Page 91 of Remnants
Evie’s quiet, then asks, “Did the apartment belong to the two giving Raegan a hard time earlier?”
“It did.”
“Then it doesn’t need to be a job. We’d be happy to do it.”
“Hey, wait—” Silas’s voice sounds muffled in the background as if he or someone else is moving between him and the speaker. “—know I’d do it for free—” More shuffling sounds. “—if he’s offering to pay—”
After a thud, Evie says, “Which room is it?” I give her the number. “Great. We’ll be right up. Just leave the door cracked for us before you leave.”
“I’ll call Cibrina to reset the lock and give you a temporary key. Pick it up from her first.”
I prepare to call Cibrina next, when an unknown number flashes on the screen and I pause my thumb. Almost all my contacts are in my phone. Even disagreeable, irritating contacts like Elias. Dane’sput my number on every do not call list and registry possible so I’ve never had the issue of a salesperson calling me unless I’d initiated it.
Kell steps closer when he notices I haven’t accepted the call right away. “Who is it?”
“We’re about to find out.”
“Guild Master,” Charles greets formally with an edge of mockery when I answer. “I thought we could speak like civilized men, you and me.Masterto CEO.”
I grip the phone tighter, my blood heating in anger at the sound of his voice. All the ways I want to inflict the years of Raegan’s pain and suffering on him cycle through my mind in an instant. Ways that I’ll keep him within an inch of his life and then serve him to her on a platter.
“Civilized men don’t treat other humans as animals to train or involuntary test subjects.”
He chuckles. “I see. Your Guild is still new, still growing. You’ve yet to begin looking at the bigger picture. In business, in life, and for the future of our kind.”
“I see it just fine for those under my protection.”
“And what about the ones out there who aren’t protected by you? The other gifted individuals in the world who are in hiding, ashamed of who they are or too afraid to be noticed? There’s a world full of our kind finally ripening in strength. I’ve helped to keep any missteps out of the public eye for decades, you see. Keeping all our gifts secret and safe.”
My breathing stills. Not just in our country. He’s been covering up giftsworldwide. For decades. How deep does his influence run?
“Taking down my enterprise puts people like your Guild members at risk of exposure. I can’t tell you how many slip-ups there are that almost make the news. The number of people we’ve had to pay off or color them as conspiracy theorists. I have an entire sub-division dedicated to this most important of tasks.”
“Are you expecting a thank you?”
“Oh, no, of course not. It’s my honor to look after our kind. And while I do dabble in experimentation, it’s for the greater good of the gifted population. The more we know about it, the better we’ll be.”
Kellan huffs where he’s leaning in to listen, circling his finger at his ear to silently call him crazy.
Charles continues, “I think, if you’d be agreeable, we could come to a compromise that may work out for the both of us. You and your friends have killed upwards of a hundred of my people, by my count.”
“What’s your point?”
“I’m owed those lives, Mr. Guild Master. And, according to your Guild records, your onsite membership closely matches that number.”
I clench my teeth, anger spewing through my veins at the threat. And confirmation that Vera copied data from our servers during the last attack.
“I suggest a merger. You keep your Guild name and status but work under me. Under Gifted Enterprise. We’ll supply you the jobs, the funds, and I’ll buy out your Tower to eliminate the lease.”
Kellan glares daggers at my phone, looking a second away from trying to reach through the phone to murder Charles. I take a stepback before he loses his head.
“What about Dane?”
As expected, Kell’s neck nearly snaps when he turns on me. It’s impulsive anger clouding his judgment. Charles is feeling me out; there’s no reason I can’t do the same to him to understand his intention and goals.
“Dane will be handed over to me. He’s unfortunately non-negotiable. But one life for the almost two hundred gifted you’re currently harboring is a small sacrifice. And being a true leader is nothing if not sacrifice, as I’m sure you well know.”
“And Raegan?”
