Page 35

Chapter thirty-five

Kellan

Throwing the door to Aiden’s office open, I barge inside.

“Lunch is ready. Let’s go.”

He glances at me for half a second, then returns to flipping through papers on his desk.

“A phone call would have sufficed,” he replies distractedly.

“I won’t be making lunch today.”

I cross my arms, and a challenging grin splits my face.

“I’m also here to make sure your stubborn ass gets upstairs by any means necessary.”

Aiden ignores me, his mind too engrossed in whatever he’s doing.

That’s the worrying part.

He’s been busy before.

He told us what Charles has been up to with trying to tarnish the Guild’s name and going after members to scare them from working at all anymore.

Then there’s the tax audit that’s taken up so much of his and Cibrina’s time.

They’d both been digging for old returns and receipts and coordinating information between the Guild’s current accountant and the one Thorne thankfully had when he’d been in charge.

But he’d turned that information over a few days ago.

We thought he’d have a small reprieve after that, but we’ve still hardly seen him.

It’s been a week since he joined us for dinner.

We’re all worried about him and what else he’s been dealing with that he hasn’t told us about.

I slam my hands on his desk, catching and closing his current file.

“Family meeting, Aiden. Upstairs. Now,” I growl.

“Later, Kell. I don’t have time—”

“Make time. This is us, Aiden. Drop the hero complex of carrying the goddamn world on your shoulders and tell us what the hell is going on. It’s clearly more than what you’ve told us, and I’m sure Daddy Psycho is behind it.”

“I’m not trying to keep it from you,” Aiden snaps, which goes to show how frazzled he is for him to lose his composure.

“I’m trying to get ahead of it all before it gets out of control. Once I have that, I can take a break and fill you in.”

At this rate, Charles is going to break us before we’ve even raised another fist against them.

“I’m not here to argue or reason with you,” I drawl, standing and taking the file with me.

“That would have been Dane or Raegan. If you don’t get up in two seconds, I’m going to throw you over my shoulder like I do Raegan and make sure the Guild Hall gets a good look before delivering you to the Loft.”

Aiden glares at me.

“You’re a real prick in my ass, Kellan.”

I bow mockingly.

“At your service.”

He stands and stalks around the desk, snatching the file from my hand but proceeding from the room to the elevator.

I follow him like a guard on his heels to make sure he reaches his destination without interference.

We don’t say another word to each other the whole ride up and into the Loft.

The others look up from the table when we enter, Raegan and Dane both appearing relieved and Jackson looking like…

well, Jackson.

Aiden drops the file on the table and sits in his seat where a sandwich is ready for him.

“Eat.” I jab my finger at his lunch and then take my seat opposite his.

He sighs, caving to a single bite and swallowing before diving right in.

“Our offshore bank account with most of our funds is frozen pending an investigation. With fewer jobs available and some members too freaked out to go on any, more than half of them have missed their last rent payment. We’re running on whatever we have in our domestic account, but with the money we’ve needed to counter Charles’s other attacks and no real income coming in for the Guild, it’s quickly being eaten away. I’m going through our assets to sell what we can and don’t need, but that’s only a short-term fix.”

Dane curses.

“I can try to find money elsewhere. Go back to some of the high-paying jobs on the dark web.”

“What happens if we run out of money?” Raegan asks.

“If we can’t pay our utilities, then those will go first. No water, no heat, and no electricity or power. None of that means no cooking and no food for our members, who already can’t afford food because they aren’t making any money,” Aiden answers after finishing another bite.

Raegan chews on her lip.

“You told me Elias owns the Tower?” She waits for his confirming nod.

“He wouldn’t kick us out if we don’t make a lease payment or two. Maybe he can help us with the utilities, too, so we can focus on buying food.”

Relying on Elias Thorton is the last thing Aiden would want to do.

I’m surprised when he doesn’t immediately dismiss it out of pride.

