Swallow (Kindred Book 2)

by Scarlett Finn

  “You like to watch, don’t you?”

  Caine had first introduced himself to her while watching Raven and his progress in stopping Grant from first selling the Game Time device. Then he’d come into her life again through Grant after watching her at Purdy’s during the assault. Brodie was locked in his seclusion then, and Caine had deduced her importance to the younger McCormack. Without his usual subject available to stalk, it seemed he’d promoted her to pole position.

  “I’m pretty damn good at it.”

  “Everyone has their strengths,” she said. “Like Raven, he loves to watch a man suffer and he never forgets a debt.” If Caine hurt her, Brodie would be set on getting his revenge. After today his calendar would be clear for a while, especially if she was gone. How ironic would it be if she got herself killed after claiming Brodie would be safer staying here?

  Caine kept his aim on her. “I’m the king of holding a grudge and proud of it. Now come on, sweetheart, let’s pay lover-boy a visit.”

  “Fine, let me get my purse,” she said and managed two steps toward the bar, but he leaped forward.

  “I don’t fucking think so, get your ass over here now or I’ll put a bullet in your pussy and watch you bleed slow.” She stopped. “There’s more than one way to kill a guy. How you think he’d like fucking the mangled mess I’ll leave him with?”

  Caine had been a nuisance and she hated him because he dogged Raven, constantly nipping at his heels, dragging him down, distracting him from business. But she had never heard Caine be so evil or make such threats, certainly not about her. Art had said Caine would only put a bullet in her if Brodie was there to watch, now she wasn’t so sure about that. He could put a bullet in her then drag her bleeding body through the streets and dump her in her agony at Brodie’s feet.

  Caine wouldn’t last long after that, but she wasn’t certain enough of the guy’s sanity to test his resolve. “Ok,” she said, trying to stay cool in an attempt to keep Caine calm. “Let’s go.”

  Leaving the bar, Caine walked behind her and she considered her options. Except there weren’t many. The street was wide and clear, if she tried to run, he would get a shot off before she could get to the other side of the road or to safety. This was also a remote part of town and this was the road out of it. No one lived out here, there weren’t even any cars she could try to flag down.

  The walk didn’t take long, and when they turned into Sutcliffe’s estate, she expected to see activity. But there was none. She didn’t see a soul or hear anything but nature. Whatever was going down, it had to be happening at the house.

  Engaging him in conversation might get her some answers. “You do know Raven is armed,” she said, but he poked the gun barrel into the back of her shoulder to keep her walking up the path toward Sutcliffe’s house.

  They were most of the way up the dirt road that led to the main house. She hadn’t expected it to be so quiet. The calm was eerie. Caine came closer to her back, but the gun stayed against her shoulder. Having a gun pointed at her wasn’t as scary as she thought it might be. It was scary, but logic kept her fear to a minimum.

  Caine didn’t want to kill her. He’d had the chance before. He could have put a bullet in her and left her at the bar for Brodie to find. For now, she was safe, but the chance she’d stay that way would fall dramatically when they got to the house. But Brodie was in there and confidence in her guy helped her maintain composure.

  Caine wasn’t much in the mood for talking after they left the bar, he hadn’t tried to engage in chitchat, and during their previous encounters he’d always enjoyed the sound of his own smugness. Either he was worried or he was anticipating the need to focus.

  Getting him to talk might help to distort his thinking. If she could distract him from planning or thinking about the next step, she might put the Kindred at an advantage. “Surprising the Kindred isn’t smart, especially when the first thing they’ll see is you pointing a gun at one of their own. Does Grant know about this stunt?”

  “We don’t know each other well, Swallow,” he said. “I love the alias by the way."

  And she wasn’t going to spend time quizzing him on how he’d figured it out because that was probably what he wanted. His life was dedicated to stalking Raven and had been for years. If Caine hadn’t figured out a way to get new information she’d be unimpressed. “Your point?”

  “This kinda shit isn’t my style. I’m way more subtle.”

