Jacob could practically feel the man’s balls tightening with fear. And he definitely heard his hard swallow. “Unfortunately, they died in pursuit of the Alliance team who intercepted Ralston.”
Jacob paced the moonlit room with furious strides, clenching and unclenching his fist. “Who led the team? Was it Asher?”
“No, Master. I believe it was Jack Grayson.”
Jacob’s pacing slowed. Jack. His old friend. He felt a brief stab of guilt for the betrayal he’d perpetrated against his former brethren. He had once called them allbrother, had fought alongside them as a member of the Alliance, bled alongside them. But it was he who was betrayed first, wasn’t it? He’d been meant for greatness, destined for the highest office within the Alliance. And they’d ousted him, forced him into the indignity of becoming aconfrereagainst his will, toobligethem. Like a fuckingservant.
His gut twisted with disgust and fury, supplanting his guilt. “Who was with him? I want their names.”
Jacob heard tapping on a keyboard as the man apparently looked for the information requested. “Luke Rogan, Ian Cooper, and the new woman . . . Madeleine Blake.”
Jacob hissed a curse.Maddie. The woman who was his mentor’s eldest daughter—she’d been like a sister to him most of his life. Her sister, Sarah, had been a regrettable target of Jacob’s failed plan several months earlier. Now it seemed he would have Maddie in his crosshairs as well. The ache of this realization was far worse than his regret about Jack.
He ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. “Where is the flash drive Ralston was supposed to have intercepted?”
“We’re not entirely sure, Master,” the man admitted. “It wasn’t in his hotel room.”
“If he handed it off to the Alliance, they’ll be moving quickly to act upon the data,” Jacob mused. “And if he didn’t, they’ll most assuredly know where he hid it. I want someone monitoring Jack Grayson’s every move.”
“Yes, Master.”
Jacob disconnected the call, his shoulders sagging. He’d been given a second chance to prove himself after the debacle with the treasure. The last damned thing he needed was for the proof of the Illuminati’s existence to fall into the hands of the Alliance. The Illuminati weren’t yet ready. They were still positioning themselves, putting all of their pawns upon the board.
But soon.
And when that happened, Jacob would unseat his son of a bitch grandfather and take control of the Illuminati himself. His Faithful would see to that. They recognized that Jacob was the One True Master—not the asshole who called himself Jacob’s family.
When Jacob had been de-cloaked, forced from the Alliance after screwing up a mission, his grandfather hadn’t bothered to offer any support. He’d been too ashamed to show his face at Jacob’s de-cloaking—never mind that the son of bitch was even then plotting against the Alliance to restore the Illuminati to power.
Angus Stone had betrayed everyone in his life that supposedly mattered to him. It wasn’t exactly a shock to Jacob that the hypocritical asshole would betray him too. That bastard would’ve put a bullet in Jacob’s head a few months earlier had it not been for the beautiful woman lying in his bed.
The quiet creak of floorboards behind him brought Jacob’s head around. As if sensing his thoughts, his new bride had awakened and was gliding toward him, every sway of her hips meant to seduce him into submission.
“Who was that?” she asked, draping her arms around his neck.
“One of the Faithful,” he told her, not bothering to suppress a shiver of desire as he pulled her close. “The mission failed.”
Her expression went instantly hard. “And they paid for their incompetence, I presume?”
“Of course,” he assured her, leaving out that the Alliance had been good enough to take care of the problem for him. “I was weak before, Allison. I was too merciful. I realize I allowed sentimentality to get in the way of our vision. But no longer. Those who have wronged us will pay for their transgressions.”
“Call in the twins,” she urged. “They have offered their allegiance to you already. All you have to do is ask for their assistance and it’s yours.”
The men she spoke of—Stefan and Demetrius Shepherd—were among his grandfather’s trusted circle of assassins. They’d been deployed on numerous occasions with maximum effect. But they were dangerous. And not people Jacob wanted to be beholden to.
Jacob shook his head. “No, not yet. They may have said they will side with me when I take control, but I don’t trust them. I’ll handle this myself.”
This brought a smile back to her lips. “Soon, Jacob, you will be the most powerful man in the world. And I will be right there beside you, guiding you to greatness . . .” She brought her lips close to his ear. “Fulfilling our every desire.”
He pulled back, peering down at her, studying the coldness in her eyes, surprised he’d never seen it there before. “And what doyoudesire, my darling? You can’t tell me that you’ll be content to just hang on my arm when I take control.”
Her smile grew, a hungry look coming into her pale blue eyes, making them gleam in a way that honestly made Jacob a little nervous. “I want whatyouwant, Jacob—power, influence, the world at my feet. I saw that ambition in you the moment your grandfather sent me to your office and have seen it every day since. It’s why I fell in love with you.”
He brought her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to her fingers. “Then you shall have it, Allison. You shall have all your heart desires and more.”