“That’s something I’ve already considered if it gets down to that. The most recent mess is the criminal investigation that’s been launched into the disappearance and possible murder of Thorne…with me as the prime suspect.”

“What?!” I demand, hitting my fist into the table at the same time as Dane exclaims, “How?”

“Charles sent Thorne’s thumbs to Detective Unger with an anonymous tip that I killed him for the Guild.”

“Oh, fuck,” Raegan breathes, her hand flying to her mouth.

Dane scrubs his hand through his hair.

“That bastard…how the fuck are we supposed to fight him if we’re too busy defending ourselves from everything else he’s throwing at us?”

“That’s the point,” Aiden replies, leaning back in his chair and ignoring the rest of his sandwich.

“He’s trying to wear me down so we can’t interfere with whatever he’s working on.”

“It’s working,” Jackson comments, head tilted as he regards Aiden, who frowns at him.

“Yes, I’m aware.” Returning his gaze to the rest of us, Aiden continues, “I’ve been trying to put metaphorical tape on each issue as it arises, thinking there might be an end for us to make our move, but Charles clearly has no intention of slowing down these attacks. ”

I squeeze my fist, eager to aim it at GE.

“So, we fight. Aiden gets a good night’s sleep, and then we move on to Royce. We have the most intel on him.”

“I know he’s on the kill list, but does killing him help Aiden at all?” Raegan questions.

Aiden shakes his head.

“No. But it’s a step closer to defeating GE. We can use all the progress we can get.”

“Holt and the portal girl have been around the necro’s beach house pretty often,” Dane muses.

“We might be able to get those three out in one shot. Then it’s just the Board members, elects, and Charles.”

That doesn’t seem so bad.

Aiden’s phone rings, halting the conversation.

His expression darkens when he stares at the screen.

“Charles,” he answers, tapping the speaker button so we can all hear.

“Ah, I’m glad I caught you during such a busy time. How are you holding up?”

I grind my teeth with the effort to keep my mouth shut, wishing for the second time I could wrap my hands around his throat to stop him from talking.

“I know you’re calling for more than checking on the baseless accusations made against me and the Guild,” Aiden states.

Charles chuckles. “Oh, how could I have forgotten about those. No, no. I figured you might be in mourning.”

I freeze, my chest growing tight.

No…

“Maybe that’s a bit presumptuous of me, expecting you to care about one of your precious members,” he goes on, and the silence at the table is deafening.

“Who?” Aiden asks, his voice tight.

“You don’t know?” The asshole feigns surprise and concern, then tsks .

“In your own home, too. Didn’t you realize you’re not the only one with invisible allies?”

Jackson and I stand in unison, our chairs screeching back.

A breeze sweeps through the room, and the scattered origami animals Jack leaves everywhere fly on it like invisible detectors.

I instantly move to Raegan’s side, helping her out of her seat and putting her behind me.

“Dane, take my hand,” she says, reaching for him.

He accepts it and stands beside her while I press a hand against her hip behind me.

We watch the paper animals sailing through the Loft, waiting to see if one of them will bump into something midair.

Aiden grabs the phone as Charles continues to talk.

“Or, were , I should say.”

“Harvey,” Raegan gasps behind me.

“Loft’s clear,” Jackson reports after checking the other rooms.

“Dane,” Aiden commands after tapping his phone to mute it.

Dane nods, rushing to his computer and pulling up the cameras we’d installed in Harvey’s locked down apartment.

Raegan follows him, moving her hand to his shoulder so she keeps contact with him and I do the same with her at her back.

The apartment appears on the screen.

Everything looks normal at first, and then the feed flips.

I grip Raegan’s hip when I feel her body tremble .

There’s blood all over the living room as if there’d been a struggle.

It’s sprayed on one wall, then a bloody trail on the carpet leads to the kitchen.

And a pool of blood.

But no body.

“Where is he?” Aiden demands.

