Page 65 of Power of Shadow

“Don’t be a bitter loser, Ash. I think we’ll be great friends anyway,” Eli adds.

“The best. For the last five minutes of your life, Eli. Now let go of my sister.”

“In a minute, Little Thief. First, give me back my twenty-five hundred.”

“Tell your buddy to finally let me go.” I struggle. “You’ll get your money and let my sister go. And for God’s sake, stop aiming at her.”

Eli seems to remember the gun he’s holding, looks at it, secures it, and moves away from my sister. Finally, I breathe easier.

That doesn’t change the fact that he’s going to suffer.

He smiles bitterly and glances over my shoulder at Ryker. Whatever he sees there, Eli sighs, shakes his head, and adds, “He doesn’t look like he’s going to move an inch away from you, so I guess Zozo will have to give the money back on your behalf. Will you be a good girl, sweetheart?”

Eli leans down, looks into her eyes, and kisses her tear-stained cheek. Finally, he unties her wrists.

“Let me go, Ryker,” I say sharply. “What’s all this fuss about? If you wanted to have a get-together, all you had to do was knock on the door.”

“Where’s the fun in that? I know you like thrills. We waited patiently for you to get bored with your present and come back.” Ryker rubs his nose against the base of my neck, and an involuntary shiver runs through my body.

Even that simple gesture makes the tingling in my stomach return.

What the hell is wrong with me?

One asshole was just holding my sister at gunpoint, another is holding me captive, and the third is a silent judge staring at us. And I feel a growing excitement from the touch of his nose?

“At least I had fun then,” I say.

“Did you kill him?”

“No, I let him go.”

My statement surprises him. “Why the heck?”

“It’s simple. We both know he knows where to find the senator. He delivers a message for me.”

“You have orders to kill the senator,” Ryker guesses, not asking me.

“What’s your mission?” I return the ball. I have to divert his attention away from me. “To kill him, right? That’s why you’re looking for him.”

Theo’s eyes meet mine and then jump to Ryker’s. His face is like a mask, motionless, devoid of emotion. It’s impossible to read what he’s thinking.

Ryker doesn’t answer right away, and his hesitation says more than he would like. But I... I'm torn inside.

I just found out that the man we’re both looking for is my and Zoe’s father. The man who was absent throughout our entire lives, who made our mother stop loving life and us, and I couldn’t tell anyone about it yet.

If Ryker gets to Charles Baker first, I’ll never know the truth about what happened. I have no loyalty to him, but I’m tormented by the feeling that I need to know the truth. When Ryker pulls the trigger, it will be over.

I have to get to the senator first, but I can’t tell Ryker we’re related because he’ll get suspicious. Let him think we have the same goal. To kill Charles Baker.

Meanwhile, the freed Zoe staggers out of her chair and massages her wrists. She slowly turns toward Eli. The broad smile on his face remains, now turning seductive.

Shocked, I watch as my little sister delivers a blow straight to the man’s jaw in the blink of an eye. “Don’t Zozo me ever again!” she yells, angry.

I whisper under my breath, proud of her, “My blood. One down.”

Chapter 14

Ryker