“Do you see anyone?” I ask Nicolette in a low voice. Hidden beneath trees, Thayer sits, prepared to ambush. He has only two other men with him. Any more would’ve put us at a disadvantage.
“There’s someone sitting under that awning.” She jerks her head to show me.
I’d recognize that shock of hair a mile away.Lyam.
I’ve forced myself to do what I had to. I’ve focused on what I need to do to bring him home. But seeing my younger brother alone, silhouetted under the rock-hewn roof, my heart lurches.
I want to rush to him. I want to bring him home and present him to Maman, who’s probably near frantic by now. I want to take my anger and turn it toward whoever the fuck messed with my family.
But I don’t. I stay calm. I nod to Nicolette.
“You do?—”
“Exactly what you say, yeah, yeah, I know.”
I press my lips together and focus. I’ll get her alone, and soon, and then we’ll sort this shit out.
“Stop right there.”
Nicolette and I stop.
Silence.
“You took my brother.” My voice booms in the quiet. “You bullied me into stealing something that could’ve killed me and my partner. And you don’t have the goddamn balls to show your face?”
Silence.
I hear something to my left. And my right. Nicolette looks at me with wide eyes and a look of determination.
“Take the talisman and lay it on the fountain.”
I look around until I see a stone-hewn fountain beside one of the bubbling baths. In the chill morning, steam rises from the water.
“Give me my brother first.”
Silence.
From where we stand, I can see Lyam get to his feet and walk toward us. I nod to Nicolette to put the talisman on the fountain. The second Lyam reaches me, I grab him in an embrace and whisper in his ear, “Who did this? Do you have any idea?”
“No,” he says quickly. “Did you feed the rats to my snakes while I was gone?”
What the hell is he talking about? He’s worried about his snakes right now? Nicolette looks at him as if he’s lost his mind.
I’m not in charge of his pets. He’s the one that takes care of them and keeps them out of my mother’s way, because she considers them evil somehow.
Feed my snakes rats…
Wait.
When we talk of politics, my family refers to politicians asrats.He isn’t asking about his snakes. He’s telling me the person behind this is a politician.
“Thank you for bringing the girl,” the loud, booming voice says over the speakers. “And the talisman. Now release your brother and make a choice.”
A frigid chill skates down my spine. I don’t like being at a disadvantage. I imagine Thayer prowling behind me, determined not to leave me alone to handle this.
“Now. It’s time for you to make a choice, Monsieur Gerard. Just like you made me choose.”
What?
