Page 149 of The Kiss Of Death
It was unusual to see him nervous, but I supposed dropping the bomb about Mercier and Los Calaveras could rattle anyone’s nerves. Sylas had remained silent, his mouth agape like a clueless fish for a full day before mustering the courage to utter, “You’re not alone in this, Levi. Whatever you need, we’re here,” in his annoying Unifier voice. But he turned out to be useful for once because I needed his daddy on board.
“Do you think I should leave?” Kay asked.
I tucked my earbuds into my pocket, Dalia’s butterfly track fading away. I’d been listening to her music incessantly, mostly in the dark, to quell my thirst for chaos and ignite other feelings besides pain and hatred.
“Don’t be a coward.” Cillian flipped through his history book against the wall, unruffled.
“My father is coming here as the French minister of the army, not as my father. He won’t have time to focus on us.”
I rolled my eyes at Sylas’s attempt to reassure his lover before he turned to me with a much more condescending tone. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
Despite my nerves being on edge, my newfound aversion to sunlight, and the dark circles clinging beneath my eyes, I always know what I’m doing.
“Your lack of faith in me is truly charming. Just like your dear old dad. Who knew you two actually had something in common.” I forced a smile, relishing the way it made him frown.
“I can’t believe Frederic Archambault is about to come here to execute your plan,” Miguel muttered, sitting on the couch.
“His arrogance and desire to catch them is stronger than his reason,” I said, lifting a brow to Sylas. “No offense.”
The Unifier in him didn’t bother to reply to me. It wasn’t like his father had a choice anyway.
He was desperate and proud, and desperate men would never refuse an opportunity like that to make history. Our secret operation was now or never. I didn’t have time to prove my point, so I sent over all the files I had on Mercier. Plus, I had suspicions that Los Calaveras had probably already interfered in Archambault’s network, compromising each of their operations, being one step ahead.
“I feel like I’m completely useless in all of this,” Kay whined, rummaging through the desk because he couldn’t be kept in place, but he was right.
Cillian was here because I needed his contacts, and his duke title could prove useful to our cause. Miguel needed an occupation. So what better remedy to suicide that using your skills to pinpoint the location of Los Calaveras?
“You’re distracting us. The eternal optimist of the group.” Cillian closed his book and set his eyes on me. “Because if Levi fails, it’d mean he just handed Los Calaveras one of the most powerful military weapons ever created. If they discover our location, that same weapon could obliterate Pantheon and us with it, given its undetectability by sky radars, right?”
“Exactly,” I said, my throat tightening. “But when have I ever screwed up?”
“You screwed up a few days ago with Dalia.” I forgot Sylas was still there.
At the mere mention of Dalia’s name, my skin prickled, and blood boiled in my veins. The urge to slice a sharp object through his throat nearly overwhelmed me. But, alas, I took a deep breath, indulging in the advice of my oh-so-helpful therapist about containing my anger.
“Then let me rephrase.” I thinned my lips. “You’d better pray I don’t mess up, for everyone’s sake.”
“Let’s all relax and avoid premature wrinkles,” Kay interjected, sprawling lazily on the couch beside Miguel, who sank deeper into his seat.
The door swung open, and Kay and Miguel sprang to their feet as if electrocuted.
“Dad,” Sylas stuttered.
I turned around to find Frederic Hawthorne scrutinizing the three of them, resembling an elementary school teacher reprimanding children. He was flanked by what I presumed were his two unnecessary cybersecurity personnel. Only Cillian appeared disinterested, casually leaning on the wall behind.
Frederic approached me, lifting his head with pride. “Can’t believe I stooped this low, trusting you and your—” He cast a glance at my group, who all plastered on fake smiles, and then cleared his throat. “Bunch of ducklings. But you’ve got a hell of a pair, boy, and some blind faith in your abilities. Now you better succeed because I won’t let them slip through my fingers again.”
“Then let me do my job in peace,” I said, referring to his guard dogs, breathing too loud to my taste. I didn’t like it when someone gave me orders. I was the one in control.
He gave them a dismissive wave of his hand. “How much time do we have?”
“Approximately eleven hours and four minutes.”
“You know this is cyber warfare,” he said, his eyes locking onto mine like missiles. “The destiny of the nation is between our—”
“I know what’s at stake.” And I didn’t give one fuck about the nation or the rest of the world, but I had one person to protect, and for that… “I’ll do my worst. It won’t be ethical. I’ll track them, and you’ll make them pay and have all the spotlight.”
He extended his hand for a shake, a shark-like grin spreading across his face. “You have a deal, boy.”
