Taken (Ava Delaney #4) (33 page)

“Because I’m
making you keep your word? I thought you might.” But I felt sad for
some reason. “Koda’s dying. As in, soon. And the person you wanted
me to keep an eye on is ready for some change.”

“Is that it?”
he snapped.

“You do need
me,” I said, more softly. “We can help each other. You’re not like
them, are you? You wouldn’t be going to all of this trouble to get
credit for some decent actions just to screw it up with a few bad
decisions, like sanctioning the murder of an innocent to prove a
point. People keep telling me there will come a time when I have to
pick sides. I think I already have. Now it all depends on who is
with me, and who is against me. And trust me, Gabe, I’ve learned
enough from you people. You don’t want to play against me.” My
words came out steadier than I felt.

I got up to
leave, but he grabbed my hand. “Take it away,” he said. “Take the
deal away.”

I shook my head
sadly. “I can’t. You’re the only one who can do that.”

“How?”

“You’ll have to
figure that one out. But you could start by being honest with me
for a change.”

He stared at
me, and I realised he was shaking. What the hell was he so scared
of all of a sudden?

“You’re not
what I thought you were,” he said. “Nothing’s what I thought it
would be.”

“Tell me the
truth. Did you have anything to do with the slave market, or the
way it was covered up in the end?”

He shook his
head. “I didn’t. Nobody has ever come to me or admitted it. I swear
I have nothing to do with that.”

“But you have
your suspicions.”

“Suspicions are
not enough. I need proof.”

“So find it. If
you’re man enough.”

I left him with
that thought, wiping away a trickle of blood from my nose and
ignoring the shooting pains behind my eyes. Cam had warned me that
transferring the fae power would come at a cost, but I felt the
price was worth it.

I was playing
with fire, and I knew it, but I wanted everyone on edge, and I had
to stand close to the precipice to push everyone over. I wanted
them all to feel suspicious and unsettled because then they would
start making mistakes. And I was more than willing to take
advantage of those mistakes. If the vampires showed up for war, I
would make sure the entire country knew to defend themselves, and
when the right moment arrived, I would ensure that change came. One
way or another.

###

Thank you for reading Taken (Ava Delaney
#4)—for more information, check out
Claire
Farrell’s blog
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author
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