Page 129 of Throwing Fire

Guess she didn’t take a pain damper after all.

I walk around to her other side, line it up, and smash my heel into her other knee with a satisfyingcrack. Over her scream, I hear Payton gasp, “Live kittens! Snow, live kittens!”

“She ain’t dead yet,” I growl. I lean over Myhre. “I got your attention?”

“Yes,” she sobs, flinching away from me.

“Where’s Kez?”

“I don’t know,” Myhre cries. “Have you lost your mind?”

“What, you think I wouldn’t come after you with everything I got? You think I’d spare you ‘cause you pretended to be on my side? You got five seconds to tell me where Kez is before I break your fuckingneck.”

She whimpers, huddling on the floor, her hair falling over her face. I let her squirm. Let the pain work on her. Then I reach through the curtain of her hair, grab the front of her uniform again and haul her to her feet. She screams, and I give her a shake for good measure. “Every second you don’t tell me what I want to know is another second he has her. Which bone d’you want me to break next?”

She grabs at my hand, fisted in the neckline of her uniform. “Stop, stop, please, stop. I don’t know where she is. I swear.”

I put my face right up to hers, so close she’ll be able to feel my breath when I growl, “Then there’s no reason to let you live.”

She takes several hitching breaths. “They’ll kill her.”

“You tellin’ me she’s alive now?” The ship crossed the Cloudline nine minutes ago. If it went somewhere closer than Tiv, it could have docked now, and Kez could already be in Jaxon’s hands.

Kez could already be dead.

Myhre nods. She swallows audibly, before she says, “Yes, she’s alive. I swear.”

“Tell me where.”

“I don’t know where she’s being held. All I can do is send a signal.” Myhre takes several shallow breaths, probably trying to control the pain.

“Uh-huh. What signal?”

“The master control codes to Mother Jo.”

Figures. Old Man Tyng left them for me, Kez and Chiara. They arrived on one of his little black boxes, the morning after his death. Which pretty much means he knew all along I was going to kill him.

“He didn’t trust you with ‘em? That must sting.”

She frees my hand to wipe blood off her lips. She must have bitten her tongue, ‘cause I didn’t hit her face. “Please release me.”

“Sure.” I drop her to her feet. Watch her crumple to the floor with a scream. It should move me, her pain, but it don’t. I should hate what I’m doing to her, what I’m going to do to her, but I can’t. It should be hard, but it ain’t. Because all that matters is getting Kez back alive. “Give me the channel, Ree. I’ll send the codes.”

“What?” She tips her head to the side and blinks at me with those tear-stained eyes. “It has to come from me. Once I give the control codes to Erin, she’ll release Kez.”

Or Jaxon’ll kill her.

“So that’s the play, huh, Ree? You and Erin take over the company and then what?”

“You and Kezra are free. Don’t you understand? That’s what you want. I know you never wanted this. Kison forced it on you.”

I shrug. That’s true as far as it goes.

“You’re free. I’ve done this for you . . .”

I take a step back. “You fucking what?”

“You can both walk away,” she says, holding out a pleading hand. “I’ll take care of everything. I’ll get the company back on track.”