“It’s not personal, I’ve told you that. I’ve always liked you,” Pritka said. “It was quite apparent to Alec that you and Sadie were growing too restless, but it seemed a shame to get rid of both of you.”
“You were willing to lose Sadie.” A week after Jonah had carried her out of the burning cabin where Diamantis had left her and she’d come to her senses in the hospital, she said he’d never spoken a word the entire time he’d been hurting her. No explanation. Nothing.
“She was more expendable at the time.” Diamantis adjusted one of his cufflinks idly, speaking of her the way someone would mull a menu item at a restaurant. “In retrospect, that turned out to be an oversight on my part. But then you found her, and now she’s just as good as you, if not better. I wasn’t in my best frame of mind, either. I’d gotten a little world-weary, thought maybe a fresh start would be nice. Fortunately, Pritka had enough sense for the both of us. Earn your loyalty by ‘killing’ me. I got the fresh start I’d been craving. And you and Sadie would still be working for me for all intents and purposes. Consider it a version of corporate restructuring.” Jonah trailed the movement of his hand from his thigh to close around Pritka’s knee, thumb stroking the fabric of his pants in a gentle, possessive motion.
Pritka glanced down, and then lifted his gaze to Jonah’s with a smirk. “I know what you’re thinking.”
“That you’re both disgusting?” Jonah said mildly. He didn’t want to give either of them the satisfaction of his shock, but in all the time he’d been with Diamantis, he’d never caught even a hint that Pritka was one of his pets, too. Trusted right-hand man, yes, but Jonah had always thought Pritka was his own ally. He supposed playing both sides was the genius of Pritka’s plan. “Guess now I know why you insisted on doing the clean up after I shot him.”
Pritka’s smile was all the confirmation he needed. Jonah turned back to the window, noting the same black SUV pacing them he’d spied earlier. It followed when they turned onto the street that would lead them to the back entrance of Wired.
The car stopped, and Jonah was hauled out by a man riding in front with the driver. The man slid his arm beneath Jonah’s cuffed hands, keeping him upright when his knee gave out. Pritka followed, leaning back into the car to speak with Diamantis in hushed tones.
Jonah scanned the rooftop of Wired and the surrounding buildings. No sign of Sadie or Madigan, but then he doubted he’d ever see them. He didn’t believe in God, but he sent up a small prayer that Sadie would put a bullet in his head right then. She had the guts to do it and the instinct to know when it was necessary.
But nothing came.
Pritka stepped away from the car door, and Diamantis’s silvery head popped into view, speaking to Jonah. “I have no intentions of killing you both, understand. Just you. The boy I will keep. Once I cut his tongue out, he’ll make a pretty plaything.”
Jonah wrenched free of the hold Pritka’s goon had on him and hurled himself back into the car. With his left leg fucked and his hands behind his back, he earned little for his violent momentum aside from a fresh searing pain to his side. But there was a brief moment when his eyes met Diamantis’s and he spotted a sliver of fear. Then he was dragged back out of the car and righted.
Diamantis chuckled lightly as he reached out to pull the door shut. Jonah watched the car disappear down the alleyway, a helpless feeling in the pit of his stomach that he couldn’t tell Sadie or Madigan where it was going.
Another couple of SUVs pulled up, and men spilled from the doors. Looked like Pritka had himself a small army. “Secure the perimeter, cover all the entrances. I want two men on the roof. Nothing comes in or out except me,” he barked.
The lock in Wired’s back entrance clicked as soon as Pritka touched the handle. Without patrons, the interior was dark, cool, and cavernous. Cas’s voice came over the sound system. “Follow the hallway down, and take a left to the elevator. Third floor. Tell the other man to go wait outside. I said alone.”
Pritka nodded to the other man, who stepped away, leaving Pritka to shoulder Jonah’s weight as they hobbled along. He kept the muzzle of his gun at Jonah’s temple as they moved toward the elevator. “You’re too smart to do anything dumb right now.”
The third floor where Red’s office was likewise quiet. Jonah wondered where Stu was. Had Cas sent him away, too?
“Orange door at the end of the hallway,” Cas instructed when they got off the elevator.
For as dulled as Jonah’s senses were, relief poured through him when the door slid open and Cas was revealed sitting in the middle of Red’s vast visual theater, like a prince on a throne of tech. It was a good look for him.
The delirious bubble of thought evaporated as Pritka shoved him forward. His injured leg caught fire all over again with each hobbling step farther into the room. Cas’s grip tightened on the armrest, and Jonah could tell he was struggling to stay still.
Cas indicated Red’s old purple couch with a gun Jonah recognized as one of his own. “Here’s what will happen. You’ll place Jonah there and step away. You will not aim your weapon at him again after that point. Then you’ll watch me destroy the files on this hard drive. I’ll put the thumb drives in my pocket.” He held them up. “Then you and I will leave together.”
“What? No,” Jonah growled. “Caspian.”Cas wouldn’t make it out of the building alive. Or worse, he might if Diamantis had it his way.
“Shut up, Jonah.”
Pritka chuckled. “Oh my, the little kitten has teeth.” His laughter ebbed quickly as he dug the muzzle of the gun harder into Jonah’s temple. “You have another backup somewhere.”
Cas nodded. “An encrypted file in the cloud. Once we’re in the car, I’ll access it and you can watch me delete it, as well.”
Jonah gritted his teeth and stared at the video displays behind Cas’s head. Where the fuck were Sadie and Madigan? Had Pritka and his men gotten to them? No, he’d heard them when he was lying on the pavement in the parking garage. Could they have been taken after that?
“And what if we decide we might like to keep you, have you work for us?” Pritka asked.
Cas hesitated then licked his lips and nodded. No matter how hard Jonah tried to catch his attention, Cas refused to look at him. “I’m yours. I already said that. Do we have a deal or not?”
“Deal.”
Jonah swore as Pritka urged him forward. “Couch. Go.”
As they shuffled toward the couch, Pritka still bearing most of Jonah’s weight, Jonah carefully twisted his wrists in the zip tie cuffs. He got the end between his fingertips and managed to cinch the cuffs tighter until the plastic dug into the skin of his wrists. When he stumbled, Pritka stumbled, too, catching him and righting him. The gun’s muzzle tipped precariously upward before Pritka got control again.
