Page 125 of Inside the Wicked

Rhett’s jaw grinds, his eyes turning Alistair to smoke and ash in his mind. But he knows there’s no series of shots that could get us all out alive with the chaos it would erupt. He lowers his gun.

“How did you track us?” Rix seethes.

I imagine Rix would have been diligent in all our movements, ensuring we weren’t followed or caught on surveillance.

I don’t expect the answer to come from anyone but Alistair.

“It’s nothing personal, princess,” Silas says, pushing up from the only lax position in the room I didn’t notice until now. “Just business.”

My whole body slumps with a betrayal that has no right to be as gut-wrenching as this. I was wrong, so terribly wrong, to trust him. Yet above all, I’m not as angry as I am sad for it despite the notorious name he carries.

“Why?” I breathe, not sure if he even hears it.

He slips a hand into his pocket, and I watch as Alistair gives way to him,yieldsto him. I should have fucking known.

“I don’t like mess, and he came to me with an offer that gives me everything I want.”

“Kenna is detained in the manor for you,” Alistair says.

That surges Rhett forward, and I grip his arm tighter. “You fucking sick bastard,” Rhett snarls at Silas.

Silas’s eyes darken and his jaw sets.

I say venomously, “You claim to be better than them, yet you bought her just like them.”

“I don’t expect an heiress and an amateur vigilante to understand, nor will I waste my breath explaining,” he says coolly.

“Traitorous bastard,” Rhett snaps.

“Only a fool can feel betrayed.” Silas’s eyes slip to me at that, but there’s no emotion in them.

His words repeat in my mind, over and over, as he gives us his back and walks out without a care in the world that he’s left us at the mercy of the vipers.

Only a fool.

“I have something each of you want,” Alistair says. His gaze shifts from me to Rhett. “All you have to do is bring me the body, or just the head, of Jacob Forthson—whom, as I gather, is awaiting you tonight.”

“So Xoid can be the target of his network for his death?” Rix grinds out.

“Be glad I’m not killing your precious sweetheart instead for her collusion with Forthson against me. You thought yourself cunning, Anastasia, but for once, I believe I was wrong about you. You don’t belong in this world, and you should have listened to your father.”

“You’re wrong,” I say, boiling with anger.

Rhett’s phone vibrates. Then mine rings too in the small purse I’m holding. Rhett and I exchange a look as I retrieve my phone, and only then does he too. When I look at the screen, there’s an unknown number, the same as Rhett’s.

Rhett picks up, and the moment he does, his eyes close and his head drops in utter defeat. “Allie,” he says, strained with agony as his grip tightens on the phone. “I’m coming for you, okay?”

Then it’s my turn, and I know who I’m going to hear as I keep my eyes locked on Alistair, who watches me like he’s won.

I bring the phone to my ear when I pick up. It’s silent, but I can hear his breathing. “Liam?” I whisper.

“I’m sorry, Ana. I’m so fucking sorry?—”

My stiff body flinches at the grunt of pain that cuts him off. “It’s okay. It’s going to be okay, and I’m going to get you out of this.”

“Don’t come for me. But please, you need to get Allie. Promise me that?”

I want to tell him there’s no way I wouldn’t fight heaven and hell for him, but it’s not what he needs right now.

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