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“Make what harder? I don’t understand.”
Surprising her, Liam moved behind her and put a gun to her back. “Move.”
Her heart thudding with dread, she said calmly, “I want to talk to Ash.”
“When this op is over, you’ll get your chance. Until then, you’re coming with us.”
They had found out about Turner. There was no other explanation. And there was no point in asking how. It didn’t matter. She had known this could happen, but dammit, why now? This mission was too important for Ash not to follow through.
“All right. Okay. I understand. But if I could just have one minute with Ash, I could—”
“Yeah, you could screw everything up like you were hired to do,” Xavier snarled.
“No, I promise I’m not—”
Grabbing her arms, Liam pulled them behind her back and zip-tied her wrists. She could escape. She had practiced a thousand times how to get out of restraints. She would suffer some injuries, but she knew she could get away. But at what cost? If she did…if she created a distraction, this mission would fail. She could not take the risk.
“Fine. Fine. I’ll go with you.”
With Xavier behind her and Liam in front, they walked down to the first floor and went through a side door. One of the large, modified SUVs they’d arrived in was waiting for them. They moved Jules forward so quickly she got only a glimpse of the person driving. Jazz. And the sheer hatred on the woman’s face made Jules want to scream.
Liam opened the back door and shoved her inside. The door slammed, and the SUV sped away.
Jules took a shaky breath. She had made a mess of things and had only herself to blame. She should have come clean with Ash long before this. He had given her so many chances, and she had blown every one of them.
Did he really believe that she would work with Turner? Since they’d become intimate, grown so close, it was hard for her to comprehend that he believed she would do something so heinous. Yes, apparently there was evidence that she and Turner knew each other. Despite that, whatever evidence they had to the contrary, he had to know in his gut, in his heart, that she could never work against him.
“You want to talk now, or wait till we get to the cabin?”
With a gasp, Jules realized a man was sitting across from her. How had she missed that? The overhead light flashed on, and the moment she looked into Gideon Wright’s glacier-cold eyes, she knew she was in huge trouble. She barely knew this man, and he certainly didn’t know her.
“I’ll talk when I can see Ash.”
“Ash is busy.”
“I’m aware of that. I can wait.”
“Can you?”
“Yes. And would you please remove these ties from my wrists? They’re cutting into my skin.”
“You can wait.” The sarcasm as he used her words was infuriating but also helpful. If she concentrated on the anger, then she wouldn’t think about how she was tied up and helpless. She had sworn never to feel helpless again, and she had kept that promise. Damned if she would allow that fear to creep in and strangle her.
She reminded herself that OZ was made up of good people. They didn’t rape and torture. They didn’t kill for evil reasons. They fought for good. They wouldn’t hurt her. Ash wouldn’t let them hurt her.
Now if she could only get her volcanic emotions to accept the reassurances. Because no matter how much she tried to reassure herself, they all sounded like lies to her.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Maintaining a bored, frozen expression, Humphrey surveyed the auction attendees. Though his formula wasn’t the only product for sale, the majority of the people were here for that specific item. Not all of them could afford to bid, but they definitely wanted to know more about it, possibly get a glimpse of its possibilities.
The weapon was such that wars could begin or end with its use. It was designed for one purpose, and whoever won the bid would want the weapon for only one thing—to destroy. If there was one commonality among all of these people, it was the need for power. From the sick and the twisted to the soullessly evil, in this they were of one mind.
Ash wished he could take them all down. If destroying everyone in this room would take care of the problems of the world, he’d do it in an instant. Destroying them would solve nothing. He had long ago accepted that, no matter what he did, evil would never go away. But as long as he had breath, he would continue to fight against it. Yeah, some people thought he was just as evil as what he fought. Other people’s opinions had stopped mattering to him long ago.
They had been working on this op for months, and while the determination to bring Carl Lang down was as strong as ever, the excitement had dampened considerably.
As more people continued to fill the room, Humphrey sat stoically in the back, waiting, his expression never altering. Anyone looking at him would likely think he was ruminating on the millions he would make tonight. That would be the furthest thing from the truth. It was a rarity for him, but while Humphrey maintained his cold demeanor, Asher Drake was doing something he hadn’t done in years. He was thinking about heartbreak.