Page 71 of The Lost Empress

“This isn’t going to be a blood bath,” Neal said, lowering his chin at the other man. “You will surrender and no one is going to get hurt.”

Barry laughed coldly, shaking his head. “We’re playing by my rules. My men will leave most of yours alive, how about that? But I’m painting you as the mastermind behind this heist, and no one will question it. Your body will be just another casualty in this little game of ours, which works out nicely and I can still make off with the gold.”

But even as the words left his lips, another figure stepped out from behind a stack of crates. It was a woman, her dark hair pulled back in a tight bun, her eyes glinting with a steely resolve. She held up a badge, the letters “FBI” gleaming in the dim light.

Barry couldn’t comprehend what was happening. How? None of this made sense. And suddenly he wished he was wired with explosives and could detonate right there, ending himself and everyone in the vault.

“I’m Special Agent Sabrina Justin, FBI,” she said, her voice calm and level. “We’ve got this place surrounded, and we heard every word of your little confession, Barry Fer. Your men are disoriented, and your plan is in shambles. It’s time to face the consequences of your actions.”

Barry’s face twisted with rage, his hand tightening on his weapon. But even as he prepared to give the order to fire, he knew it was futile. The Special Agent pointed up to the high shelves above them where guards with guns were stationed. Barry spied from his peripheral as his men lowered their weapons. Neal had strangely thwarted his plan. The FBI had outmaneuvered him, and his own men were wavering, their loyalty crumbling in the face of the truth.

All at once, the FBI agents swarmed into the vault, their weapons trained on the corrupt officers. Barry felt the weight of his defeat settle on his shoulders like a sinking ship. He had gambled everything on this one last score, and he had lost. The gig was up, and his short time as Chief of Police had come to a humiliating end.

Barry Fer had no idea how his ingenious plan had been foiled. He and Charlie Sloane had thought of everything. They’d covered all their bases. But somehow, someway, he’d been caught. And for some reason, Barry didn’t think that Neal had been his undoing. The man was much too narrowly focused to see the scope of an operation like this. No, it had to be someone much cleverer and strategic. And as the handcuffs clinked onto Barry’s wrist, he vowed to find out who would be the reason that he rotted in prison rather than bathed in the sunlight on his private beach.

CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE

THE RUDE AWAKENING

Exam Room, Rogue Rider Mansion, Beverly Hills, California, United States

Gen hadn’t been asleep for more than a minute when the door to the room burst open. It wasn’t that she’d been there long, as much as it had only taken seconds for her to fall asleep. It felt like as soon as Amanda locked her back into the exam room of the Rogue Rider Mansion, Gen had slumped onto the table, falling asleep immediately due to exhaustion.

This worked in her favor when Dwayne Stone barged into the room, looking madder than hell, and thinking that he’d uncovered some big conspiracy. He seemed surprised when Gen lazily brought her head up to look at him, drool dried on her chin.

“Huh?” she said, like she’d awoken in a strange dream.

“What are you doing in here?” he bellowed, the vein protruding on his forehead, signaling his anger.

She blinked, trying to clear away the sleep seeking to steal her away for the night. “I’m sorry, sir. Wasn’t I supposed to stay here until you came back? Did I do something wrong?”

He narrowed his beady eyes at her. “But you… There was a dragon… Someone stopped…” Dwayne paused. Pulled in a breath through flared nostrils. Shook his head. “So you’ve been here the whole night?” He definitely looked confused, like questioning his own experiences all of a sudden.

She held up her completed test. “Here’s my answers. I hope I passed.”

He yanked it from her hand, glaring at her. “You probably didn’t. And if you were here, then what did I see…”

“See where, sir?” she asked, blinking at him in confusion. “Are you seeing things?”

“Apparently nightmares,” he murmured, looking at the door, like checking the locks for accuracy. “I just don’t get it. You were in here the whole night?”

“Yeah, and I’m starving and my back hurts from being hunched over.” She stood and was grateful that Amanda had thought to use a cleaning spell on her clothes before locking her back in the exam room. They had thought of everything.

“Wait,” Dwayne growled, pointing at her face. “What’s that on your cheek?”

Gen covered her face with her hand, the soreness registering. She remembered now where she’d been assaulted by the sniper. There would be the making of a bruise there. Gen faked a laugh, shaking her head. “Do I have one of those silly marks from when you’ve been lying hard on your pillow the wrong way? What did my father call them? Pillow assaults?” She rubbed at her cheek, almost flinching from the soreness, but masking it behind a giggle. “I guess I was lying on my forearm for ages.”

“Yeah, I guess,” he muttered, standing back from the door, but not seeming entirely convinced.

“Well, I’m off to eat and sleep,” Gen said, sliding by him. “I hope I passed my exam.”

“I bet you didn’t,” he said bitterly. Gen didn’t know if it was because he thought he’d been thwarted by her, having seen a glimpse of something resembling her and Emperor in the streets of Los Angeles or because he was in on the bank heist. Either way, she was going to figure it out. She’d discover if Dwayne Stone was simply an idiot, at the wrong place at the wrong time or if he was truly a corrupt rider, taking advantage of his rule, like the Commissioner of Los Angeles and the now incarcerated Chief of Police, Barry Fer.

CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO

THE ETERNAL DANCE OF GOOD AND EVIL

Rogue Rider Mansion, Beverly Hills, California, United States

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