Christian fought the urge to chuck a nearby beer glass into a wall.
Ahna had called for an escort to help bring Cho back to Gallowood House for questioning. After being shocked awake with smelling salts, they’d stripped her of her cloak and weapons. Yet, Cho had been nothing but smug as she’d marched through the streets and onto the tram. And every time she’d gotten the chance to glare at Christian, she’d taken it. Eventually, he’d had to avert his gaze for the duration of their return.
Now, Cho was captive in a holding room that had once been the Gallowoods’ storage cellar. On a chair that had been welded to the floor, Cho sat in the center of the room, her wrists magnet-bound behind her back and her ankles locked to the floor. Yet her defiance remained intact.
Christian stood just inside the door with his arms folded. Ahna leaned against the opposite wall, her dagger sheathed but ready. She said nothing at first, letting the silence work.
Cho broke it. “Cozy little prison.” Her eyes swept the patchwork cell. “Let me guess. Old money turned military base?”
“Shut up,” Ahna said flatly, stepping closer. “Let’s make this simple. Why did you try to kill us in a bar?”
Cho turned to Ahna, giving her a once-over. “You’re the soldier. Cute. Academy trained, all merit badges and kill counts?”
“Answer the question,” Ahna said without emotion. If Cho’s taunting had affected her, no one would’ve known.
Cho huffed, turning her attention to Christian. “You’re letting her lead?”
Christian didn’t flinch.
Cho ran her tongue over her teeth. “Fine,” she said to Ahna. “I’ll talk. But only if it’s with him.” She tipped her head in Christian’s direction.
His heartbeat pounded in his ears. It had only taken days for the nightmares of his past to come back and haunt him. The fallout from a conversation with Cho could be brutal. She knew everything about him, and she wouldn’t hesitate to weaponize her knowledge against him.
It had been foolish to think he could find Nadine fast enough to avoid the ever-present eyes of the Falaichte. But Paulo had to have known by now that Christian had passed his Trials, and nothing terrified Paulo more than his operation being shut down by the Systems. He never would’ve sent Cho after him. So why was she really here?
Silently, Christian stepped forward and dragged a second chair into the center of the room. The scrape of metal against metal echoed. Ahna gestured to him as if saying “she’s all yours,” but she didn’t leave the room.
Christian glared at his former friend. “Talk.”
Cho tilted her head. “Funny, you used to like talking. And fucking.” She gave him a devilish leer.
He fought the urge to clench his fists. “Why are you here?”
She shrugged as best as she could, given her restraints. “Orders.”
“From Paulo?” he deadpanned, catching the flick in her gaze that always said she was lying.
She smiled, slow and sharp. “Who else?”
Ahna crossed her arms. “Your orders were to kill Christian?”
Cho laughed. “You’re trying to ask questions again? I told you”—she glared at Ahna—“I don’t answer to you.”
Ahna raised her hands and leaned against the wall. Christian sat back in his chair, jaw clenched. Ahna was never going to trust him again after this.
“You know what happened when you disappeared?” Cho asked. When Christian refused to react, she continued, “Paulo was so mad he took it out on the rest of us. But don’t worry.Nobody died.”
The unbridled resentment in her eyes tightened his chest. Most of the fledglings would rather have been killed than withstand Paulo’s torture. She knew how those words would affect him.
“Why are you really here, Cho?” Christian asked, his voice strong and calm despite the subtle tremor in his hands.
Her jaw worked while she glared at him. “Come back with me, and maybe Paulo won’t send someone else after you.”
“He didn’t even send you. You know I can tell when you lie.”
A long silence impregnated the room until Christian stood and grabbed his chair to move it aside. “All right, this little charade is over. I’ll make sure you get a comfortable cell in Zion.”
Nodding at Ahna, he stepped toward the door.
