“Who have you told?” Torran asked, a dangerous edge in his tone.
I threw my hands up. “I haven’t told anyone, you asshole! We’re working for you. We’re trying to help you. The only one here who isn’t helping is you.” I jabbed my finger at him again, too angry to remain still. “Don’t you care about your nephew?”
Torran loomed over me. “Listen to me and listen well. If this information gets out, your lives are forfeit. The empress is looking for a target, and I won’t be able to protect you. So you had better make sure your team understands exactly what is at stake should they open their mouths.”
Kee was monitoring this conversation, so she would relay the information to the others, not that we made a habit of blabbing about our jobs anyway.
“I don’t care about the fucking empress; I care about the kid.” I sighed as the anger drained away, leaving me feeling fragile and tired. “Why didn’t you just tell me? A kidnapping is completely different than a theft. We would’ve made a different plan and worked faster. That poor kid has been held for over two weeks. He must be terrified.”
Torran ran a hand down his face. “I told you what I could,” he said quietly. “I hoped that it would be enough.”
“Have the kidnappers been in contact? Have they demanded a ransom?”
Torran gestured and the nearby door slid open, revealing his office. At least he hadn’t been lying about that part. “Go have a seat. I’ll get dressed and join you.”
At the reminder, my eyes drifted over Torran’s exposed chest. No wonder he’d been able to pull himself up onto the perimeter wall earlier—he had plenty of muscles for it. A low-slung pair of loose pants hung from his hips. I was still furious at him for keeping his nephew a secret, but I could admire and fume at the same time. I was good at multitasking.
I spun without a word and entered his office.
“So . . . are we staying?” Kee asked over the comm.
“Yes. It’s not the kid’s fault. We need to work fast and bring him home safely. Keep digging. Find everything you can, including why Torran picked us out of all the available bounty hunters. Something is off.”
“I’m on it. I’ll also keep an ear on you. Shout if you need help.”
I nodded, though she couldn’t see me. Or maybe she could. I wouldn’t bet against Kee now that she’d breached the security system.
Torran’s office was far more cluttered than I would’ve expected from the simple elegance of the rest of the house. A massive, built-in bookcase lined the left wall, and the lower shelves were filled with colorful children’s books in both Valovan and Common. Narrow windows along the top of the wall showed a glimpse of stars sparkling in the inky sky.
I rubbed my eyes. Today had been eternal and it wasn’t over yet.
I circled the large, heavy desk and settled into Torran’s chair. A pair of books, a fancy Valovian slate, a framed drawing of two people done by a child, and a handful of sparkly rocks rested on the smooth wooden surface. An elegant digital display cycled through a short series of photos, all of Torran and his nephew. I picked it up for a closer look.
In the most recent photo, Cien looked about the same age he was when he’d been snatched from this very room. My anger returned.
“What are you doing?” Torran asked from the doorway. He’d pulled on a short-sleeved shirt, but he’d kept the same loose pants.
“Snooping,” I said without a hint of remorse. “It seems to be the only way to get information around here.” I pinned him with a hard look. “Why didn’t you tell me that you’re related to the empress?”
None of Kee’s original information had turned up the link. If it had, I wouldn’t have taken the job, even for the fortune on offer. I did not want to be entangled with the imperial family, but it was too late now.
“I’m not.” Torran stepped into the office and the door slid closed behind him. The room suddenly felt a lot smaller, but I remained sitting in his chair as he stalked toward me.
“Don’t give me that shit. Cien is your nephew and her grandson.”
“My sister married the empress’s son, but our relationship is not common knowledge. How did you make the connection?” Torran stopped next to me and raised an eyebrow.
I smiled at him and pointed to the guest chairs on the other side of the desk, then returned to the conversation with a shrug. “Making connections is our job.”
People dismissed Kee because of her colorful hair and relentless optimism, but she was one of the smartest people I’d ever met. She could take the thinnest of threads and pull until she’d unraveled an entire tapestry.
Or an entire imperial family, hidden branches and all.
Rather than moving around the desk, Torran settled on the near edge, close enough that his legs brushed the arm of my chair, but I refused to budge.
I raised my chin and met his eyes. “So was all of that information about the ring just bullshit?”
“No. Cien does wear a family ring that grants him access to my accounts. Until I have my own children, he’s my heir.”
“Why was he alone while you were gone?”
“He wasn’t alone,” Torran said, then corrected himself. “He wasn’t supposed to be alone. He had a bodyguard, and the house staff was here, too.”
My interest sharpened. “Where is the bodyguard now?”
“Missing.”
Of course they were. “Did the bodyguard help the kidnappers?”
“Cien’s bodyguard slipped out before the kidnappers showed up,” Torran said. “But it’s a good bet that he helped them before disappearing, because they knew exactly where to find my nephew.”
“The other staff?”
“Investigated, extensively, and they appear to be uninvolved.”
My eyes narrowed. “Why are you being so helpful all of a sudden?”
“I was unable to discuss the kidnapping with anyone who didn’t know about it.” He sighed. “And I am still bound by additional oaths, but I will share what I can.”
“Why was Cien here?”
“His parents are on a diplomatic trip. He often stays with me when they are traveling, under the pretense of learning military strategy.”
“His parents are on? They haven’t returned?”
Torran’s expression darkened. “No. The empress is keeping Cien’s disappearance quiet. If his parents returned early, that would cause suspicion.”
I silently shook my head. It’s good that I wasn’t an empress’s daughter-in-law, because if my kid went missing, I’d wade through hell to get them back, and fuck everyone else.
I tried to let it go. I wasn’t successful, but I switched topics anyway. “I’m assuming your team has been hunting the whole time you were gone? What have they found? I want all of the information you’ve collected so far. In a kidnapping, time is of the essence.”
A muscle in Torran’s jaw flexed. “I’ve already told Nilo to prepare a brief for your team.”
Speaking of . . . “You didn’t tell me if the kidnappers have been in contact.”
Torran said nothing, and I blew out a frustrated breath. “Let me guess: you can’t tell me.”