“Lex, chill out,” Shaz’s voice was calm and soothing. “If you lose it now, you won’t be able to help him.”
Kale’s head came up suddenly as if he sensed me. The soundproofing ensured he couldn’t hear my tirade. Did he know I was here?
“If anything, we’ve gone easy on him, considering what he did to Abigail Irving.” Briggs shrugged. Kale was nothing to him, not a person with feelings or several lifetimes of knowledge. Kale was just a piece of meat to treat as such.
“You have your head so far up your ass you can’t see the light,” I growled. “You can’t employ anyone linked to the supernatural and expect them not to betray you. Abigail, Shya and anyone else.” I looked pointedly at Juliet out of spite. “There is no harnessing the supernatural.”
Agent Briggs and I exchanged a long look. He knew there was truth in my words. I could see it in his eyes. Like so many others here, he was following orders and not about to argue that with me.
“What’s he worth to you, Ms. O’Brien?”
There it was, the million-dollar question. So many ways I could answer. I felt Shaz’s tension as he waited for my answer.
“I’m willing to negotiate. Name your price.” I watched Kale through the glass, aching to go to him, aching from seeing him like that. His abuse lit a fire inside me that would not be extinguished until I made the FPA sorry they had f**ked with someone I cared about.
“There’s only one thing we’d be interested in receiving from you.”
Everyone present was dead quiet, watching the exchange. Shaz’s hold on me loosened just slightly.
“And what might that be?”
“Your service.”
Laughter broke the silence. My laughter. Was he just f**king with me?
“You’re kidding, right? I just told you the supernatural can’t be trusted. Why should I be any different?”
Briggs found no humor in the situation. His eyes narrowed, and he waited for me to quit cackling before replying. “Because we have your sister.”
I hadn’t expected much from the FPA, but this was a new kind of low. “Seriously? You’re threatening my sister? The sister that I believed was dead for ten years? The sister who came into my club and took Kale?” I laughed bitterly. “Try again.”
Juliet flinched. A pang of guilt shot through me, but I shoved it aside. I would always love Juliet, but I couldn’t let them think they could use her against me. If that meant giving her the cold shoulder, so be it.
“What do you really want from me?” I cut to the chase, refusing to play games. Looking at Kale’s battered form was beginning to weigh heavy on me.
Briggs cleared his throat. “Information.”
“On Shya,” I filled in the blanks. “I can’t help you. He doesn’t tell me a damn thing.” My mind raced as I rushed to find something that would appease him. “But, I do have some files I swiped from Veryl Armstrong. They’re heavily encrypted, and I haven’t been able to get into them. I imagine that means there’s something worth finding in them.”
“Files that belonged to Veryl Armstrong?” Briggs was intrigued. That was a good thing. “And, you’d be willing to hand them over without even knowing what’s on them first? That could be risky.”
“It could,” I agreed, “but I’ll do it.”
“Of course, you could be lying. You may know there’s not a damn thing on the files worth having.”
“Ask Juliet if I’ve spoken anything but the truth. A werewolf can smell a lie.” I dared him to call my bluff. Briggs was stiff and hard to read. I hated him.
“She’s not lying, Sir,” Juliet confirmed. She still wouldn’t look at me. It hurt as much as it ticked me off.
I pulled away from Shaz and made my way closer to the pane of glass. Raising my cuffed hands, I touched the cold, smooth surface, wishing I could reach through to the other side. Kale’s gaze swung my way, landing on the mirror on his side. He knew I was here. I was sure of it then.
“He’s not the vampire you share power with,” Briggs asked curiously, “so why’s he so important to you?”
I didn’t turn to face him. I couldn’t take my eyes off Kale. “It’s irrelevant.”
A door on the far side of Kale’s prison opened. I caught a glimpse of guards outside that door and a familiar face caught my eye. Bianca. The bitch worked for the FPA. Unreal.
A look at Shaz revealed total shock. He hadn’t known. Good Lord, I hoped he hadn’t revealed anything to her about me that he shouldn’t have. She’d be wise to stay far away from my club. Next time I faced her, she would die.
The door closed, cutting off my view. A scantily clad brunette strutted her way through the room to stand before Kale.