Page 25

Chapter twenty-five

Raegan

“This is madness. He’s going to know.” Harvey paces the floor of the office he’d previously been detained in.

The bars are gone, now that he’s been moved to a locked-down apartment, and there’s room for us to spread out.

He tugs at his shirt, fanning himself as he mutters an endless stream of negativity.

“He’s going to look at me, and he’ll know. He knows everything. He’ll kill me, just like he did Wyra. I’m too young to die. I can’t do this—”

“He needs to calm the fuck down or I’ll kill him,” Dane grumbles as he clicks and taps on his laptop at the desk still pushed in the corner.

“Hey,” Reid interrupts Harvey.

I’m not expecting Reid to slap him across the face.

It happens so fast and unexpectedly that the room falls silent to watch on in surprise.

“Get your act together. I’m not going anywhere with you if you’ve already given up.”

Kellan snickers where he’s leaning against the wall while Jack smirks next to him.

I’ve paused my internet search on the laptop next to Dane to watch .

Harvey gapes at him, his hand pressed to his cheek before he seeks out Aiden.

“He has a point, Harvey,” Aiden says before he can ask for sympathy.

“There’s no use continuing with this plan if you can’t control your emotions.” He strides closer, crossing his arms. “Do we need to go over what you’re going to say again? How you convinced us that you were meeting with Claudia and were only a terrified witness. And that you heard us searching for someone with immortality to hide from him.”

He nods, swallowing.

“Yeah, I remember.”

“Good.” Aiden looks between him and Reid.

“You’ll have Reid with you to teleport back if anything goes wrong and we’ll be listening through his earpiece. Just make sure he stays invisible, or else Charles will know you betrayed him.”

Harvey shoots a sharp look at Reid.

“Whatever you do, don’t let go of my shoulder.”

Reid stares at him, deadpan, not bothering to reply.

That’s probably for the best.

Aiden sighs, checking the time on his phone and then running his gaze over Harvey.

“Are you ready? Take a couple of deep breaths—no, don’t make yourself hyperventilate. Slow, long breath—yes, like that.”

Dane grimaces and rubs a hand down his face.

“He’s fucked,” he whispers to me.

Harvey turns to look at us, but it doesn’t seem like he heard what Dane said, thank fuck.

I offer him an encouraging smile, then elbow Dane hard when he turns away .

Reid also looks unimpressed by Harvey even after he appears calmer and more put together.

It’ll have to do because the timer goes off on Aiden’s phone.

Reid gazes around the room, his blue eyes falling on me last. He places his hand on Harvey’s shoulder and tilts his head forward.

“I’ll be back,” he promises, and I wonder if he forgot to say ‘we’ or if that was on purpose.

They disappear before Harvey gets a chance to say goodbye.

Dane turns the comms on through a speaker on his desk.

“I’ve got it on mute so we can make noise.” On his laptop, he pulls up the tracker locked on Reid’s phone so we can follow them wherever they go.

Harvey curses through the speaker.

“Does your gift suck for you, too, or just everyone else?”

“Stop leaning on me and stand up straight,” Reid replies.

“I’m just saying what everyone else thinks.”

There’s shuffling, then Reid reports to us, “Found the portal. I’m going quiet.”

Aiden unmutes us.

“If you think Charles is on to you, get out of there and we’ll figure something else out.”

“Thanks, Master,” Harvey sniffles, and Dane rolls his eyes, re-muting our side.

“At this rate, I’m not sure they’ll even make it in his office before Harvey fucks up,” Dane mutters, his eyes locking onto his screen.

“They’re gone.”

There’s a three-second pause where I panic that we’ve somehow lost them before they reappear in the middle of the country.

Dane zooms in on the building with their pin on it, grabbing the coordinates and then plugging them into a web search.

Aiden leans forward, eyes narrowing.

“A shared office building…can you pull up its tenants?”

Dane clicks a few times, revealing a shortlist of company names.

“Unless they’re operating under a private lab, tutoring, or dentist office, none of these are GE.”

“Uh…hi,” Harvey greets someone, and our attention turns to the speaker.

“Hello. Do you have an appointment with someone?” a female responds.

“Yeah. I’m meeting Charles.”

Distant keyboard taps fill the silence.

“Harvey?”

“That’s me.”

“Wonderful. Please put your cell phone and anything in your pockets in this basket.”

“Even gum?” he nervously jokes.

“Anything in your pockets,” she repeats.

“Oh. Okay.”

There’s a brief pause, then, “Thank you. Have a seat and I’ll let him know you’re here.”

“Uh, thanks.”

Aiden points to Dane’s screen.

“Check public records for all active lease agreements at that address with a start date in the last ninety days. If there’s nothing that new, we’ll check in the last year.”

Dane’s fingers fly across the keys, pulling up window after window and performing whatever steps are needed to get the information Aiden wants.

I watch, fascinated, though I should be continuing my notes on one of the board members Reid gave us.

