Page 97 of Rogue Mission
I glance at Rosalie. She’s pale, but she hasn’t looked away. Hasn’t flinched. Just sits there watching, fingers tight around the spray can.
Something twists in my gut. A yawning sensation hits my chest. I’m a monster.
She shouldn’t be here. Shouldn’t see this side of me—the part that knows exactly how to break a man, how to inflict pain without mercy.
But I need the intel. And I can’t leave her unprotected. The ultimate catch-22.
I turn back to Parson. “Last chance.”
“Westerly will kill me if I talk.”
“I’ll kill you if you don’t.” I pull my knife, the blade catching what little light filters through the broken windows. “And I promise, my way will be slower.”
His eyes widen, tracking the knife as I flip it in my hand. “You’re bluffing.”
“Am I?”
I press the tip to his thigh, not breaking skin, but pressing hard enough he feels the tip through his fancy dress pants. “Five seconds. Then I start cutting.”
“Wait—”
“Five.”
“I don’t?—”
“Four.”
“Okay! Okay!” Sweat beads on his forehead, running down his temples. His legs are shaking so hard his shoes are tapping the concrete. “I’ll talk.”
I don’t move the knife. “Start with the hit. Who’d you hire?”
“I didn’t hire anyone. Maybe Westerly handled it directly.” The words tumble out fast, tripping over each other.
“All I know is that he’s some specialist. Ex-military, I think. Westerly keeps that information compartmentalized. I just know the order was given.”
“When?”
“Two days ago. Right after she disappeared with his research.”
Rosalie makes a small, rough sound. “Technically he took my research.”
She’s right. But before her, Allison Westerly owned that sample. So it’s not his at all.
“What’s in the sample?” I ask.
He’s shaking violently, drool seeping out of his mouth.
“I don’t know the specifics. Some kind of rare substance. Westerly’s wanted to extract it for months, since that girl he raised discovered it. He’s got some big plans for it. But the site’s on protected land.”
“He wants it before anyone else, this is all about greed,” Rosalie says, her voice clear and piercing through the dim light.
She’s looking at me. “I know what it is. I’m the only one.”
This news hits me like a two-by-four across the face.
“If it goes public, he loses billions,” I grate out.
Goddamned greed is the reason he wants to kill Rosalie, and do God knows what to Allison, and is holding Beast.
