Cole started to pace, chuckling to himself. “This is hilarious.You, of all people.”
Sera hated every derisive word. Even if her heart desperately wanted to believe that Kieran was in love with her, she couldn’t so much as smile when it was coming out of Cole’s contemptible mouth.
“This is perfect. Poetry.” He was grinning now, revealing traces of the charm he hid near the surface, but it was tainted by the maniacal glint in his eyes as he focused on her. “You’re going to end things with North. Brutally. I want you to destroy him.”
Sera paused, almost afraid to agree. But she knew how this worked, knew that her only chance was to make him believe whatever he wanted.
“Okay,” Sera agreed.
“Oh, and don’t underestimate my leverage here. Can’t have you fucking this up like you did last time, can I? Like you fucked up everything.” Rage settled over his features, calming the moreaggressive shifts in his emotions. Sera couldn’t stop herself from drawing back. “Can’t go home. All my shit is lost, my network. My life. All fucked. You did that, Sera. You and that fucking prick North. Now, Ihaveto end Wraith way earlier than planned. I’ve got some help from Divinity, though.” He flexed his fingers, as if relishing a feeling she couldn’t understand. He always did enjoy grandstanding, being the most interesting person in any given situation. Hated to be out-shined. That’s probably half the reason he hated Kieran so much. They weren’t even in the same league.
“In fact, I plan to make this my comeback. I’ll flood the markets with this shit. I won’t have Wraith up my ass telling me to stop, fearing our client base would be killed off quicker than we can sell it. Fuck him. If priced right, who cares if half my clients bite it? I can make enough to build my own empire. I just need Wraith gone.
“But I need that Charm to do it, even with Divinity. Wraith has a fucking army of demons at his side. I have to get past them without setting off their Sense. I just need to get close and then I can smash his face in.”
Sera calmly nodded along. “Okay,” she repeated mechanically.Agree. Agree. Agree.
“You’re going to steal the Charm back from Wraith for me. I know you’ve been talking to that asshole Miles. He’ll help you, with the right motivation. I’m sure you’ll think of some way to persuade him.”
“Mhm.” She would not tell him the Charm was destroyed and that Wraith had been given the pieces. Placating his version of reality was the only way she'd get through this.
She sent careful glances to the room, seeking a weapon. An exit. She spied a hook on the wall, large and solid, possibly to hold massive cuts of meat. She just had to reach it.
Cole slapped his forehead. “Oh, did I forget to mention, if you don’t then Seth dies.”
Sera froze.
“Probably should have led with that, but we get each other now, yes? You fail. Seth dies.”
“I don’t believe you,” Sera said, taking careful steps closer to the hook, as many as she dared without drawing notice. His eyes seemed sharper, jumping around. She had to keep her movements subtle.
“I don’t give a fuck if you believe me, but if it’ll help motivate you, I saw Seth at my brother’s new place.”
He knows where Seth is.
“I put a guy on his tail—one of the few loyal who stuck around after Wraith publicly humiliated me. And if he doesn’t hear from me by tomorrow, he kills Seth. I give the signal, he kills Seth. He’s got Divinity as a little something extra. That way my idiot brother can’t intervene. There. Satisfied?”
He had Seth. He had Seth. He was going to kill Seth.
“You’ll just kill him anyway. Why should I listen to you?” she said, with more faked bravado.
“I don’t give two shits about Seth’s life. I’d have given the order for fun, just to see your face when I told you he was dead. But I need your cooperation. You’re not wrong, he’s likely dead either way, but if you do as I ask then that gives you the chance to save him. Or that’s what you’ll tell yourself. Either way, his only chance in lasting long enough is to do what I fucking want.”
“Don’t…” She felt a sob in her throat, but swallowed it down. She couldn’t show such weakness. She had to be Sera Blair, the woman who survived.
“Pleading won’t help. We’re long past that, pet.”
“I’ll do it. You have my word.” She lifted her chin, forcing a confidence she didn’t feel.
“I don’t trust your word. Just get it done. You’ve got till this time tomorrow.”
Cole’s eyes shifted, reacting to some sound or scent she hadn’t detected. He gave her one last pointed look. “I’ll be listening, Sera.” He moved with a speed that belied reason. One second he was hovering near the stairs, the next he was in front of her, his grip crushing. “I debated killing that bastard. I’m certainly strong enough for it now. But I’m limited on time, this stuff doesn’t last forever and I need it to take out Wraith. So here’s the deal. You break that mother fucker’s heart and make it convincing, or I’ll risk the loss of a few minutes snapping his neck. Got it?”
He paced slowly until he was behind her, her entire body stiff and numb. She couldn’t even feel the cold anymore. He set his hand on her back, revolted shivers cascading through her skin, and pushed.
“Go on, Pet. I’ll be just out of sight. Listening to the show.”
Sera wanted to sink to her knees. Wanted to crumble to the floor and sob. She wanted to fall apart. Instead, she took a steady breath. Pinched her cheeks to add some color and fixed any smears in her make-up. She was Sera Blair. And she was fucking done.