The search pulls up no files in either date range.

“Keep going until something pops up,” Aiden directs.

“The dentist office signed their lease almost eighteen months ago,” Dane says once something comes back.

Aiden shakes his head.

“That’s not right. Are we sure they’re in this building?”

Dane toggles to the tracker.

“Unless they’re in the hair salon next door, that’s it.”

“Check the owner of the building.”

That search sends us down a forty-minute rabbit hole of investment firms owned by various capital management companies with no clear link to Gifted Enterprise.

Dane now has a list of companies to dig into deeper to see which one, if any, is them.

“Bathroom,” Reid whispers.

“Uh, excuse me,” Harvey says.

“Yes?” The receptionist.

“Where’s your bathroom?”

“Of course. Go down that hallway and take a left. It’ll be the first door on your right.”

“Thank you.”

A few moments later, a door closes.

“You’ve gotta hold it,” Harvey snaps.

“If someone comes in here, they’ll see you. And I’m not letting you touch me while you’re pissing.”

“Calm down. He’s making you wait on purpose to freak you out, and it’s clearly working. I want to see what he’s up to. Make yourself invisible too, and we’ll sneak into his office. ”

“What?!”

“Shh!” Reid hisses.

“Turn invisible, be quiet, and just stick with me. We won’t be long.”

“Master, tell him this isn’t a good—mmf!”

“Your Guild Master isn’t here right now, I am. Do it. Now.”

Harvey whimpers.

I look at Aiden. He’s focused intently on the speaker but doesn’t intervene.

There’s a muted scuffle followed by a light thump.

Quiet. And then, Charles’s voice.

I hold my breath at the sound of him, remembering how easily he’d beaten Dane and me down.

If they’re caught by him…

Be careful, Reid.

“—looking at them now. Most of them are acceptable, however a few are still too bulky to be considered jewelry.” Pause.

“I didn’t ask how difficult it was to refine them. I’ve promised the buyers they’d look like any other accessory, and that’s what we’ll deliver. If I can tell the difference between them, then you’ve failed.” Pause.

“Good. Now, where are we at with the other thing? Yes, that.” A long pause.

“What do you mean, she’s not there? Where is she?” Pause.

“I’ll handle it. Just be ready for her arrival. We’ll be able to move on to our next phase if she’s successful, so prioritize it. And Wes? If Vera disappears like that again, I want to know immediately, understood?”

My gaze flicks to Dane in time to see his eyes widen a fraction with the same surprise that’s nipping at my insides for answers.

I stare harder at the speaker, waiting with bated breath for anything more, but when Charles speaks again, it’s another call.

“Good afternoon, Royce. Is everything well?” Pause.

“Wonderful. Where are you now and I’ll come have a look for myself.” Pause.

“Which beach house? Give me the address.” Pause.

“I’ll be there after my next meeting. Is Vera with you?” Pause.

“As much as I appreciate her wanting to assist with the little speed bitch’s programming, tell her to return to the lab and get back to work. She can torture that girl after she’s finished with my project.”

Fuck.

Tinsley.

He continues, “I’ll see you soon.”

Shit.

Get out of there.

There’s a short beep, and his voice sounds further away this time.

“Lillian, please send in Harvey.”

Soft shuffling noises fill the speaker, then finally the receptionist’s voice.

“Oh, there you are. He’s ready for you, if you’ll follow me.”

“Oh. Yeah, sure.”

“Harvey,” Charles greets.

“Have a seat, please, and let’s hear about this vital information you have.”

“Hi. I overheard Aiden and Cibrina talking about a search for a certain gifted person. He’s having one of his teams start scouring the internet and putting the word out across the country to try and find them.”

“And?”

“It’s someone with the gift of immortality. One of their newer members mentioned meeting someone who’d claimed to have it.”

There’s a brief pause before Charles asks expectantly, “And?”

Fuck.

Now I’m sweating for Harvey.

I grip my hands in my lap to hide my sudden stress.

Dane notices and slips his hand over mine, offering a gentle squeeze.

“He’ll be okay,” he whispers.

Aiden’s watching the speaker with a stern expression, and even Kellan and Jack have moved closer as we all zero in on the conversation happening hundreds of miles away.

“And…uh…Reid…he said you might be into that— want that, I mean. So, I wanted to report it to you in case he was telling the truth.”

Charles chuckles.

“He said that, did he? And I’m to believe that you’re invited to these meetings after betraying them?”

“Oh. No, no. They don’t invite me. I’m still spying on them using my gift…like you asked me to. And they think I was just a witness to what happened with Claudia. I told them we’d been seeing each other in secret, and we both got attacked but she protected me. Kellan showed up right after it happened and I was still in shock.”

“Interesting you say that, considering the information from within the Guild has been lacking.”

“I didn’t think it was a good idea to text you while you were there in case they saw it. The immortal is the first big news I have to share since you left. And I told you about the others from that fight club who joined, too,” he presses, a hint of desperation coloring his tone.

