Page 302 of Scarlet Wars
I scowled as I accepted the nex, especially once the projection came fully into view.
Cara Sinclair stood before me, as if she’d stepped directly into the park, her posture straight, her expression unsmiling.
“Ms. Sinclair,” Maurice—I—drawled, folding my arms. “To what do I owe this mild displeasure?”
“I want to make you a deal,” she said flatly, skipping every imaginable nicety.
I snorted. “Not interested.”
“You will be,” she replied coolly, “when you hear what I have to say.”
I sighed, ready to break off the connection. “Bye, Cara.”
“It’s about your daughter.”
I stopped in my tracks. “How do you know about her?”
Cara smirked triumphantly. “Let’s just say my former leader was all but too eager to share some classified intel with me.”
“Meaning you leaked him. Fine, you have my attention. What about Emma?”
Cara shifted her weight. “Have you heard Stephen Stone is in the US?”
“Yeah.” I scoffed. “Heard he was looking for me.” A humorless smile tugged at my mouth. “Let him try. I’ve got more than a few cycles on him.”
“Do you know where he was right before that?”
I shifted my weight, unsure where she was going with this.
“I’ll take your silence to mean youdon’t know,” Cara continued evenly, “he just paid a visit to the High Chief with some very interesting information about your daughter and her future.”
My jaw tightened. “He told them about the Krait?”
“Among other things.”
I took a step toward her, the air between us humming faintly with blue Nexus drops. “You’re trying my patience, Ms. Sinclair.”
“And your refusal to deal with me is trying mine,” she shot back without flinching.
I exhaled sharply. “What do you want?”
“I tell you what Stephen told the Chiefs,” she said dryly, “and you don’t touch James Walker. Ever.”
I crossed my arms. “You want his immunity?”
“Yes.” A beat. “And in exchange, I’ll tell you where the next threat to your daughter’s life is coming from.”
I rolled my eyes, irritation flaring hot. “Fine. He’s untouchable.” I jabbed a finger at her. “Now talk.”
“Stephen went to the Chiefs and told them how, in the future where Emma chooses Caden,” Cara said, “the United Chiefs will all die.”
My brow furrowed hard. “What the fuck? Is that true?”
“I don’t know.” She paused. “What I do know is, he told them James Walker would be the Krait’s father. Said he was certain because of his real first name: Aleksander. With a K.”
Motherfucker.
“So now what?” I snapped. “The Chiefs are lining up to kill Caden Colt and hurt my daughter, and have legitimized it with some sort of sacred goal to procure the Krait?”