  Subtle like he had been when he descended on her in Purdy’s to threaten Raven. Yeah, subtle, she almost laughed. A further truth struck her, if this wasn’t his move and he was working for Grant…

  “Grant wants me here?” In danger’s way or as a pawn to manipulate Brodie. “Why?”

  “Thought he had it all worked out with the double cross. About now he’s hearing from your lover-boy that it didn’t go as he thought.”

  Grant had figured out that she and Brodie were still in cahoots and Brodie would take pleasure in filling in the blanks for his brother. “Where do you feature?” she asked. “Or are you just playing lap dog?”

  “When he figured out the bunker was empty, then people started dying, and he found the compound in mayhem. Grant suspected your man.”

  As he always did. When anything went wrong in Grant’s life, he always blamed his younger sibling.

  “He told me to find Raven,” Caine said. “Imagine his surprise when I told him Raven was with you in a dive bar plotting with the men who’d attacked the farm and probably emptied the bunker. Kudos on that by the way.”

  “All Raven.”

  “I figured.”

  The time for conversation passed and neither said another word because the house had just come into view. Although there were lights on, she saw no one outside and no movement behind the curtains. Instead of going through the grand front door, Caine poked and prodded her with the gun to take her around to the back, which led straight into the kitchen where those present were no doubt congregating.

  “Up the steps, move!”

  Zara didn’t like how Caine hung back as she clutched the exterior bannister and hauled herself up. She still couldn’t hear anything coming from inside, so she had no idea what she was about to stumble into and scaring whoever was in Sutcliffe’s kitchen could be her final act.

  Those inside were already edgy because of everything that had happened in recent hours and she suspected that self-preservation was what kept Caine in a rear position. If anyone was twitchy and the back door suddenly opened they may act on impulse rather than rationale.

  Leaning as far to the side as she could, she turned the handle then splayed her fingers on the wood to give the door a shove. It swung open and male voices began to shout, but no one took a shot.

  “Go,” Caine said, at her back again with the gun barrel pressed into her waist.

  Drawing her lips into her mouth, she straightened her back and took a breath in through her nose before she stepped over the threshold, pushing the door fully open as she did. The scene inside immediately made her tense. Grant stood to the right, in front of the wall covered with papers, with Benedict just behind him.

  There were men beyond them in the lower part of the L-shaped room, significantly, none of them were standing, all she could see were bodies on the floor. Grant sneered at her, but she didn’t examine him for long, she looked right to where Brodie was standing with Tuck at his side to her left. Rigor was near the door that led to the long hallway, which would take them to the front door, but he was crouched next to a bleeding man, the one she remembered from the bar.

  The long table that had once been central, was on its side, shoved against the counters. All of these facts were alarming by themselves. But before she looked into anyone’s eyes, she fixated on the large, scary gun in Grant’s hand.

  “What are you doing?” she whispered.

  “What does it look like, Swallow?” Grant spat out. Caine shoved her and when she stumbled, Brodie lunged forward to try to catch her, but a gun
shot made him freeze and her scream, as she fell to the floor. “Don’t you dare touch her!”

  Pushing onto her hands, she took stock and her heart began to pump again when she saw Brodie was still on his feet. There were holes in the walls, so she guessed the wide shot was a warning.

  “She doesn’t need to fucking be here,” Brodie said through gritted teeth. Despite their eyes being locked, there was no softness. All she read was blind anger.

  “Doesn’t she?” Grant asked. She turned to see him waving the gun around, definitely pleased that he held court. “I think she does, given that she’s the reason we’re all fucking here!”

  His volume grew with every word. “You can’t be that angry,” she said.

  “Lies! Lies! Lies!” Grant exclaimed and stormed over to crouch beside her, pointing the gun into her face. “I gave you everything, Zara Bandini, and you threw it all away to take up with my murdering brother. What is it he has? Huh? Did he give you your dream career? A salary that let you live in luxury? Did he?”

