Page 85 of Wild Thing

“Apparently we are not,” Archer snaps, turning around and searching for Slate. “Okay. We are activating all the cameras on Ayana. Twenty-four seven. No objections. All the inactive cameras across Zion—same thing, including the Eastside, since there’s no one there and it’s a haven for squatters. Slate, get me two more security guards. One at Katura’s house, the other one following her twenty-four-seven.”

I want to object, but arguing seems like adding fuel to the fire.

I stare at O’Shea. His head is turned unnaturally—his neck has been snapped. That’s cold. Considering that this was done by a supposed friend, it’s brutal. Only one thing makes a person do ruthless things to friends—money.

“We should get on a video call with Mr. Ortiz,” says Marlow.

Archer pulls out his phone and starts typing, the beeping of the incoming messages interrupting now and then.

“A meeting with Mr. Ortiz in fifteen at the Center. My office,” he says.

So much for his birthday celebration.

I feel like I failed at yet another thing to make him happy.

35

KAT

The next day,O’Shea’s body is moved to the Port Mrei mortuary. An island-wide search for Cunningham is announced, and a reward is offered. He won’t have a place to hide unless he has allies, and that’s the biggest problem.

After a meeting with my dad last night, Archer and I went to Cliff Villa. Talked for hours. Then had sex, twice, impatiently, but none of the “whatever you want” I promised. We just needed a release and each other.

Something’s coming our way. There are eyes everywhere, and I made the stupid mistake of venturing to Port Mrei like freaking Tinker Bell into a lion’s den. I almost wonder if Cunningham’s escape had something to do with it. Was it Butcher’s message?

The security guards outside Archer’s villa didn’t exactly evoke a romantic setting last night either.

“Do you think we are in danger, Arch?” I asked him as we lay in his bed before dawn, exhausted and grim, his arm around me, my fingers stroking his skin—the only thing that brought me reassurance that we’d be fine.

“You are with me, wild thing. I’m always right here. We’ll be fine.”

No one is fine. Slate now follows me everywhere—Archer gave up his most trusted guy who’s been with him since Deene, and now has two other guys who escort him everywhere. For all we know, Cunningham could still be at Ayana.

We gather in Archer’s office early in the morning.

“Security went through the cameras,” Marlow reports, “but a lot of people go in and out of Ayana every day. Their badges get scanned, but there are simply too many timestamps to track to catch one fraud. If Cunningham has connections, he could’ve left Zion already. Considering, people are smuggled in and out.”

Archer’s jaw tightens. “Is everyone just gonna bring it up every time we talk and do nothing?”

“What do you want to do?” Marlow asks grimly. “Change guards? Hire new port management?”

“Yes and yes. Every time you change employees, it takes time for them to settle in before they are comfortable enough to break the rules.”

Raven stirs. “They don’t need to be comfortable. There’s already a well-oiled process in place, and Butcher is running it.”

Our heads turn to him.

Archer’s eyes flash with anger. “Are you saying you knew about it all this time and didn’t say anything?”

“Archer, I’d be stupid if I oversaw export and import in Port Mrei and didn’t know the unwanted details. I do business with the thugs and the gangs, and yes, Butcher, too. We might not discuss it with him, but I know plenty of what’s happening. There’s always compromise and leverage.”

“Leverage.”

“Yes, leverage.” His voice is low and slow-paced but with that edge that leaves invisible cuts on your brain. He’s not afraid to lay out the truth. “If you want to change how Port Mrei has operated in the last two years, one, get a completely new security and surveillance team—that’s over two hundred people. Two, eliminate Butcher and his crew—that’s several hundred people, and by eliminate, I mean, gone from Zion. That’s the only way you can change the already existing power dynamics. This part is quite impossible—Butcher won’t give up without a fight. And last but not least, find Milena Tsariuk so you don’t have the entire world invested in this place. Does the above sound like something we wanna take on right now? Let me know.”

Silence hangs in the air again. Archer stares down at his desk, his gaze too tense. Marlow’s eyes are covered by his hand. Raven is the only one who is unfazed by what he just said.

No one has suggestions because the only way to sort out what’s happening is to change everything around. He’s right. My dad said as much.

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