Page 97 of Power of Shadow

“Your Ash won’t be happy that we want to question her sister. If she knows all this, that means she also knows about the Pact. Considering your infatuation, I understand that we’re protecting them?” Eli seems slightly panicked. That’s something new.

Like Theo and me, he never shows panic.

“Ash knew about the Pact before we even met. It’s possible that Zoe knows too. If she’s a regular on the dark web, the Pact is pretty well known there. Officially, the case is closed. My father got what he wanted, and there’s no reason to dig any deeper. We just need to verify what she knows and warn her not to make any more stupid moves.”

Eli snorts. “Don’t worry. I’ll tie her up and lock her in a room without windows or a computer. We’ll see if she comes up with any more brilliant ideas.”

I’m about to get up from my chair when there’s a knock. “Come in,” I call.

Darren, my head of security, enters the room.

“Sorry to bother you, Mr. Elliot, but we have a visitor downstairs who wants to see you badly. We tried to turn him away, but he won’t give up. He says it’s a matter of life and death.”

Most matters concerning me are matters of life and death. There's nothing unusual about that.

“Who is it?” Eli asks.

“It’s Timothy Graves.”

We look at each other. Neither of us expected this. What does my father’s former friend want from me now? I said goodbye to that bastard once and for all.

“Let’s go,” Eli says, getting up too.

Walking down the hall to the elevator, I bring up another important topic. “Have you been in touch with Theo?”

“No,” my brother replies. “He’s disappeared again.”

“It’s been happening more and more lately. I’m worried. He disappears; no one can reach him…”

“You know that if he had any trouble, he would have come to us with it,” Eli reassures me.

“I want to believe that, but— I don’t know. I have a hunch that everything is about to go to hell and the ground will burn under our feet. I’m just worried about his disappearances.”

A little later, we’re on the ground floor of Feather. Walking between the tables, I notice how quiet it is tonight. There’s only one person sitting at the bar—the one who’s been trying so hard to get my attention.

We walk arm in arm up to Timothy and sit down on either side of him.

He sits a little slouched, head bowed over his glass of clear liquid, eyes fixed on the bottom. He doesn’t react to our arrival at all, as if he knew this meeting would happen anyway.

“Timothy. I didn’t expect to ever see you again,” I greet him in a dry tone.

“I didn’t expect it either, and yet, I’m coming to you to warn you.”

Something inside me twitches with danger. An instinct I learned to ignore long ago is now screaming at the top of its lungs.

I’m tempted to laugh at his words. “You come to me to warn me, not caring that the rats can report the news to my father faster than you can take a piss?”

“It won’t change my fate anyway. But it could completely change your life. The underground is buzzing with news about Veirix.”

“Veirix? Why should I care about rumors about that cartel?”

“Don’t play dumb, Ryker.” Timothy’s angry eyes rest on my face. “You know very well what Veirix is and how dangerous it is.”

I know all too well. My father works with Loco Muerte, led by Ismael, while Veirix is their enemy. Mortal enemies fighting for influence in America.

“Let’s say you’ve got my attention. What valuable news do you have that makes you not care if you live to see another day?”

Timothy raises the glass and downs the entire contents in one gulp. Eli’s eyebrows rise, but neither of us says anything.