COR
Well, this all got more complicated really fast.
I held Ellie down by her shoulders before she could do anything stupid. Whatever that man was doing wasn’t good. Nothing good came of that man.
“Let me go,” she growled.
“We can’t make a move against him—if we do, he will kill Zach right then and there. Or worse, he will reveal who both of you are and there will be a moon full of Silurians after you.”
She pursed her lips but stopped resisting me.
“He is my best friend, Cor. If anything happens, I don’t know what I will do.”
“Zach can take care of himself. I doubt he will hurt him. Now, do you want to explain to me how you know that man and why he would go after Zach?”
Ellie frowned. “That is Lord Byron. He was the one who hired us to kill Gabe in exchange for information on your whereabouts.”
I frowned. That was not good. “He’s the one who hired you?”
Ellie nodded. “Yup. And it seems even though we gave the money back, he didn’t like that we didn’t finish our mission. I suppose he’ll give us a ransom later. He won’t kill Zach, at least. Probably. Hopefully. I mean, Zach can take care of himself. He’s made it this far… and if he wants me to finish the job, he won’t kill him.”
I glanced to where the man named Byron took Zach, wondering if I should tell Ellie the truth of who that man was. If I did, however, she would go straight into action and risk everything. No, I had to keep this a secret. It was for the greater good.
“I think he’ll be fine,” I said. “You are right. There will be a ransom first.”
“Lord Byron has been in the society for quite some time,” Gabe added. “He doesn’t like when new people like me try to join. He will keep Zach alive, although once he gets what he wants, he might kill both of you, and Cor for good measure.”
Perhaps Byron also liked to lure young teens into thinking he cared for them and destroy everything they had. I let out a breath slowly. I needed to focus. I needed to finish this mission. No matter the cost. This was only a hiccup. I would take care of it.
I stood up. “I’m going to go get us tickets for tomorrow. Do you think I should grab one for Zach?”
Ellie shook her head. “No, I think he’ll still be Byron’s collateral. Besides, he sucks at poker and probably lost you some money already.”
I let out a breathy laugh. “Great. Well, I’ll get that underway. Keep an eye on Gabe. And Gabe, don’t let her do anything foolish.”
She eyed me as she also stood up. I could see her arms were still shaking. I wanted to help her get Zach back, but at this point, we had to just let it all play out. “Shall we go practice some poker, Gabe?”
He stood up and held out his arm. “Yes, we shall.”
I was glad to see that they were getting along, but that didn’t mean we were out of the frying pan. Or perhaps we were, and we had already gone straight into the fire.
No, I had a feeling the fire would be worse. Much worse. And not only that, but the fire would be when we got the ransom note. Because nothing ever went according to plan. Ever.
I tried to rub the migraine that was beginning to form out of my head as I made my way to the front desk. A familiar Sirian manned the desk. She smiled, her sharp, almost sharklike teeth as white as snow.
“Well, if it isn’t Cornelius. What can I do for you today?”
I leaned forward and gave the woman I had slept with the night before a grin. “I would like to get three tickets for tomorrow’s poker tournament.”
She raised an eyebrow, but I saw the faint blush on her cheeks. “You know as well as I that each player has to register themselves.”
I glanced at her name tag. Right, her name was Jubilee. I gave her another smile. “Come on, Jubilee, for me? You know we can pay for it. I just need three places in the tournament.”
“It would be one thing if you were just buying for Gabriel, but who is the other person? Have they been background checked?”
As if these rich people had clean backgrounds. I grabbed her hand and kissed it. “You think I would vouch for anyone indecent? You know I have a good eye for people.” I gave her a little wink.
Her cheeks blushed even more, causing her to fluster. “Cornelius, I don’t want to risk my job…”
“You won’t. I promise. And perhaps you could persuade me to stop by tonight as well…”
She bit her lip, which to me looked like it hurt. I mean, I would know—some of these Sirians were biters. “Fine. But if I get caught, you’re in deep trouble.”
I leaned over the desk and gave her a kiss on the lips. “Thank you so much.”
She typed a few things in her computer and handed me three badges with lanyards. “Good luck tomorrow. And don’t forget, my room number is B2. I get off just past midnight.”
I grinned. “I wouldn’t forget.”
I turned back and headed to find Ellie and Gabe. One thing down, a few more things to go.
I didn’t know where to start for the rest. Did I figure out how I was going to make it look like I assassinated Zach and Ellie first, or did I go deal with the Zach situation? Zach was more than likely safe for the time being, but I wasn’t sure what card that man, who now went by Byron, apparently, was going to pull. It had been years since I had seen him, and I had no idea that he had been the same person after Gabe all this time—I had no idea that Obi was Byron. Or Byron was Obi. I wasn’t sure which name was the fake one at this point.
As anyone who lived in the desert knew, when it rained, it poured.
Working out what was going on with Zach and Byron would probably be the best thing to do first.
