Page 158 of Eight of Swords, Part Two

Troy insists Riley be present while they question him.

The information Troy extracts holds many new names.

Alistair. Mikhail. Julian. Jessamine. Ariadne. Roman. Savannah. Vasily.

Then names like Danya Yashin and Lachlan Tanner.

To Riley, they are characters in a book he hasn’t read.

Riley tells Troy whenever the man tries to lie. They get the full truth after less than ten minutes of efficient torture. The man confirms that Zachary was working for Mikhail Sorrenko, who always planned to snatch Riley when the time was right.

Riley doesn’t understand why, and he has a feeling if he asked, Troy would actually explain, but he doesn’t deserve to know.

He’s still covered in the blood of dead men.

So many men died at his bare hands.

He’s a monster.

Troy goes with Riley to his room and stays with him inside.

‘I’ll draw you a bath,’ he offers, visibly awkward. ‘We should probably put a shower in here too. Do you need—?’

‘No.’

‘You don’t know what I was going to say.’

‘Doesn’t matter. I don’t need anything. I understand now.’

‘Understand what?’

Riley removes Troy’s jacket, sets it down on his bed.

‘I can’t leave. I’m not safe anywhere but here.’

‘Riley, this is gonna level out.’

‘How do you know?’

‘Everything I’ve read says by the time your frontal lobe fully—’

‘I don’t wanna leave. This is my home. This is where I belong.’

The words are like nails in a coffin.

They kill any hope Riley might ever have had about leaving.

Freedom.

It’s so sad he can’t even cry.

Troy shakes his head. ‘Kid, you—’

‘Can you just… leave me alone?’

‘You did what you had to.’

‘Please.’