Fedora Guy produced a tablet out of a bag that Aiden hadn’t noticed was propped by one of the table’s legs. He held it up and performed a scan of some sorts, thoughthat wasn’t what caught Aiden’s attention. The crowned mountain logo at its bottom corner was.
“Did Marcus send you?” he blurted out, prickles crawling under his skin.
Fedora Guy smiled in that same fake way Aiden had. “We’re just here to ask you a couple of questions, Mr. Kesley.”
“Is that why your friend’s blocking the only exit?”
“Simply answer the questions and no harm will come to you, Mr. Kesley,” Fedora Guy insisted in a leveled voice.
Somehow Aiden doubted that or they wouldn’t have picked the most secluded part of the station. He should’ve known something was up before he’d gotten stuck with them, but he’d been lost in his head and ignored the red flags. Why were they after him when he couldn’t really offer anything of use? Surely Marcus had bought his cluelessness, or he wouldn’t have let him off the hook yesterday…
A wave of panic flooded Aiden’s system as he thought back to this morning as he stared down the goon watching him from behind expensive sunglasses.PIDeverson. He was dead and this proved it was no accident.
“Shoot,” Aiden said, his mind hazy and racing.He needed to get out of here.
“Do you know who the Valrais are?” Fedora Guy asked, getting straight to the point.
“No, never heard of them,” Aiden quickly denied, pushing his chair back ever so slightly.
The man let out a sigh and steepled his fingers. “I will repeat the question, Mr. Kesley. Do you know who the Valrais are?”
“Yes,” Aiden corrected unwillingly, concluding that the tablet had lie detection software running.
“Do you know the current location of white raven?”
Aiden folded his arms, but his right shoulder complained, forcing him to let them hang back down. “No.”
The man nodded. After glancing at something on the tablet, he said, “Mr. Kesley, tell us everything you know about the ‘dead sister’s AI’ and her ‘Valrais secret’.”
Aiden’s pulse pounded in his ears. Marcus knew about those two things already, but if his goons were asking this, then he was aware Aiden hadn’t told him the entire truth.Why and how had Marcus figured it out between now and yesterday?Aiden hadn’t spoken to anyone besides Darren about Sara, and Marcus ought to have bought Aiden’s bullshit or he would’ve been sat down in an interrogation room right away. He’d also thoroughly checked his office this morning and there had been no hidden bugs or cameras…
And yet, Fedora Guy had used hisexactwords from earlier.
Shit.Aiden clenched his teeth, unease stirring in his stomach.How were they doing it?How did they know?
“Mr. Kesley, please answer the question truthfully,” Fedora Guy encouraged, tapping his fingers on the table.
Aiden squeezed the armrests of his chair, biting off a grunt when pain shot down from his shoulder.Seriously, what the fuck had he hit last night?Why couldn’t he remember?
“I know the princess was killed when she was young because…” he trailed off, the memory Sara had shown him surfacing from its dark corner. Aiden considered if there was any point in pretending he didn’t know about the coup and didn’t see one. Still, he chose his words carefully, not wanting to put Sara in danger regardless of how muchhe hated Darren Howe. “Because the Valrais family possessed something that the Global Nations wanted.”
“Mr. Kesley, let me rephrase my question. Where is the ‘dead sister’s AI’ hiding?”
So thiswasabout the hideout then. They were just playing games with him for some reason, instead of asking him about it. Or… were they fishing for more? Feeling him up in hopes he would let something slip without realizing it?
Aiden stared down the guy sitting across from him. He wanted Darren to suffer, but was he okay with condemning Bea and assisting Marcus in his hunt for a legacy that he had no right to? Was he okay letting the AI carrying Princess Sara’s memories and knowledge fall into the hands of the man who’d massacred the Valrais and erased them from Earth’s history?
The answer came to him immediately, his choice as easy and effortless as breathing.
“Tell Marcus that I don’t know.”
Fedora Guy shook his head. “We know for a fact that you do. So, Mr. Kesley, don’t make this any more difficult than it has to be.”
Except that even if he gave them what they wanted, he could tell they wouldn’t let him go. Not if Marcus had figured out he’d lied yesterday.
“Look, I don’t remember, okay? I was in distress and wasn’t thinking clearly, so I’m afraid that’s all I can give you.” He directed a pleading smile Fedora Guy’s way. “If I remember anything else, I promise I’ll contact Marcus. Just… let me go now and I’ll keep my mouth shut about this whole thing.” He pushed his chair back a bit more, the legs scraping against the smooth floor with a nasty screech.
Fedora nodded at his partner by the door. “I’m afraid you won’t be able to leave until you answer our questions, Mr. Kesley.”
