Page 102 of Deadly Alliances

“Not much more now,” I replied in a whisper even though we were alone now. “We’ve just got to get past the guards standing outside Alex’s room and then head to the roof access. The Elite quarters are usually pretty empty, so it’s only the guards we’ll have to worry about.”

Char nodded, wrapping her arms around herself. Tobias gave her a pitiful look but kept his distance.

The silence that filled the air was thick and awkward, time seeming to pass with irritating slowness. I had so many questions burning on my tongue about how they knew each other, but we all needed to stay focused.

Mercifully, the elevator gave a ding, the upward momentum stopping then settling before the doors slid open. We headed up the final steps with me in the lead. If all had gone well, the room would be empty. I hoped Shea hadn’t had any problems with Alex.

But when I cracked the secret door open, I realized I’d made a critical error—I’d forgotten about Agnes.

Alex’s nanny had the door to the hall open, and all four of my guards were inside, some of them with freshly-healing wounds. The woman yelled at them, demanding to know what had happened to Alex. They all looked at each other, worry and confusion on their faces.

I held a hand up behind me, signaling that Tobias and Char should stay out of sight. Then I went into the room, not waiting for the guards to leave. I didn’t know how far Shea had gotten, and I didn’t want to risk them going after her.

One of the guards noticed me first, and Agnes swung around, her eyes widening. She marched up to me, hands on her hips. “What have you done with him? Do you have any idea what the Master will do when he discovers his son is missing?”

I set my chin. “Alex is a child, but you want to treat him like he’s an adult. You people have robbed him of his childhood, and I won’t allow it to continue.”

“That’s not your call to make, young lady,” Agnes said in a snooty, scolding tone. “I don’t care who you are, Alex is my charge, and I will make sure he measures up to the Master’s expectations.”

“I’m his sister,” I ground out as Agnes turned to the guards. I summoned my siren voice once more, putting everything I had into it. “Alex is no longer your responsibility. You all will leave and go straight to the elevator, not stopping until you are far from this room. Find something to do that doesn’t include me or Alex or Hadrian.”

My voice, so familiar yet so foreign, bathed Agnes and the guards with my will. They shuffled out the door, the glaze in their eyes still lingering.

I despised Agnes. Not quite as much as Hadrian, but enough. She’d been so instrumental in keeping Alex repressed. I wouldn’t let anyone do that to him ever again. But still, I hoped Hadrian wouldn’t kill her for losing him. No one deserved Hadrian’s wrath.

When they had all gone, I opened the door to the servant’saccess. A woman lay at Tobias’s feet, unconscious.

“What the hell?” I gasped.

Tobias sighed. “She came up while you were talking. We had to subdue her.”

“Is she…?” I couldn’t finish the question. I’d seen enough death.

“No, just unconscious,” Char said.

“But we’d better hurry before she wakes up,” Tobias added.

I swallowed, but nodded. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

And as we headed toward the door to Alex’s room, I prayed with all my desperation that that had been our final obstacle.

Chapter 38

Julian

“I’m coming, Julian. It’s time to go.”

The sound of Shea’s voice in my head emblazoned my soul, filling every nerve fiber in my body with strength and determination. I bolted upright in bed, humming with anticipation.

“Rainbow,” I called out softly to the room at large. “We’re going home, boy.”

Scanning the room, I found no sign of him. Had he already gone? I still had no idea how he’d survived this long without being caught. His food source was probably outside, unless he was secretly making his rounds down in the Initiate dorms.

If that was where he was now, I’d be reticent to leave. But then he’d been resourceful enough to not only make it across the country to find me, but to also remain undetected once he got here. If he could do all that, he could make it back home to Chicago.

Suddenly, a gentle weight landed on my lap, and I blinked down to see Rainbow curled up on my lap, his deep purr vibrating through my thighs.

I smiled down at him as I placed a hand on his head and began to rub it down his back. “You’re something else, you know that, cat?”

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