“Not you. I want Thorne, and I know you have him.”
I say nothing at first. Nobody is sure where Thorne is, except for me and Lucy. But if Satya’s been here for years and if sheturned against me a while back, she might’ve had a long time to put certain things together. She wouldn’t be allowed in the west wing, but several nurses are. And they might’ve told her they’ve been treating an old, legless man. Medved wouldn’t need much more to figure it out.
“Elias Thorne in exchange for my daughter.”
Medved barks a laugh. “More than fair, I’d say.”
“Then you’ll kill the old man and take his position. Is that the plan?”
“Simple as that. We’ll become equals and I’ll leave you alone. I won’t need you anymore.”
I glance at Lucy. I highly doubt Medved’s ever going to stop until I’ve been ruined. We’ve come too far to back down now.
He’s like me. Once he starts, he doesn’t quit.
If I do this, I’ll be turning my back on an old friend. I’ll give my greatest enemy his fondest wish and ensure that he’ll double in power overnight. He’ll become even more dangerous than he already is.
“You have a deal.”
“Wonderful.” Medved sounds genuinely happy. “Come to my boat. Come alone. Bring Thorne. You hand him over, I give you back the little girl, and we go our separate ways. Simple and easy.”
“Five hours. Drop anchor and stay where you are.”
“No more drones or surveillance ships, please. Anything I see will be shot from the sky.”
“I’ll approach soon.”
“See you then, Dragon Cardone. I look forward to it.” He kills the call.
The room plunges into silence. Lucy watches me carefully. She’s trying to read my mood, and I can’t blame her.
I’m a mess of emotions.
But I push myself to my feet. Weariness makes me feel heavy, but I don’t have time for that. “Prepare our people. We’ll leave shortly.”
“Understood.” I walk to the door, thinking of all the ways this will go wrong. I’m about to create a monster. And I have to give up someone I care about to do it. “You’re making the right choice,” Lucy calls after me.
I highly doubt it.
Elias doesn’t even hesitate.“I’ll do it.”
I hate those words. Somehow, he makes this mess even worse. “Just like that?”
“She’s my granddaughter and I’m old as sin. I know what’s going to happen to me out there, but it’s going to happen eventually in here, too. I’m done, Massimo. I’ve been finished for a long time, but I haven’t been strong enough to admit it. At least this way, I can go out on my own terms.”
I pace across my friend’s room. “It doesn’t have to be like this. We can come up with another way.”
“Medved wants me. He’s wanted me for a long time, and you know it. This is the only way he’ll ever truly give the girl back. She’s a prize, but I’m an even bigger one.”
I hate that he’s parroting the exact arguments I’ve been making in my head back to me.
“What should I do about your people?”
Elias rubs his chin in thought. “Take them. Get them away from Medved. Do what you can, but if any part of my operation wants to defect to the new Dragon, don’t stop them. Show mercy.”
“You’re getting soft in your old age.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. If some of them do choose to help that Russian bastard, that means your life will be that much more difficult. But I owe them a clean break at least.”
