“How many soldiers have youorderedto kill people?”
“Sophia—”
“It isn’t black and white. I know exactly who he is. You’re the one who doesn’t understand.”
He sighed. “I’m not sure I can allow you to keep doing this.”
I smiled with rancor. “Try sending someone else. See what he does. I don’t think you’ll like the outcome.”
Theo’s jaw went slack. “This is not a tenable situation.”
“You’re getting your information. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“Yes, but at what cost?”
I sneered at him. “You’re not paying any price. You gave me away and lostnothing.”
“I lostyou!” he yelled.
“Oh, don’t pretend you give any fucks about me, Theo.”
“Williams… But I-I gave you the option. I didn’t want this for you.”
“Could have fooled me. But it doesn’t matter because I’m not stopping now.”
“Sophia,” he said in a low voice, evening out the rough edges of emotion. “The fact that Lucas Scott has a conscience doesn’tnegate who he is. Maybe I’d feel more charitable toward him if he didn’t need to test that conscience so frequently.”
The injustice of it all—Lucas’s position he didn’t want, Theo’s preconceived notions—they ate away at my patience. “Lucas suffered yesterday becauseyoufailed to follow the plan he’d spent weeks strategizing with you. If you had, those people he had to kill yesterday wouldn’t have died. You can’t blame him for following the orders he’s given when you want him to keep his position. It wasyourdecision to abandon those people. We didn’t blame our own soldiers for your mistake.”
With a sneer, he dropped his gaze to his desk, his papers, everywhere but my eyes. “You really shouldn’t speak to me that way, Soph.”
I deflated, and my voice softened. “If you weren’t there to kiss away my boo-boos when I was a little girl, I probably wouldn’t.”
A faint smile smoothed the lines of his face, and he placed his hands on his desk. “Perhaps there’s more to this situation than I understand, but you need to be careful.”
“No, I don’t, Theo. He’d never hurt me.”
“Yes, well, he’s more than willing to hurt others. Remember that. Because when his usefulness has expended itself, hewillbe discarded.”
My jaw clenched at that word. Discarded? Lucas wasn’t some tool that could be thrown out when broken.
But Theo went on. “Williams believes he’s a liability. She won’t allow him to live. If the NAO doesn’t execute him, she’ll order it herself.”
A liability? In what sense? Was sheashamedof working with him?
“Besides,” Theo continued, “his death will be a great win for the Defiance. A morale boost before the final blow. Scott is used to you. He lets his guard down with you, right? When the time comes, you’re the weapon Williams will choose to end him.”
Time slowed. A sudden deluge of ice water pumped through my veins with every heartbeat. He could have stabbed me in the chest and I’d have been less shocked.
“Wh-what?”
“Lucas Scott will not survive this war, Sophia. He didn’t ask for immunity, and I was clear with him he’d never receive it. He knows what will happen when we win. I thought you understood it as well.”
“I…” But I had no words. Nothing.
“Williams plans to finish him before the end, in case he decides to disappear. She’ll get as much information as she can, and then it’s over for him. You’re the only one who can get close to him.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I whispered because if I attempted anything louder, my voice would break.
