I cut him off before he reiterates the part I know will tear everyone apart. “We told you after the election,” I say. “We didn’t tell you then because we knew what you’d do.”
Dredyn looks over at Jasper. “That’s yoursister,man! How could you?—”
“We needed to confirm what it was first, and we needed to get through that night without you doing something that’d get you locked up, or worse,”Jasper signs.
Dredyn’s fury pivots to me. “You think I’d be reckless about this?” he hisses.
“I think,” I say evenly, “that if you’d seen it before we went to the party, Chase’s brains would already be splattered on Main Street, and the Syndicate would have us all hanging from nooses by sunrise.”
“That bastard was right under our noses,” he spits. “All this time, the Syndicate protected him, covered up Evangeline’s murder, lied to our faces—” His voice breaks, and he trails off. “We could have ended him a dozen times by now if we’d known.”
Jasper’s eyes glint with cold hatred. “We know now, and he’s not untouchable.”
I nod. The moment we saw that footage, I knew—this is our green light. The truth held hostage is finally in our hands. It’s ammunition, a bargaining chip, a loaded gun with Chase’s name on the bullet. It’s power, if we use it right.
Dredyn isn’t thinking about bargaining, though. His mind is already consumed by raw vengeance. He shoves the chair away; it topples over with a crash. “We’re not waiting another damn minute,” he growls. “He dies. Tonight. I don’t care what strings are in the way.”
He snatches the nearest object—a crystal tumbler from the bar cart—and hurls it violently against the bookshelf. It explodes in a spray of glass shards.
Jasper’s jaw tightens, but he doesn’t flinch. I force myself to remain still, even as my heart kicks up.
Dredyn’s fury needs an outlet or he’ll combust.
“He’s at Harrington Manor, probably. If we rush in like this?—”
“I’ll gut him like a pig,” Dredyn snarls. “Guarded or not, I’ll take his head and dump his corpse in those fucking catacombs.”
His rage is blinding. Part of me wants to let him go, to step aside and watch him tear Chase apart, but my mind is already running through consequences. Chase dead means James Harrington, his father, coming for our throats. Clark Black, too, once he realizes we butchered the future golden boy he intends to shackle his daughter to. They’d bury us under so much dirt we’d never crawl out.
Jasper looks at me, eyebrows raised in a question. I give a minute shake of my head.Not yet.
“We’ll make him pay, Dre, but we do it right. We expose him and everyone who helped cover it up. Burn the entire web, not just one spider.”
Dredyn rounds on me, slamming his palms on the table. “I don’t care about the web! That piece of filth took our family!”
Evangeline was family to him too, as much as Jasper’s sister could be to any of us. “They killed her and laughed while we mourned like fools. I’m done waiting, Talon.”
“I want him dead too. But listen to Talon. If we lose our heads now, we’ll lose everything.”
“This was your sister—your blood. And you want to play it safe?”
“Enough.” Jasper stands up. “We will kill Chase. But if we do it their way, angry and stupid, they’ll win. They’ll bury the truth again. They’ll lock Mara in a tower and throw away the key. They’ll destroy us.”
At Mara’s name, Dredyn blinks, some of the fight draining from his eyes. “So, what then? We just sit here? Let Chase breathe a second longer than he deserves?”
Before I can elaborate, the shrill ringtone of a phone cuts through the air. We all freeze. The sound is coming from the table—Dredyn’s phone, face-up next to the fallen chess king. The screen illuminates, casting an eerie glow on the name:James Steele.
Dredyn’s face contorts in disgust. He snatches up the phone, and for a moment, I think he might smash it too. But he answers, pressing it to his ear. “Yes.” His voice is flat, blank—the mask he wears whenever dealing with his father.
Jasper and I exchange hard glances. None of us need to guess why James is calling at midnight. The Syndicate’s puppet master tugs the string, and his son dances. Not tonight.Not for much longer,I swear to myself.
I can faintly make out James’s voice on the line—a low murmur, authoritative and icy. Dredyn’s jaw ticks. “Understood,” he grinds out. “Yes, sir... I said I understand.” The next pause stretches longer, and Dredyn’s eyes flick to us. Whatever James’s saying now isn’t good. My guess, it’s a warning to stay out of the Black family’s affairs.
“No, sir,” Dredyn bites out after a moment. “Nothing else is on our agenda. We’re focused.” He practically spits the last word.
Another pause, and then, “We’ll handle it,” and he ends the call before tossing the phone onto the table with a clatter.
“Let me guess,” I say, rolling my eyes. “Daddy has a favor to ask?”
