Gaslight (Crossbreed #4)(64)
I shuddered when he stroked my hair. “Is that how you see yourself? Is that why you’re trying desperately to fit in with that organization? We’re not evil, Raven. I’m glad we had this time together. You’re candid and fearless. Never change. Now I finally understand how the events following your making have shaped your opinion about yourself and the world.”
I took a step back.
He sighed. “I guess I’m not going to win the Maker of the Year award, am I?”
“Do you know who you sold me to? What if he wants to grind me up and eat me for dinner?”
Houdini chortled. “No one is going to pay millions of dollars for a single meal. Maybe he’s just a lonely man in search of a friend. And if not—if he’s a nefarious villain who wants to hurt you—then I have no concerns. You’re a different woman than you were five years ago. Don’t you want to finish what you started? Consider it a form of therapy. I have no doubt you’ll devise an elaborate plan to escape after chopping him up in pieces. And in the end, you’ll be reminded of something you’ve forgotten.”
“Which is what?”
His footsteps drew closer. “That killing is what you do best. Flap your wings and cause some chaos, Butterfly. That’s your purpose, just as giving you immortality was mine.”
Chapter 18
Christian stared at the computer screen. After Wyatt had thrown in the towel and everyone left, Christian rolled his chair up to the desk and sent a private message to the seller.
Nothing came back.
He considered putting a bounty on the man’s head, but it wasn’t worth the risk. As long as this man had Raven, he had power. But if Raven didn’t come out of this alive, nothing would stop Christian from unleashing the darkest part of his soul. She was the link to his humanity.
Viktor entered the room and stood behind Christian’s chair. “There’s nothing more you can do here.”
“It might have been a ruse. You heard what Wyatt said. Sometimes they put up the auction twice to get double the money.”
“It’s been hours.”
Christian spun his chair around. “What do you suggest, Viktor? That I go to bed and stare at the ceiling? For feck’s sake, the woman was all but kicked out of Keystone and still searched every cemetery until she found me. The least I can do is return the favor. What worries me more is how easily you gave up.”
Viktor took a seat in the chair next to him and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “When I began this organization, my intention was to keep a distant relationship. I’m your leader, but I’m also responsible for your lives. I’ve had to make tough decisions in the past—decisions you will never understand. What we do is dangerous, and there is always a possibility we could lose someone. That’s one reason I assigned you partners—to encourage you to look out for each other and have an ally.” His lower lip trembled, and he pinched it thoughtfully. “Raven is a strong, intelligent woman. If we can’t find her, she’ll find her own way out.”
“If I have to take apart this city—”
“Nyet.” Viktor lowered his arm. “We will do everything in our power to find her, but Keystone comes first. We’ll make decisions together on how to handle Raven’s case. This man has a vendetta against you, and if he knows about you, then he knows about us. There are other lives at stake. We need you, but not if you’re making decisions without us. Don’t force my hand, Christian.”
Christian launched out of the chair and crossed the room. He stared at the colorful pillows against the black sofa, remembering the rules. Anyone who left Keystone would have their memory scrubbed. That was part of the deal, and that would include erasing his memories of Raven. The only memory he’d have left of her was one from his distant past—a little girl trapped in a fire. Leaving the team meant giving up the search, so he had no choice but to stay and fight.
“Christian, we’ll do everything we can, and you know that.”
“I also know that you’ll eventually stop searching.” He refrained from giving away too much. “She’s my partner, Viktor. You, in your great wisdom, paired us up. And now I feel responsible for making sure that she isn’t lying in a shallow grave.” Christian slowly turned and put his hands in his pockets so he could rub his thumb around his onyx ring without Viktor noticing.
When Viktor looked down, a lock of hair sprang in front of his forehead. “There is a chance she won’t come back. Sooner or later, you’ll have to accept it. We are both old, and we know that even immortals can die. So much evil—so many ancients who would rather go back to their savage ways. Did you know there’s a faction of immortals in Europe who hunt down ancients for sport? They believe the old ones threaten their new way of life. Others are jealous of their knowledge and power. We have the potential to do so much, but with power comes great responsibility. And for many, that power has… What is the word?”
“Corrupted?”
Viktor murmured something in Russian and then groaned when he flipped back to English. “That is close enough. I need to sleep. We’ll talk about this in the morning and come up with a plan.”
Christian had long forgotten what it was like to feel truly sleepy—for his mind and body to be so deprived that he could blissfully close his eyes and forget all his troubles for eight hours.