Page 294 of Vicious Temptation

“Fucking do it already!”

Silence answers me.

I throw my weight against the chair, sending the metal legs scraping across the concrete as I yank at the cuffs biting into my wrists. “Do what you came here to do.”

“Now, Operative, where is your training?”

I know that voice.

I blink into the darkness, straining to make out Elena’s figure and wondering what the hell she’s doing here.

“One would think a decorated officer like you would have a little more self-control. And a lot more self-preservation.”

“What is this? What are you doing here?”

But then I remember what they told me at Helios. No official directive ever targeted Remi or her family. The Cain file was created without authorization, meaning everything I was ordered to do came from Elena. I barely made it out of Helios alive after learning the truth, leaving me no chance to figure out why she’d built an entire operation around Remi.

“Why?” I bite out.

She steps into the edge of the light. “Why am I here?”

“No. Why did you do it? Why Remi?”

“Ah,” she says as her smile widens. “I see you’ve been busy playing detective. We all know how that ends, don’t we?”

Bitch.

“Tell me!” I wrench against the restraints. “What the fuck were you doing? You assigned me to a file that never should’ve existed. You fabricated classified intelligence about a civilian and her family, then gave me orders that could’ve gotten every one of them killed.”

Elena gives a dismissive wave as she begins pacing. “Oh, save it. Fabricated or not, you’re delusional if you think that woman’s hands are clean. Her family is even worse. The number of bodies the Cains and their associates have buried is beyond your comprehension. They’ve been spilling blood for decades.” She glances over her shoulder at me, completely unfazed. “But you already knew that, didn’t you, Operative?” She tilts her head. “Or I suppose it’s just Braga now.”

I watch her pace, finally understanding what never made sense about any of this. “This was never about Helios.”

She stops.

“It was never about whatever intelligence you thought the Cains had either.” I glare at her. “You chose Remi yourself. You wanted me in her life.”

Elena slowly turns toward me. “What?” she asks. “Starting to sound personal?”

“Why her?”

“I’m glad you’re finally catching on.”

Before I can demand an answer, an explosion rocks the building, shaking the chair beneath me. Dust and fragments of concrete rain from the ceiling as the walls tremble around us.

Elena’s attention shifts toward the door. “Speak of the devil. The cavalry’s here. The question is, who reaches you first?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I was a little naughty while you were asleep.” Elena slips her phone from her pocket and taps the screen. “I sent out a distress call. I even made sure to use your best angle.”

It takes me a moment to understand what she means.

“You took a fucking picture of me?”

“And I sent it to the one person I knew would come running.”

My blood runs cold.