Page 47 of Abundance of Obsession

And I know what troubles him more is the question, What if she’s there of her own free will? What does that mean to him? For the Pact, now that she’s joined the enemy? Is she our enemy now?

“I can’t answer that question, Ry,” I say truthfully. “I know—I feel she’s there. But we need to confirm it, and then we’ll take the next steps.”

“Steps? What steps?” Ash asks.

“The ones that will lead me to meet her,” Ryker answers for me and turns toward us. “Any suggestions?”

I shrug, though I feel tension in every part of my body. “You know my thoughts. The best option is to take a risk and plant our mole there.”

“The one we don’t have yet,” Theo says.

“Exactly, yeah.”

Ryker is silent. Finally, he sits back down on the couch, takes Ash’s hand, and intertwines their fingers.

There’s a moment when I can’t take my eyes off where their fingers meet. A simple gesture, taking someone’s hand. I never used to pay attention to things like that. And now I can’t look away.

What the fuck is wrong with me?

The urge to take Zoe’s hand becomes so intense that I have to do something. So, I grab the cup and hold it tight, even though it’s already empty.

“How do you expect to get to Ricardo Ortega in such a short time? We don’t have months to spare,” Theo points out.

“Who is he?” A murderous look appears on Ash’s face.

“He’s Nico’s right-hand man. And Nico Ruiz is at the head of Veirix.”

“Can’t we just kill him?” she asks.

Ryker speaks up. “You won’t get to him that easily. Only his most trusted people have access to him—literally a few people.”

“Maybe someone lower than Ricardo, but significant enough to be in the inner circle?” Theo suggests.

“Who else can we target?” Ryker ponders.

“Ever since they sent us the last mole in pieces, we’ve had little insight into their ranks.” I sigh and rub my face with my hands. “We definitely still have Emilio Cortez and Damien Estrada as our third options.”

The temperature drops a few degrees just at the mention of those two names. Ryker sighs too, and Theo shifts in his armchair and says, “I don’t know which is worse. Each of them is a twisted psychopath in his own way.”

I look at everyone. Ryker and Theo are lost in their own minds. Ash is doing exactly what I’m doing. She’s watching everyone. And then I glance at Zoe, who has been sitting there as quiet as a mouse the whole time.

I don’t even know why I dragged her here. The Pact’s business doesn’t concern her, at least not the way it does her sister. Through her marriage to Ryker, Ash is now an important part of all this. But Zoe… She has no idea.

Her coffee sits untouched on the table. She’s staring at a single spot on the floor. Physically, she’s here. Mentally, she’s somewhere else. A small furrow appears between her eyes as her brows knit together.

Something is bothering her, and it pisses me off that I can’t read her. Can’t ask her.

What’s on your mind? What’s keeping you up right now?

“Can we bribe someone on the inside?” Ash suggests, pulling my thoughts away from Zoe.

“My father tried that, and it backfired on us,” her husband replies.

“Wiretapping?”

Theo shakes his head. “They’re too vigilant for that sort of thing.”

Ash won’t give up. “So what? Are we going to wait until someone infiltrates their ranks, confirms our suspicions, and puts Aisling in touch with Ryker? This plan is worthless. Maybe they wanted us to find out about this? When Aisling called me, she was hostile toward Ryker. She warned me about him. Maybe it was a game. Or maybe the exact opposite.”