I had to act like nothing was up to Ellie, though, which wouldn’t be easy. She already didn’t trust me after finding that folder. I didn’t blame her after what had happened. I would do the same if I were in her shoes.
I found her and Gabe working the poker table. She was flirting with the three other men at the table, who were all human. I wondered if they were the same humans who were in league with Byron or if they just happened to be here.
I stepped up to the table. “I see you two are having fun.”
Ellie smiled at me. “Yes, we are. I was telling these lovely gentlemen about my home back in the Human Zone and my love for my pet horses.” She placed her hand on her heart. “They are like family to me. I would die if anything happened to them while I was away.”
So she was as good as me at lying. That was interesting to see. Then again, I felt there were some truths to those statements.
I gave the two of them their badges for tomorrow. “These are for you. Don’t lose them as I don’t think I’ll be able to get any more. Meanwhile, I’ve some… other business to tend to. I’ll meet you at dinner.”
Ellie pouted playfully, but I could tell that she was furious I was leaving again as she wanted to know what I was doing. “Oh, so soon. You must play a game with us. I want to wipe the floors with you like I am with these poor men.”
I glanced at them. They seemed amused and offended at the same time. Good for her. “Later, I promise. But first, business.”
I kissed her hand and then kissed Gabe on the cheek and left for Byron’s room. The moment I turned away from them, I felt my face grow cold.
It had been three years, but I would never forget that face. The face that smiled at me and told me how I would make a difference and change how the world viewed Kausians forever. I supposed he wasn’t lying in that regard.
I knew where his room was because, well, I always tried to keep all the rooms of those in the society memorized. The thing was, even though we had been up and down from here a few times in the past couple of months, I never had seen him. I just figured he was some other human I didn’t have to worry about too much. Clearly I was wrong—clearly he was an even bigger thorn in my side than earlier.
Byron’s room was on the same floor as ours but was all the way on the other side of the hotel. I weaved through the hallways and finally found the door. I took a few breaths, calming myself down as my heart was racing—in fear of what this man was up to, especially after all this time.
I knocked on the door, and in a matter of seconds, it opened. Byron smiled as he leaned against the doorway. “Cornelius. Long time, no see. I suspected you would show sooner or later.”
“Well, yeah. You showed up out of nowhere, Obi. Or I guess your real name is Byron.”
“Lord Byron actually. I have been watching you this entire time but making sure you didn’t see me.”
“That does explain a lot. I thought perhaps you crawled back into the hole from which you came.”
He laughed, although I didn’t think my comment amused him that much. “So have you come to save your friend?”
I narrowed my eyes. “What do you want? Why are you doing this?”
He gestured around. “Isn’t it obvious? Because I can.”
“You know what I mean. Why have you sent assassins after Gabriel? Including Zach and Ellie?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Oh, so you do know them. You know, their payment wasn’t just some money. I told them I would give information on your whereabouts. I knew where they would run off to since, well, it was obviously here. I never imagined that Gabriel would reveal he knew you as well. I mean, it was possible. I just had really hoped they would be quick about killing him.”
“But why? What do you have to lose with Gabe in this society?”
Byron slammed his fist on the doorframe. “What do I have to lose? Humans are already a joke, Cornelius. We are seen as being the lowest of the low now that Kaus is gone. You think I’m going to stand by and let Gabriel make a fool of us even more? The other races don’t see us as strong or intelligent, but I beg to differ. But I can’t change their mind when I have that idiot in the society, now can I?”
There were so many things wrong with that. Sure, Gabe wasn’t the brightest of the bunch, but that didn’t mean he was an idiot. “I know Gabe is odd, but what makes him different from most humans here?”
Byron’s eyes narrowed for a moment, and then he started laughing. “Don’t tell me… Do you not know what he is? That is too much. I didn’t think he was one to keep secrets.”
I shook my head. “I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
He leaned closer to me, and I was able to get a better look in his room. Tied to a chair was Zach. He didn’t appear scared so much as bored. His eyes met mine, and his eyebrow went up. I had a feeling he would try to ask what I was doing there if it weren’t for the fact that his mouth was taped shut.
“Your boy Gabriel—he’s half Sirian. And because of that, he needs to be killed. Humans are joked about constantly. They laugh at the fact humans with sleep with anything that moves, and all those half-breeds make it worse.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Gabe was half Sirian? Why didn’t he tell me? It’s not like I would care, but that meant he was keeping secrets from me. It wasn’t like I could talk, however, as he didn’t know I was the reason my zone was destroyed.
But it was still a crush to my heart.
“So what? Are you going to try to kill all half-breeds on the planet?”
He grinned. “Perhaps. Now, I have a little on my plate right now between threatening your friend and sending a ransom note to your other friend. Perhaps we can chat later.”
With that, he closed the door in my face. I thought about kicking it down and saving Zach right then and there, but by the sounds of it, he was going to keep him alive. I just had to make sure Gabe survived all this. I pounded my fist on the door.
Why did this all have to spiral out of control?