  He was unhinged and she didn’t dare move in case she angered him further. “I appreciate everything you did, Grant, but—“

  “No!” he said and pressed the gun barrel into her shoulder. Brodie’s heavy footstep came toward her, but Grant surged back to his feet to point the gun at Brodie again. “You’re not going to play the hero, brother! You’re the villain.”

  “Is this about revenge?” she asked. “You want to hurt us so bad that—“

  “You are insignificant,” Grant barked. “Get up!”

  Doing as she was told, she slowly got her feet beneath her and began to rise to full height. “If you don’t care about—“

  “I’m tired of your lies! And you need to be taught a lesson,” Grant said. “You lied to me about your association with this Neanderthal, you betrayed me just to get into his bed. You hid your connection to him, hid your love.” Being a CEO, his ego was healthy and he was used to people sucking up to him. He was also used to being on the inside, making the decisions, and it was obvious he couldn’t handle that power being taken away from him. “Get over there beside him!”

  Grant’s fury fogged his intention, but she didn’t trust his stability. Neither did Brodie. Because as soon as she reached his side, he twisted his body to put her behind him. She didn’t fight or shun his protection. She just wished that she could offer him the same security. Staying a few feet behind him, she edged out enough that she could see Grant glaring at them with disgust.

  Brodie had figured it out, that Grant could never have accepted her back into his life after she chose her love over her boss. This had been a ruse from the beginning, only this time, she was the victim of the subterfuge. “You directed them to me,” she said, realizing what had happened at Purdy’s during the assault. “You were with me and you signaled them, didn’t you? They didn’t pull me up because of my phone. You told them I’d be there with you and that I should be singled out. Why did you do that?”

  “To draw him out,” Grant said, pointing at Brodie. “Because of Art, he’d gone too deep for us to reach. I wanted him out in the open. After the murders of my people, Sutcliffe called me, told me I could make it right. He wanted Game Time and he wanted Raven, which suited me. I wanted both of you punished.”

  “So you set it up to look like I’d screwed Raven over to break us up? That was your master plan?” She struggled to see the committed and harmless man she’d worked with for five years. Losing his guardian, Frank, had taken its toll on him. But her betrayal, her affiliation with Brodie, somehow that screwed him up more.

  “The plan was to kill him, but Sutcliffe was okay with punishing you both first. It was your sordid affair that caused us to lose Game Time.”

  Brodie had killed the cult leader and spared his brother. Her love didn’t hesitate to do the job while others were dicking around having their own fun. “Neither of you banked on him pulling the trigger first,” she said.

  Grant wasn’t defeated. “Ultimately did me a favor,” he said. “I wanted him and Sutcliffe dead, so I could take over here.”

  “Why?” she asked. “How could you hate your own brother so much? He was protecting people.”

  “Because he took what didn’t belong to him!” Grant exclaimed with an ire that made his eyes water. “Just like he always does. He’s so entitled, he storms in and steals whatever the hell he wants, and doesn’t give a damn about the damage he causes.”

  Rigor was seated on the floor on the other side of Tuck, but the man with him was lifeless. Tuck and Brodie blocked her from harm, and didn’t appear to be effected by Grant’s words, but Zara was dumbfounded. She had never seen Grant so emotional. She had no idea he cared so much about Game Time.

  Brodie revealed that Grant’s emotion wasn’t connected to the device. Her protecting wall of a man inhaled. “You wanted her,” he sneered. “We always knew it.”

  “I had her! She was mine,” Grant insisted.

  Zara wasn’t a toy in the sandbox that they were fighting over. She was a person. She and Grant had never been romantically involved, not even close. But she had been his employee for half a decade. He’d confided in her, trusted her with everything professional. She had a relationship with Frank Mitchell before he died too. She had been part of the CI machine, an intrinsic part. Being Grant’s executive assistant had given her power in the firm and she’d enjoyed wielding it, she liked being valued by him and being indispensable. Then Brodie had come along and shot it all to pieces.

