Page 156 of Eight of Swords, Part Two

‘Did you ask him to do this? To get you out?’

Riley shakes his head. ‘He t-told me… a man wanted me.’

‘Which man?’ Troy demands sharply.

‘M…’ Riley closes his eyes, swallows bile when it rises. ‘Mikhail.’

‘Sorrenko? He told you it was Mikhail Sorrenko?’

‘I don’t… know. I ran. I. I tried. I ran, but I…’

‘It’s all right. You’re safe now. I’ve gotcha, Riley.’

‘Don’t touch me.’

‘I won’t.’ Troy slips his jacket off to drape it around Riley’s shoulders, which is confusing at first until Riley realises he lost his T-shirt at some point. The jacket is distressed leather, old and thick. For the first time in his entire life, the smell of Troy actually makes him feel safe.

‘I did all this?’ Riley asks, whispering like a child.

‘I need to get you back now.’

‘Did I kill them?’

‘These aren’t our people,’ Troy simply says. ‘They don’t matter.’

‘I don’t… even remember doing it,’ Riley says, but it’s a lie. He does remember. He’ll always remember how it went down when backup arrived and units swarmed, chasing him inside the warehouse.

How good it felt to kill.

How fun it was.

The look of utter, pure terror on their faces when they touched him to grab him. The sickening fear that spread like smoke.

‘Good,’ Troy declares. ‘That’s good.’

‘Who are they?’

‘Moroz Front, by the looks of it. Not important. I need to get you home.’ Troy ducks lower to catch Riley’s gaze. ‘Are you gonna let me?’

Riley nods. ‘Yeah.’

On the way back, he sees the sunrise.

Blinking like an owl, he watches it come up.

‘Where are we?’ he asks Troy from the passenger seat.

‘Varrow City.’

‘Is Zachary dead?’

‘They’re all dead.’

While driving, Troy gets a phone call. It comes through the car. Riley winces as his ears recoil from the radio-wave invasion of this strangled frequency. Troy pushes a button on the dash.

‘Harker.’

A new voice speaks through the car. ‘This is Lionel Maddox calling from the Penhalyx Estate. Do you have a moment to talk?’