“Moral purists never stop to examine themselves, do they?” Sydney spat at him. “What makes you so great? Or do you just tear others down because it’s secretly fun?”
“I follow my heart.” Tems glared at her. “It’s that simple.”
“Niall was right,” she murmured. “You’re not cut out to be an agent. It’s never simple. You make too many decisions without your head.”
“He could have said the same thing about you, Syd. You’ve made your fair share of rash, emotional decisions.” His lips twisted in disgust. “But Niall always favored you more than me, didn’t he? You always got passes.”
“Is this also about envy, then?” She narrowed her eyes at him. “You resented Niall for demoting you to the Sapphire Cross after Stockholm.”
“I resent unfairness. As punishment for honoring a friend’s death, I was shipped overseas.”
“You didn’t honor Will’s death. You wasted it. You didn’t take down the cell that murdered him. You cut off a finger and left the head.”
“I did what I felt everyone deserved,” he snapped, then rose to his feet.
Sydney glared at him. “You think Niall deserved death for punishing you?”
He sighed. “Believe what you want, Sydney.”
“You don’t understand what it means to be an agent, Tems.”
He spread his arms. “Don’t you ever wonder why you have to give up everything for an agency that doesn’t give a shit about you? Do you think Panacea won’t sacrifice you someday, when everything comes down to it?”
“We took an oath. That means something to me.”
“And you think Panacea always does right by the world?”
“I think they try!” she snapped, teeth clenched. “I think that’s all we can ever do!”
“Then maybe they need to try harder,” Tems said coldly.
Sydney studied him warily. “You were going to leave the country the instant we arrived back in the States, weren’t you? Or maybe you were never planning on getting on board that plane. You were going to abandon me. Just like before.”
She finally seemed to hit a nerve at that, because he flinched. He looked at the window to disguise it, then sneered at her. “And you think your famous boy won’t leave you behind? Think Winter’s going to make you happy?”
Winter.The sound of his name on Tems’s lips sent a jolt of rage through her. “I think you shouldn’t speak about things you don’t understand,” she answered. “Or did you not pay attention during that class either?”
He started to rise. “I think we’re done here,” he said.
“I have one more question for you,” she said. “Why do you really want me alive?”
“My beef was with Niall.” He fixed his gaze on her. “Not you.”
And here, Sydney noticed his expression shift subtly. Past the sneer, past the glare, she could see something that looked like regret. Like he wished there was some other way they could part.
Tems wanted her alive because he didn’t want her to die. It was as simple as that.
He scowled and looked away. “Sauda shouldn’t have sent you,” he muttered under his breath.
It was exactly what he’d said to her on the day she’d first seen him in Winter’s hotel suite.
“It’s not too late, Tems,” she said, her voice soft and quiet now. “Come back with me. Turn yourself in, and wipe your conscience clean.”
He laughed dryly. “And go to jail for Niall’s sake?”
“You can still help me stop this war. You know this isn’t right.” She leaned forward in her chair until her restraints made it too painful. “Youknow.”
“I know we’re done here,” he said. “Go on record saying that you were cooperating with us the entire time, that we tried our best to stop the attack on Rosen. That we have no choice but to declare war.” He turned his back on her. “Make it easy for yourself… and for Winter. Buy yourself some time while I figure out whether it’s worth it to keep you alive. Otherwise, I can’t do much to protect either of you.”