“Dead, as all traitors should be, don’t you agree? Harvey lied to me. He shared Royce’s location after daring to eavesdrop on me. I gave him the opportunity to prove to me he could be trusted with that information; of course, I knew he and my other son were in the room. I’ve been around invisible gifted enough times to spot the signs. I prepared Royce just in case, and unfortunately, I was right not to trust him. Now, he’ll be handed over to Royce for a second chance at redemption.”

He pauses, but we’re all too stunned to say anything.

“Let this be a warning, Guild Master, of what I’m capable of. You’d do well to reconsider my offer before I lose my patience.”

A television screen mounted to the wall in Aiden’s office displays twenty-one boxes of different views and angles of the beach house from the area around it to various rooms on the first floor.

“When was the last time you saw Royce?” Aiden asks Dane.

“Just before I made lunch. The old geezer went upstairs to take a nap.”

Which means we’ve lost any eyes on him.

The stairs creak louder than a haunted house in winter.

Aiden and the others hadn’t been able to place any cameras up there.

“So, we’re killing him in his sleep?” Reid inquires, his tone flat.

As soon as Charles hung up, Aiden called Reid to tell him about Harvey, had us get ready for a fight, and we gathered in his office.

Jackson shrugs, flipping a throwing star between his knuckles.

“I’ll do it.”

“What about the others?” Aiden prompts, his gaze glued to the screen.

Dane crosses his arms, his own stare skipping between the different camera angles.

“Holt left on an errand just before we came down here. He’s usually not gone long whenever he does leave. The portal girl—”

“Bea,” Reid supplies as a reminder, and Dane nods in acknowledgment.

“She left this morning and hasn’t been back since. A portal appeared for Holt outside when he left, but it vanished as soon as he walked through it.”

“After Royce, she’s our biggest problem.” Aiden turns around to face us.

“She can bring in other agents at will, shifting the numbers against us. Or she could disappear and force us to take time hunting her down. If you see her, take her out as quickly as possible.”

“I’ll do a fast sweep of the house and everyone’s positions when we arrive,” Reid offers.

“If she’s there somewhere, I’ll fight her. Our gifts are similar, so it’ll be better if it’s me.”

I check on Raegan, who’s been quiet since finding out about Harvey.

She stares resolutely at her palm, flexing her hand before dragging her gaze up and finding mine.

I angle my body in front of hers to give us privacy from everyone except Jackson, who stands at her side.

“You okay, beautiful?”

She nods, pressing her lips into a firm line.

“Yeah. I’m ready to take down Royce. And Holt and Bea if they’re there. But now I want to get Harvey’s body back, too, before Royce fucks with it. He doesn’t deserve being forced back under GE’s control again. I won’t let them do that to him.”

“ We won’t,” I agree, letting the anger at his death burn and pump in my chest. We were supposed to protect him from GE, and not only did Charles kill him anyway, but he did it right under our noses, sneaking into the Tower with one of Harvey’s own siblings to murder him.

It was a power move by Charles to prove that none of us are safe while he’s alive.

We can’t wait until the perfect opportunity to act anymore.

It’s time to make our move.

Aiden has Cibrina putting the Tower on lockdown while we’re gone; no one in or out until we’ve returned.

“Our focus is on Royce,” Aiden reminds us as I face the group again.

“No hesitation, no holding back. If you hit him, make it count.”

Uncrossing my arms, I flex my hands in preparation.

Jackson whispers in Raegan’s ear.

She nods, and—as if she ignited some internal lantern—reddish light glows softly wherever her skin is exposed.

Her hand grasps his hoodie, and he grabs Reid’s arm.

Aiden, Dane, and I follow suit, and then we’re gone.

We appear outside of the beach house in the sandy grass…

right as Holt joins us from a portal with Harvey’s body in his arms. He halts, confusion tightening his face for a split second before he drops Harvey and raises his hand.

Reid vanishes.

Raegan’s gift spiders through the ground.

Lightning flashes.

