart him; not when we’re so fuckingdependenton him.
Cain presses his fingers to his lips, once again reminding me to be silent. Beside me, Max stands from his seat and stalks out of the room. I think he’s also connected the dots, and he’s not happy about them.
I don’t leave. As soon as Cain hangs up the phone, I’m ripping his fucking throat out. He’s put us in a position where there is no winning. Where he might eventually force me to give Scarlett up. And if I don’t, we’ll be in the sort of war where there are no victors—only unimaginably devastating losses.
He’s fucking diabolical.
“I’ll look into it,” Cain says calmly. “Send me the information you have on her. Name, date of birth, last known location. Let me see what I can find.”
“I appreciate it. At this point…” Eric sighs, and I hear a world of weariness in the sound. “At this point, I’m not sure if she’s evenalive. But, if she’s not, I want to bury her. Give her the honor she deserves.”
She is alive, though on occasion it seems like she’d much rather be dead.
“I’ll let you know when I find something,” Cain replies. “Please send me details on the weapons.”
“Yeah.” Eric hangs up.
I’m out of my seat and across Cain’s desk in an instant. My fist connects with his jaw, releasing a sickening crunch, and he lets out a low grunt of pain. I fist his collar, raising my fist to punch him until he’s a lifeless pulp on the ground, where he belongs, but my hit doesn’t get the chance to connect. Cain kicks me in the stomach with a force that knocks the breath out of my lungs, doubling me over. An uppercut sends me sprawling onto a desk, smashing into one of the monitors. Before I can make another move, Cain’s fistingmycollar, and there’s a cold barrel of a gun pressed to my throat.
