“The deal was, I sanction his operation to protect Alina and provide him with manpower—”
“Who told you about Alina?” she queries.
Cain glances at me, amusement glimmering in his eyes. For a second, I think he might say it was me just to make my day more difficult. Thankfully, for once, he does the semi-decent thing. “Tobias.”
“Will you sanction me beating the shit out of him?” Ember asks politely.
Cain shrugs. “That’s your prerogative, though I assure you, Viper, he did the right thing. If hehadn’tcome to me, he wouldn’t have hadthe manpower he needs to pull this off. And if he had tried to do it without my go-ahead, I would’ve killed him.”
“Can you explain to me why Toby’s so invested in Alina’s safety?” Ember goes on, and I stiffen.Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.Cain has no reason to keep the truth from her, and telling her would make my life more difficult, which would in turn amuse him.
I brace myself for the inevitable moment that everything blows up.
“I assume because they spent time in foster care together in their youths,” Cain says. “Much like you, he seems to have some lingering protectiveness over her.” He tilts his head to the side. “Why? Would you have preferred this operation be orchestrated by someone who doesn’t give a shit about her? I imagine it might not have been so successful in that case.”
“No,” Ember says quickly. “No, I’m… glad he went out of his way for her.”
I turn to look at Greyson, who also casts me a sidelong glance. We’re both still as we process the fact that Cain just seemingly did me a favor, which makes no sense whatsoever. He doesn’t do kindnesses for people for free. He’s a sociopathic asshole,nota nice guy… which begs the question, why would he do me this solid? Delay the inevitable moment Ember figures everything out and give me time to come up with a plan?
Hope flares to life. Could it be that he’ll deny letting Toby take Alina as his chosen? Did Greyson’s chat with him succeed?
“Excellent. Moving on. Dagon is a bit of a thorn in my side that I’d like to be rid of… and overtake. I’ve searched for ways to orchestrate his downfall for years, but unfortunately for me, he seemingly had no weaknesses.” Cain gazes at Ember. “Untilyou.”
Ember releases a scoff. “Please. I’m not his weakness; I’m historture-toy.”
Cain glances at me. “Didn’t you say that Dagon referred to Viper as his future fiancée?”
The memory makes my teeth clench. “He did.”
Cain returns to staring at Ember. “Why, pray tell, would he name you his betrothed if he didn’t care about you?”
“He cares about making my life miserable. Marrying him would be the ultimate misery.”
“Why would he want to make you miserable if he didn’t care for you in some regard?Washis aim to make you miserable? Or was it to shape you into Viper—his ultimate equal?” Cain questions.
Ember pauses at that, brows furrowing with a frown. “I… don’t know.”
“Sometimes, people hurt those they care for.” Cain shrugs. “Occasionally, that serves a very specific purpose.”
I exchange another glance with Greyson. It doesn’t sound like Cain’s talking about Dagon anymore—it sounds like he’s talking abouthimself.
Christ, what is he doing to the poor girl he intends to claim? Knowing him, he’s probably driving her insane.Literally.
“Are you justifying what Dagon did to me?” Ember asks sharply.
“Not at all. Abuse isn’t ever justifiable. From the little I gathered of what you endured, it was unacceptable.” Cain speaks in a matter-of-fact tone, absent of emotion but filled with belief. As if he doesn’t give a shit that Ember was hurt or abused, but he can acknowledge the wrongness of it. “Nevertheless, it made you into a powerful player on the board. So, back to my deal with Max. I’m functioning under the assumption that you’re Dagon’s weakness—”
“Then why hasn’t he come for me?” Ember demands.
“He was giving you time to go to him,” I remind her.
“Quite so,” Cain agrees. “And the infuriated call I received from him this morning, threatening to blow up this compound if we didn’t return you to his custody, only furthers my belief that he cares for you—deeply. Maybe he only cares about possessing you, maybe it’s something more. In either case, you’re a weakness of his.”
I don’t like the sound of that whatsoever, but I can’t deny the logic backing Cain’s thought process.
Ember’s silent for several moments. Finally, she asks, “What do you want?” The words are weary and seeped with exhaustion.
“That’s simple, really.” Cain folds his hands on the desk and leans forward. “You are going to pretend to escape. We will facilitate this and make it look like you went through great effort to do so. You will, of course, be protected at all times. Tobias will ensure that you leave a trail of breadcrumbsjustbig enough to lure Dagon to you, but still obscure enough that he doesn’t think he’s walking into a trap.”
