“How long?”
Lucas ran a hand through his dark hair, tugging a bit. “Not sure. He doesn’t tell anyone his plans. Makes it harder to track him.”
“Right. Anything else you can tell me?”
Annoyance flashed across his face. “Obviously, yes. If you’ll let me speak, I’ll tell you.”
Hatred sparked to life in my gut, but I stayed quiet, letting him gather his useless thoughts in silence.
He swallowed. “So… He won’t come out. He never does, but I believe—I believe he’ll have his daughter with him.”
“Youbelieve, or youknow?”
Something weird happened with his mouth, like a twist or a sneer. It tried to betray his feelings, but didn’t quite get there.
“It’s…been mentioned that she may be given to one of us,” he said.
My brain glitched. “Uh… Given?”
“As a…bride.” A muscle in his jaw twitched. “She’s sixteen. I thought y’all might take exception to that.”
Bile rose in my throat. “To be clear, you’re telling me the leader of the NAO’s army is coming here to give his teenage daughter to one of his faithful subordinates?”
His eyes cut to mine. “It’s an act. A show of proof he believes the NAO’s stance onfamily values. I believe she’s meant to be a reward to the NSF for service and loyalty.”
“I see. And which of you has he deemed most loyal?”
My heart thudded several times before his wooden voice filled the ominous silence. “Me.”
Silence fell.
His gaze locked on a point below my eyes—my chin, maybe—and he remained utterly still.
I crossed my arms. “You’re being givenanothersex slave? Exactly how many of those do you need?”
The muscle in his jaw spasmed again. “At least one more.” Then, a hateful smirk spread like syrup across his face. “But to be fair, I didn’t ask for her. I only asked for you.”
Was hetryingto provoke me?
“What happened tonot interested?” I asked, annoyed by the rasp in my words.
That condescending expression on his face only deepened. “Still don’t believe me, do you?”
“What else could you want? I have nothing to give.” The anxiety surrounding the unknown ate away at my brain like cancer.
“I can tell you what Idon’twant. I don’t want a child bride. So let me explain my next piece of information.” He placed both arms on the table, interlacing his fingers. “Taking her will both save her and piss him off. It’s a power play more than anything. I think I could be persuaded to escort Miss Wyatt to the gaming strip on the Friday following her arrival. I think I might also be persuaded to take her the way through Riverside. Say, around ten that night?”
“Could you be persuaded to be alone?”
“I could not. I anticipate a group of maybe…twenty-five?”
Twenty-five. I committed that to memory.
“I’ll warn you though—if his daughter is taken, the general will order attacks.”
A bitter laugh bubbled to the surface. “He’s okay with her being screwed by you, but not okay with her being in the company of Defiants?”
Lucas shrugged. “I’m not sure why you’d expect him to be sane.”
