Page 296 of Scarlet Wars
“Which sort of makes sense,” Emma muttered, “though it doesn’t answer any of my questions.”
“But it answers a few of mine,” James cut in. “Because if this is all true, then Emma and I were only forced to bond to change the course of the future in which the Chiefs die.” His jaw tightened. “I was never meant to be the Krait’s father. Correct?”
Stephen nodded.
Maurice did too.
“Jesus,” Walker hissed, the realization finally clicking into place. “All this time, everyone knew Colt will be Alek’s father…”
Emma turned on Stephen as all the restraint she’d been clinging to sharpened into something dangerous. “You really have a problem with communication, you know that?” she barked sarcastically. “Instead of manipulating your way through my life—again—you realize this could all have been prevented if you’d had the guts to come to me and tell me Caden would die?”
“What do you mean, ‘all could have been prevented’?” I asked, the question harsh.
Emma didn’t answer.
“She means,” James snarled, “that she would’ve tried harder not to fall for your fucking charm.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Well,” I said coolly, “we’ve all seen how well that worked out, haven’t we?”
Emma pressed her fingers hard against her temple and changed the subject swiftly. “Okay, so, what now?”
Maurice opened his mouth to answer, but a sudden hiss cut through the room, metal sliding against metal, as the door began to open.
All of us tensed instinctively.
And then…fuckingCara Sinclairstepped inside.
Her heels clicked with that deliberate rhythm, spine straight, chin high, like she was walking into a boardroom instead of a dungeon. She took in the room in a single, precise sweep.
“Well,” she said dryly, lips curling into something that almost passed for amusement. “It seems I’ve arrived right in time for some dysfunctional family bonding.”
Then her gaze dropped to James, chained to the wall.
“Why is Walker here?” She asked, tone sharp. “I thought I’d made it clear he was not to be harmed.”
Maurice rolled his eyes and then uttered the most unexpected words I had ever heard.
“Don’t worry, Cara, your brother is perfectly fine.”
SIXTY-FIVE
JAMES
Excuse me, what now?
“He isnotmybrother,” Cara muttered under her breath, but there was something in her tone… Layered. Like the words meant more than she was willing to say out loud.
“I don’t have any family,” I added flatly, in case anyone was confused about where I stood on this circus act.
Though, clearly, we’d been completely wrong about who was in bed with whom.
My mind drifted back to the first time I’d met Cara—when she’d offered us that deal, tried to convince us to hunt down the creator of the bubble.
Maurice.
I frowned. “Why make us think the Radicals believed Colt was the one with untraceable translation?”
Cara only shrugged, like it was obvious. “Because if I’d told you I knew about Emma, you would’ve killed me before I could even make the offer. This way…” She gestured between Colt and myself. “You at least heard me out before deciding whether to kill me for knowing her secret.”
