Once the jet had levelled out, Drew loosened his tie, undid his top button, then unbuckled his seatbelt, and moved down the aisle to where the boxes, markedConference Pack—NT Tourism, took up space.
What a joke.
He broke the simple taped seal on one of the boxes.
A hush of cold mist slipped free, curling like breath into the cabin’s still air.Inside, the sleek, silver cryogenic canisters rested in their foam cradles.
Drew pulled on his custom-made leather gloves.He wasn’t about to lose skin, even over a million dollars’ worth of embryos.
He then lifted one canister with care, both hands beneath it as if cradling a child.Only better…
A silver vessel that wasn’t just valuable, it was reproductive power.Elite bloodlines.Genetic superiority.Potential livestock that could outbreed, outlast, and outprice anything else on the market.
And with that came power and control as the source.Where access would be sold to the highest bidder.
It wasn’t just payday, these canisters were pure profit.
But this also represented so much more.This is what he’d be remembered for, not a badge or a title passed down by some short-lived government.But something he’d done that would last.Something that would outlive them all.The world called it livestock.Drew called it his legacy.
And then—click.
There was a bright flash in his eyes.
He staggered back, blinded.
‘Smile, Drew.’It was Taryn Hayes.The federal auditor he’d sent to destroy the Stock Squad.With phone in hand, badge at her hip.Smiling like a woman who’d just won a Christmas ham at some pub’s meat raffle.
And beside her—Finn Wilde, tall and silent.Holding a pair of handcuffs, wearing a death glare that said:Run, and I’ll make sure you never walk again.
Forty
‘Andrew Bannon.’Finn stepped in closer with his cuffs clenched so tight in his fist his knuckles had gone bone white.Now beyond angry, his every breath was an inner fight to not snap and dish out the punishment this bastard deserved.
And yet…
Just her presence.Taryn’s.Steady and silent beside him, was enough to calm him some.
Didn’t stop his voice from sounding loaded with lethal heat.‘You are under arrest for conspiracy to commit murder and livestock fraud, illegally trafficking in biological specimens, obstruction of justice, fraud, and the unlawful use of Commonwealth funds.’
He caught Drew’s wrist, and locked on the first cuff.Cold and clean.In the front purely for transport.If he had his way, he’d cuff him in the back.
‘You do not have to say or do anything—’
‘Finn—’
‘Don’t.’
The second cuff snapped into place.
‘—but anything you say or do may be used as evidence.Do you understand?’
‘I gave you that badge,’ Drew sneered.‘I gave you a second chance.You think they’ll listen to you overme?’
Finn cinched the cuffs tighter.
‘You’re making a terrible mistake.’Drew looked at Taryn, desperate now.‘You don’t know what you’re doing—’
‘Actually,’ she said, flipping her phone around to show him she was recording, ‘we know exactly what we’re doing.But do keep talking.It’s great for evidence.’