This is the man who stopped us from saving Raegan.

The one who held us prisoner while Gordon took her from us.

The one who tortured my girl while she was “training.”

Whatever scraps of information she gave any one of us about her time with Gordon, we’ve worked to piece together between the four of us.

Holt has been the easiest for her to talk about, so we know the most about him.

About how he’d laugh at her pain.

Smile at the threat to that little girl’s life.

Strike her down when she was already weak.

The moment I see him, my blood roars.

My chest fills with heat, and red clouds my vision.

I widen my stance, flex my arm, and feel the rolling shudder of scales over my skin.

Before Raegan’s gift reaches his feet, lightning strikes.

Her gift stops where it is but doesn’t diminish.

The electric current skates over me, dancing along my scales and into the dirt without so much as a tickle.

But Holt isn’t looking at me.

He’s watching her and her gift that creeps toward him.

He fists his hand, another strike joining the first and slamming into her.

The last time he did that to me, it seized my heart and lungs.

Run .

I reach him in seconds, too fast for him to realize I’m not trapped by him or to do anything to stop me before my fist smashes into his face and sends him flying.

The others drop to their knees when the lightning clears, but I keep at him, stalking his fallen body and grabbing him by the throat.

He grabs my arm, jabbing his elbow into it to break my hold and meeting hard scales instead.

His feet kick out, unashamedly aiming between my legs like a coward.

And I let him. I let him see how unaffected I am by all of it.

I let him struggle and fight, and I watch the realization and dread sink in with a savage grin.

Lightning hits me. Scatters.

Its brilliance is blinding against the gold, and Holt is forced to look away from me.

He tries again.

And again, his fist clenching, arm bulging and shaking with the strain as he throws everything he has at me.

Sweat slides like subconscious tears down his face.

“P-please. I did what he told me to. It wasn’t me!”

My rage swells at the fucking lie.

His eyes widen fearfully at whatever he sees on my face, and he chokes when my grip twitches involuntarily.

“This is going to be a fucking pleasure.”

When I toss him to the ground, he cries, begs for mercy, and it only feeds the fury coursing through my veins.

At the fucking balls he has to ask for compassion when he’d shown none of that to and for my girl.

At his cowardice by hiding behind Gordon for his actions.

He laughed at her pain.

He didn’t hesitate to make things worse for her .

I won’t hesitate to do the same to him.

He fights me when I straddle his chest, swinging his fists and trying to twist and escape.

All wasted effort. I reel the scales and my gift back from my fists.

To make this last.

My first strike knocks his head to the side.

He starts screaming, flailing beneath me, and I hit his other cheek.

Back. And forth. Right.

Left. All my anger gathers in my fists, and I let them fly.

The rage in my chest pumps out in rhythmic pulses, sending it to my hands as I mete out justice.

As I give him what he deserves for laying a finger on my girl.

I wipe any chance of a smug smile off his face when I break his jaw.

I make him bleed when his nose crunches beneath my knuckles.

My body is moving on its own, wrath piloting every punch, every jab.

I can’t see anything in front of me anymore.

Just red. Blood. Her.

The pain in her eyes that she tries to hide.

The vibrant red of her gift.

That beautiful, deadly gift that has the power to destroy the world if she wished it.

“That’s enough.”

Someone catches my wrist. Snarling, I rip my arm free and turn on them.

“Unless you’re trying to take his death away from her, stop.”

Those words make me pause.

Make me blink back the red haze until the bloody mess of Holt’s face appears.

Chest heaving, I stare at the disfigured and broken face, worried I’d killed him too soon.

His chest rises imperceptibly.

It’s enough.

Standing, I nod once in gratitude to Aiden for stopping me, then grab Holt by his short hair and drag him across the ground.

He doesn’t fight it.

Doesn’t move at all.

Just releases a high-pitched noise of pain as his body scrapes over the rocky sand and intermittent tufts of grass.

I dump him at her feet.