Page 49 of Remnants
Cibrina clears her throat and stands. “I’ll give you guys a minute to catch up while I visit the lady’s room.” She disappears into the powder room without looking back.
I slip a quick glance to Jackson. He’s leaning into his fist, his smirk all-knowing as if he can see my soul flailing at how I’d just outed myself. When I turn back to Aiden, his dark stare is now pinned on Jackson, a disapproving crinkle appearing between his brows.
“His name was Ken—no, Steve. I met him when I’d been looking into Joe. He tried offering me an internship at his practice when he thought I was a law student. I didn’t see him again until we bumped into one another after Joe died and we were all at Old Red. We exchanged numbers so we could meet up and talk about his internship offer and I could try to dig into his connection with GE.” The three sets of stares feel like bricks weighing on my chest as I prepare for what comes next. A part of me hopes that Jackson sees my struggle and jumps in to finish it for me, but that smirk of his...I’d bet this is his form of punishment for what I’d gotten myself into.
The others don’t chime in with questions or commentary, either, forcing me to continue. “He reached out when I was at the bar already feeling low. It was a public place and I thought—never mind, it doesn’t matter. Anyway, he slipped me a sleeping pill at some point and I woke up tied to a chair in his apartment. Jackson showed up, asked him some questions, and I killed him,” I rush through the worst of it. “He admitted to being a lawyer for GE, but it had been tied to helping Joe, a Board-electee. So, what if he worked for a practice that does all the legal work for GE? What if the head lawyer or CEO is the guy we’re looking for?”
“Hedruggedyou andtied you up?” Kellan growls through clenched teeth, the muscles in his arms tensing. “And why do I feel like you glossed over some more important details?”
“The only important takeaway is that he could have been an attorney at the firm where the Board member lawyer works. Or owns,” I push, fighting to get the focus back on that rather than me.
The sound of a toilet flushing snaps Aiden out of whatever thoughts had caused his eyes to glaze over. He finishes his bourbon and it knocks sharply against the table. “This conversation isn’t finished,” he warns me in that smooth cadence that sends a shiver down my spine. “For the sake of Cibrina’s time, we’ll focus on the possible connection of this Steve with the potential Board member.” Aiden turns to Dane. “Does that give you a good starting point? Steve, the attorney for the late congressman?”
Dane nods, working his jaw to restrain whatever he wants to say so we can keep moving forward with our plans.
Thank fuck for Cibrina.
“One of the hospitals in this city was tied to GE before I took down the corrupt doctors and administrators,” Jack casually says. “See if the medical Board member was somehow tied to it.”
Cibrina exits the bathroom and Aiden closes his eyes to regain his composure while Dane grits out, “Which one?”
“St. Marks.”
Aiden draws a slow breath and releases it, directing his next words to Dane. “After you’ve finished the virus, this will be top priority. Find out as much as you can on them, particularly if you can confirm whether or not they are Board members of GE and if they have any gifts of their own. Then we’ll put them on surveillance so we can learn their routines and anything else we might need for when we attack. We’ll have to start combing through the data you’ve collectedfrom each island we’ve visited to see if we can find any information on the eight remaining Board members.”
He turns to the rest of us. “We’re also going to adjust the training plan we’ve been putting together. While we’ll continue to train in preparation of GE attacks on the Tower, we’re also going to need to build additional strike teams.”
“Strike teams?” I ask, confused. I assumed we would be hunting and taking them down while saving Harvey’s siblings.
“When we go after the Board, it will have to be all of them at once,” Aiden answers. “The second we attack one of them, the others could scatter or go into hiding. We have to hit them in the same night. Which means ten teams who work well together and against their assigned Board member or electee.”
“And then we kill Charles and GE’s done?” Kellan inquires.
“And Holt,” I cut in.
His brows pinch. “Holt?”
“The lightning user. His death is mine.”
Kellan drags himself upright in his seat as if readying to jump out of it to fight someone. “Aside from the obvious reason when Gordon took you, is there something else we should know, beautiful?”
Damn. I guess today’s a big day of truths.
Taking a deep breath, I stare at my hands in my lap and explain slowly, “Gordon...he hurt me to punish me or...coerceme to do what he wanted. But Holt...heenjoyedhurting me...especially when I was at my worst. And when I panicked thinking Gordon shot Mallory...the bastard laughed.” I look at Aiden. “He doesn’t deserveto live.”
“Is there anyone else we need to add to this kill list?” he croons.
“After Gordon and Charles, no one else has hurt me like that. But we should add the portal girl. I didn’t see her once I got on the island, but she’s used her gift to help GE ambush us enough that she’s a problem. And then there’s Royce. I don’t think we’ll get to Charles until we’ve dealt with him.”
Aiden nods. “And through him, it may eliminate Thorne. And...”
We look at Dane, whose face is tight. “Yeah. And Vera,” he mutters.
“We don’t know if that will actually be the case, but we should be prepared either way,” Aiden says.
Kellan huffs. “So much for the good news that we know the head of GE. There’s still a line of people between us and him.”
Jackson hums and flicks his finger, his gift knocking the salt shaker on the table over. “But the first piece has already fallen.”