There’s a long pause before Charles speaks again.

“I see.”

I squeeze Dane’s hand and hold my breath, my eyes glued to the speaker.

“I have to say, Harvey, I’m impressed,” Charles finally responds, and my breath expels in a whoosh.

“I thought your cover had been blown, and they’d have locked you up. But not only were you able to convince them of your innocence, you’ve continued to gather valuable information from them in a time of particular importance.”

Harvey’s voice is paper thin.

“Thank you, sir.”

“I’ll keep you at the Guild for the next couple of months. They won’t be around much longer than that anyway, but you can keep me informed of any major developments with that immortal or any planned attacks on us until then.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good work. Your siblings would be proud.”

“Can I…see them?”

“They’re all on assignment still, like you. Your mother is due with another in three months. If you help me with the Guild, then you’ll be back home in time for their birth. I’ll give you a few months break to be with them before your next assignment. Now, hurry back.”

“Yes, sir.” A door opens and closes.

Dane releases a loud sigh.

“That nervous fucker made it.”

“For now,” Aiden remarks.

“But it sounds like Charles is working on something big that we need to know about as soon as possible.”

“He was talking about the cuffs and collars at first, right?” I chime in.

“Reid said he’s been making a ton of those, and now it sounds like he’s trying to make them look pretty for people.”

“If they’re just being used on secluded islands or in secret labs, why would they need to look fancy?” Kellan drawls.

Aiden’s expression is grave.

“We’ll know that answer when we find out who he’s selling them to, as well as how widespread this is. My concern is his end goal with this. Is it for money, or an attempt to find and control every gifted person? ”

There’d be no need for brainwashing and training, then.

Or maybe this is the alternative for the ones who are strong enough to fight it.

A thud hits the middle of the office.

Reid surveys the room, his brow furrowed and lips pressed in a flat line.

Once he finds Dane, he strides over quickly, leaving Harvey groaning on the floor.

His hands slap on the desk.

“I need you to pull up an address,” he demands sharply.

“382 Wisteria Circle.”

Dane frowns at the command, but a nod from Aiden makes him complete the request in seconds.

“Is this Royce’s beach house?” Aiden asks as the screen zooms over a beachfront property in a cape.

“You could have ruined everything!” Harvey cries, rising to his feet.

He stumbles over to Reid, grabbing his shoulder and yanking him to look at him.

“Are you insane?! The whole mission…just…” He makes an exploding sound and motion with his hands, then jabs Reid in the chest with his finger.

“That was my life on the line!”

“Shut it,” Reid snaps, shoving away from him to move around the desk.

Kellan shifts back, giving him room to look at the screen.

“You heard him, right? Tinsley’s there.”

“And Royce,” Dane adds.

“And Charles,” Aiden tacks on the heaviest reminder.

He was heading there immediately after his meeting with Harvey.

“Then we go tonight,” Reid counters, determined.

“Are you ignoring me after what I did for you?!” Harvey sputters.

“What if he’d heard us?” He sniffs his armpit, and I crinkle my nose with disgust. “Or smelled us? ”

“From the sound of your meeting with him, he didn’t. Or do you have a reason to suspect otherwise?” Aiden inquires smoothly.

Harvey falters. “Well…no…but that doesn’t mean he didn’t.”

Reid only has eyes for Aiden, though.

“Are we going or not?” His tattooed arms pulse with tension.

“I’ve never asked for anything since joining you and your Guild. I’ve done everything you’ve asked of me. But this…he said she was being tortured . What if they found out what she was up to? I’ll go alone if I fucking have to, but there’s a better chance of getting her back if I have your help.”

Aiden’s brows pinch, considering.

I’m sure he hates the idea of acting so quickly without time to plan and prepare.

“It’s a chance to take care of Royce at the same time,” Kellan offers.

“Get rid of someone off our girl’s kill list. You said we’d handle them as we gathered information. Now we know where he is.”

I chew my lip in thought, remembering what Reid told us about GE locations.

“If they’re always moving, we should get him now while we know where he is. We got lucky finding out about this place, but we might not be if he moves again and we have to start over. He would never expect us showing up now. It would be a surprise attack.”

Aiden rubs his hand over the short bristles along his jaw.

“We’ll go tonight. Just us, so we can sneak in to assess the situation, fight Royce, and rescue Tinsley and hopefully the other Guild members if they’re there. Cibrina and the others will keep a close eye on the Tower while we’re gone.” His finger traces a hard line between greenery and beach on the screen.

“If this is a cliff, as I suspect, Reid will bring us to the beach below. Then he and Jack will scope out the house to make sure we’re not rushing into an ambush. If it’s just Royce, they can bring us in and we’ll attack while his guard is down.”

Harvey clears his throat.

“When you said ‘just us’…”

“Yes. You’re coming as well,” Aiden answers.

His face falls, and Kellan claps him on the back, his grin savage.

“What good’s a stealth mission without our invisible friend?”