“You will not jeopardize Hannah again. Not until she serves or fails her function.”
Esis made it clear, in her own loopy way, that the same applied for Amanda.
As the days passed and his purpose on this world grew muddier, Evan convinced himself that there were still plenty of ways to strike at the sisters without risking their precious bodies. If anything, the challenge made Round 55 a hell of a lot more interesting.
He plucked his handtop from the reception desk. An empty view of the hallway filled the tiny screen. Christ, sister. Hop to it. We’re on a clock here.
“You know, it wasn’t easy bringing your iPod back to life,” he boasted to Hannah. “They have none of the right cables or batteries here. I had to jury-rig a solution. And hey, speaking of Jury . . .”
“Fuck you.”
“Whoa ho ho! The man’s a sore spot already. And just from a driver’s license photo. Good thing you never saw his biceps. You’d be inconsolable.”
Hannah shot him a murderous glare. From the moment Evan showed his cruel and juvenile face, she sensed an odd frustration behind his loathing. He wanted to do so much more to her than he was currently doing. Clearly it wasn’t his conscience holding him back.
“My iPod wasn’t a gift,” she speculated. “It was a bribe. Azral doesn’t want you hurting us.”
Evan narrowed his eyes in pique. The woman could be jarringly sharp when she wanted to be. He scrambled for cover behind a sneering grin.
“Nice thought, Giggles, but Azral didn’t care when I killed Jury. He won’t shed a tear over you. By the way, I have to know. Are you still carrying his license? You can tell me.”
“No.”
“Liar. Come on. I know you’re keeping Jury near your naughty bits. Show me.”
“Would anyone shed a tear if you died, Evan?”
“You would.”
“I’d cry with joy.”
“That counts.” He raised his jolter. “Now are you going to empty your pockets or do I need to make you fork over your pants?”
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you? That’s what this is all about.”
“Getting in your pants?” Evan cackled with scorn. “Oh sweet Jesus. The ego on you. If I wanted that, hon, there are easier ways. Spreading your legs is the fastest thing you do.”
“For men like Jury,” she seethed. “Not like you.”
“Amazing how you’re proud of your shallow standards.”
“Is that why you killed him?”
“Don’t play detective, Boopsie. You’re out of your element.”
“You told Zack you used to be part of our group. You and Jury both.”
Evan sighed with ennui. It was always so tedious to watch the Silvers play catch-up.
“In times undone,” he told her. “Days gone bye-bye. Don’t mistake my wistful look for nostalgia. The memories aren’t fond.”
“What did I do to make you so angry?”
He checked the screen of his handtop. All right. Finally.
“The question you should be asking right now . . .”
He pressed a button on his console.
“. . . is what did she do?”
Hannah spun around in her cage, just as her sister collapsed in front of the open door.
“Amanda!”
Forty minutes ago, Evan had stashed a video camera and an electron chaser in the planter outside the law office. The moment Amanda hobbled into range, he remotely activated the weapon’s charge. In an instant, the widow’s world went red with pain and her muscles turned to jelly.
Evan dragged her inside and closed the door behind them. Hannah shook the bars of her cage. “Stop it! Leave her alone!”
“Hush now, darling. Screaming time is over.” He snickered derisively. “I swear, you two are so easy to trap. Just a shame it took Peter’s Cotton Tail so long to hop her way over here. We’re a little behind schedule.”
His synchron watch beeped its noon chime. Evan adjusted the handtop to access his lobby cameras.
“Yup. There it goes.”
Hannah eyed him confusedly. “What are you talking about?”
“The barricade,” he replied, with a savage grin. “The Deps are storming the castle.”
—
At the stroke of noon, the tempic sheath around the building fell to the government’s solic drill. The glass doors shattered at the edge of a metal battering ram.
Rosie Herrera shouted a staccato barrage of orders as she led the charge to the lobby. Her motormouth zeal was fueled half by adrenaline and half by fear that Melissa would try to seize control of the operation. To Rosie’s surprise, the eccentric agent from L.A. followed the crowd in demure silence. Once she reached the first bloodstain, Melissa uttered a single word.
“Shift.”