“I know you don’t want to talk to me, Elle, but I won’t leave until you hear me out.”
“If it’s to ask for forgiveness, save your breath. I’ll never forgive you.”
Will that be my fate too?
I don’t care whether I leave Tarian’s vineyard estate alive or not. The only thing that matters…the onlytwothings that matter are that the Atlanteans keep Quinn safe and away from Trenton, and that Electra forgives me. I probably won’t get either of my wishes, even though I gave them more classified information than they’ve gathered over the last three decades.
“I’m not asking for your forgiveness, Elle. I’m simply asking for ten minutes, after which I swear to never approach you without your consent again.”
Electra snorts.
“You…and your family,” Ines adds.
The beat of silence that descends over the room tells me Electra is considering it.
“Even if I don’t like you, Ines, I’d never be selfish enough to keep you from seeing my family. All I ask is that I’m not there when you do see them.”
“I appreciate that.” Ines’s dark eyes glitter with emotion. “Can we have that conversation now or do you want to interview the Hunter?”
“We can have that conversation now. I have nothing left to say to the Hunter.”
I hate that I’mthe Hunter.
Instead of pivoting and walking out the door, she heads toward the pantry shelves, probably to grab sustenance for the others.
“Is there a reason his glasses have been taken off?” Electra nears the chair I’m strapped to.
I crane my neck, her features becoming more crisp, and pull in deep drafts of her scent until it fills more than my lungs…until it fills my entire chest.
“Mal didn’t want to damage them if Rafferty proved uncooperative.”
“Did he…?” Electra asks. “Prove uncooperative?”
“No.”
Electra slides the branches around my upturned face, her fingers sadly keeping off my skin.
One of my lenses is smudged, but I don’t complain. At least, I can see my surroundings again.
“Thank you.” My voice is so hoarse it grates the air.
Her mouth is pressed tight, just like her jawline and eyes. Even her pupils seem taut. I want her to say something to me. I don’t even care what tone she uses. I just want her to bridge the distance that settled between us when Malachi hauled me down to the pantry, and Quinn into the wine cellar.
I’d been expecting cells with intricate lock mechanisms, but the Atlanteans—unlike the Holy Hunters—didn’t equip their houses with torture chambers. Or at least, Tarian didn’t. I wouldn’t put it past Monta to have a whole dungeon beneath his Texan estate.
God, to think he’s here, on this property. The man who not only murdered my parents in cold blood but also made trophies of their heads. Anger pulses through me, pushing away the cold that settled in my bones when Malachi trussed my ankles and wrists in zip ties.
“Actually, I do have one last thing to say to Rafferty. “Close the door and wait for me upstairs.” Electra says all this without turning away from me.
A breath later, the latch clicks.
“Why did you keep so many clues on you?” Electra nods to my shoes, then to my necklace. “To see how long it would take me to connect the dots? To ridicule me?”
“Neverto ridicule you,” I rush to say. “My mother’s ring is the most precious thing I own and my last connection to her. I live in an RV. I had nowhere safe to stow it. As for the shoes, I used to think it was an oversight, but I think—deep down—I wanted you to know who I was. I hated my mission, but I couldn’t see a way out of it.”
“What exactly was your mission? Target Monta’s daughter and make her pay for the sin of her father?”
“No.”
