Page 122 of Take You Home

Her eyes narrow. “This is no laughing matter, Locke.”

Chester gives her his best smile.“Everythingis a laughing matter to me right now, Councilwoman.”

And it is. Itreallyis. The moment Chester woke up tied down to an interrogation table with his Sanctum enchantments torn away, he knew it was over. He’d tried his best to get out, tofighthis way out, but it was a lost cause.

Maybe it was a lost cause from the beginning. His throat tightens at the thought. He got as much information as he could for Obie and the Conspiracy Fam, but was it enough? Will they be able to take down the Sanctum after Chester is gone?

Will Obie be the one who burns it all to the ground?

Chester hopes he is. He really hopes he is, and‍?—

And he’s also hoping for one of two options. Either that Obie and his crew miraculously break in before the torture starts, which is growing less likely by the minute, or‍?—

Or that they don’t get here until it’s too late. Until Chester’s body is somewhere else‍—anywhereelse‍—besides this particular table.

After all, there was only one interrogation room left this morning: the second one Chester cleaned last night. And he doesn’t want Obie to deal with the grief of knowing that the place where they had their first‍—last?—time together, laughing and kissing and touching, is the same place where Chester is going to be tortured and killed.

He’s having some trouble dealing with that fact himself, but he’s long since reframed it in his mind. At this point, it’s practically a running joke from the universe itself that they strapped him down to this exact table, just one last way for the world to screw him over.

Like he said. Everything is a laughing matter right now. “I know all your secrets, Nasir,” he says. “I know that the Sanctum is working with the Chain. I know that you set up the Jackson–Locke murders‍—set up myfamilyto be killed‍—to recruit two traumatized and willingneophyte hunters, and I know that you’ve been repeating that pattern worldwide ever since. Sound familiar?”

For a long moment, Councilwoman Nasir considers him.

And then she smiles thinly. “Correct.”

The word jolts through Chester. “Wow, okay. Not even going to deny it?”

“This recording won’t be heard by anyone beyond the Council, so I won’t waste time with trite denials.” Nasir leans forward. “So let’s talk. You’ve been stealing sensitive Sanctum intelligence for weeks. Who have you been giving it to?”

“Like I said,” Chester says, “skip to the good stuff. I’m not telling you anything.”

Nasir sighs, like he’s being irrationally but predictably obstinate. “I’m not going to give you false promises of clemency if you cooperate, because we both know I won’t follow through. But we do have other ways of making you talk.”

“Sounds kinky,” Chester says. “Go on.”

Councilwoman Nasir smiles. Raises her voice the slightest bit. “Bring her in.”

Chester’s stomach lurches. Her?Maggie?Are they going to threaten to kill Maggie in front of him to make him talk?

Tears sting behind his eyes. He can’t. Hecan’ttalk, not even for her. He sends out a desperate prayer that Obie will forgive him for letting her get hurt, thateveryonewill forgive him for letting her get hurt, but‍?—

But, in the end, he’s only talked to her a few times. He was willing to die to try and rescue her, but he can’t compromise his friends‍—can’t compromiseObie‍—for her.

The door swings open. Chester braces himself, turns his head to look‍?—

Panic slams through him. “No, no, no,no,no‍—Bryant‍?—‍”

“Chester,” Bryant rasps, jerking her handcuffed arms against Hawthorne’s and Massimo’s tight grips. She looks unsteady on her feet‍—probably from the still-oozing head wound on her left temple‍—but her eyes are clear and wild where they meet Chester’s. “Chester, what the hell is going on?”

There’s a roaring in Chester’s ears. He yanks desperately against his bindings, snarling up at Nasir. “Yousociopath,”he hisses. “She’s apurebred!She’s one of yours! She?—”

“In the course of auditing every Redwater hunters’ activities,” Nasir says crisply, “it was found that Bryant Nehemiah has been using her access codes to print classified documents pertaining to our strike teams. That alone is enough to classify her as a dissident.”

“That wasme!”Chester snaps. “She had nothing to do with it, okay? That wasme,and‍?—‍‍‍”

“Who did you give those files to?” Nasir cuts in, her eyes glinting.

Shit.Chester doesn’t want to betray his friends, not ever, but‍‍?—