  She didn’t blame Brodie. He had been trying to save lives, just like Art was, and they’d convinced her of that so thoroughly that she hadn’t considered backing Grant’s side. Now she could see how that devastating betrayal affected him more than she ever could have projected it would.

  Brodie, Art, and her were a unit working against him and that had only pushed him closer to Sutcliffe. Whatever the cult’s ideology, Zara had a feeling it didn’t matter. Grant was broken. He wanted to lash out and punish those who had humiliated him. This wasn’t about getting revenge for Sutcliffe. This was about Grant getting his revenge.

  Grant had set this up from the start and somehow convinced Sutcliffe to go along with it. There was no need to have such an elaborate plot for Sutcliffe to get revenge on her or to acquire Game Time. Grant wanted to turn her and Brodie against each other. He wanted to see her ousted by the man she’d fallen in love with after Grant convinced his brother that she was a double agent. Grant hadn’t considered the fact that Brodie returned that love, or that he would trust her, despite his brother’s assertions.

  Grant had once told her of how Brodie was incapable of love, how he used people and cast them aside. Grant had believed his own words and concluded that it would be easy to eviscerate her and Brodie’s relationship.

  As the puzzle came together, words slipped out of her. “You didn’t think he could love me,” she whispered and with one step, she began the journey toward her lover’s side. “You thought he’d cast me out. Maybe you thought he’d kill me. You didn’t for one second consider that he and I might talk to each other. That he might give me the benefit of the doubt… You didn’t think he could love me.”

  “He can’t,” Grant spat, and his expression grew more hateful. “When he’s finished with you, he’ll turn his back on you.”

  Sliding a hand up Brodie’s back, she received no acknowledgement from her love, but she didn’t need one. “He’s never turned his back on anyone. His loyalty is absolute. You said it yourself, when you tried to badmouth his father, he defended the man. You’ve turned your back on everyone. You chose not to honor your mother’s wishes, you chose Frank when she wanted you with Art. You disrespected Art by belittling and ignoring the lessons he could’ve taught you.

  “When your younger brother didn’t bow and capitulate, you chose to ridicule and ostracize him. You know that Frank wouldn’t agree with the path you’ve chosen since his death, so you don’t even honor his memory… Then there’s me.” Exhaling, she inched cl
oser against Brodie until his body supported her weight, but she kept her eyes on Grant, resting her cheek on Brodie’s upper arm.

  “What about you?” Grant asked.

  “I disagreed with you. I had the audacity to tell you that what you were doing was wrong. You ignored me. Tried to cajole me. And carried on anyway, even when I said no to you. It’s funny, now that I think about it… I love Raven because… he’s the exact opposite of everything you are. I used to admire you. But beyond the fancy suit and the shiny car, you’re more broken than all of us. You just refuse to admit it. You’re broken, Grant, and you’ve shunned anyone who might have the inclination to help you.”

  “She did the right thing joining us,” Brodie said. “You were gonna hurt innocent people, Saint.”

  “You shut up!” Grant screamed and his arm sagged an inch while he frowned at his brother. “You took everything from me, took Zara, made her lie to me, you took Art, and today, you took Sutcliffe and everything he built.”

  Finding the bunker empty must have been another knock to his presumptive ego. He thought he was winning, going higher, then Brodie and his crew proved to be one step ahead. “We can talk about this,” she said, stepping away from Brodie and lifting her hands to try to calm Grant. “Please, you don’t have to—”

  His anger strengthened his gun arm. “I won’t be made a fool of again,” Grant said, and regained some composure. “But I am reasonable.”

  She didn’t trust the humor in his voice and glanced at Brodie, but he was watching his brother. “Reasonable?” she asked, willing to do almost anything at this point.

  “I will allow one of you to live and I’ll let you decide which.”

  That didn’t leave much room for negotiation and the burn of tears made it harder for her to breathe. Standing here, so close to the man she loved, caught in the web created by her boss, a man she’d once trusted, made her chest constrict. If he expected to cause more conflict between them and have them turn on each other, he wouldn’t be satisfied.