by Lyndsay Ely
A poor end…
She shook the thought away. There was nothing she could do for her mother, and if they didn’t move soon, it would be the same for Max and Casimir.
Agonizing minutes passed before Siena returned. “It’s been my experience,” she said, climbing back into her seat, “that folks who have fallen afoul of Selene’s Tin Men aren’t typically in a rush to return to Casimir. You want to tell me exactly what’s going on?”
With Santino’s betrayal as fresh as a new wound, Pity’s tongue twisted with the urge to stay silent. There was no one in Casimir she could trust now—only herself and Max. “No.”
“Okay, let me try that another way. Where’s your boyfriend? The real one, not the one you’ve been pretending with.”
Though she thought her surprise spent, Pity felt the breath go out of her again. “How—” She shook her head. “Take me back to Casimir. Now.”
“You’re in no position to make demands. Where is he?”
“Nowhere you can get to him.”
The bounty hunter chuckled. “You might be surprised. I’m not going to ask again. That young man is a very large payday, and even Joanna Jones’s daughter won’t be keeping me from it.”
“Too late,” Pity snapped. “He’s already been sold away. Or at least he was until Selene took him captive.”
“Shit.” The amusement fled from Siena’s face. “So Selene found out Sheridan was planning to snatch a treasure out from beneath her nose?”
“You know about Sheridan?”
“Of course,” said Siena. “He hired me to help get the boy safely back to his parents.”
“You’re helping him?” Pity fought the stiffness in her limbs, pushing herself up with the power of rage. “Betraying Olivia and everyone in Casimir for money? Don’t you care about what’s going to happen to them?”
Siena blinked at her. “What are you talking about? Sheridan’s paying me for control and transport—that’s it.”
Pity deflated at the honest confusion in Siena’s face. She fell back in her seat, exhausted. You were ready to betray them all, too, she reminded herself. Maybe her reason was better than greed, but that wouldn’t matter to the folks caught in the crossfire.
“He contacted me while I was after Daneko,” Siena continued. “Said to let him know when I was headed back to Cessation, that he had a sensitive retrieval job for me there. Didn’t much care to tread on Selene’s toes, but the price was right. I was supposed to keep an eye on the boy and be ready to move when Sheridan was.” She paused. “Suddenly that doesn’t sound like the wisest deal I’ve ever made. How sideways is this, kid?”
“Very.” Pity closed her eyes. Siena Bond, another one of Sheridan’s pawns. Drawing the lines was getting easier: while Daneko and Casimir’s traitors solidified their control of Cessation, Sheridan and Siena would finish the trade with Drakos-Pryce. “Those Tin Men weren’t Selene’s, not anymore. I was trying to warn her when they got me.”
She let the story spill out of her, revealing the truth behind the botched assassination and Sheridan’s new plans, and praying that Siena would see the urgency of the situation. She was a part of Casimir, too, in her own way.
When Pity was done, Siena reached behind the seat and brought out a bottle of bourbon. She took a long swallow, then offered it over. “Want a draw?”
Pity shook her head. “Were you listening to what I just said?”
“I heard you.” Siena took another sip. “I never thought I’d be around to see the day when Selene’s ship sinks, but it sounds like she’s got some rats on board, all right. Big ones, too.”
“But we can stop everything if we go back now!” Beyond the windshield, the horizon was a steadily growing blaze.
“Oh, I’m going back,” said Siena. “But what happens to Casimir isn’t my concern. I’ve got a job to finish. Your boyfriend is still worth a lot of currency. Though I think I won’t be splitting it with Sheridan anymore. I’m not partial to being used like that.”
Pity gritted her teeth. “To hell with you, then!”
Siena’s lips thinned sourly. “Well, you got your mother’s mouth, that’s for sure. Look, if you want to play the hero and try to save Selene, that’s fine by me. But I’m collecting my bounty one way or another. From what you’re saying, I need to get Max out of Casimir quick. You can go along with that or not.”
Frustration gripped Pity with more force than the fading paralytic had. This doesn’t change anything. You were going to get Max away from Sheridan; you’ll find a way to get him away from Siena, too. But doubt rose in her like the growing dawn. “You’ll never get him out in time, not now.”
“Oh, I think I might.” Siena lit another cigarette, exhaling a milky cloud that glowed with the dawn. “But I don’t think you’re gonna be keen on how.”
CHAPTER 39
Pity’s strength returned, as Siena had promised.
Not that it mattered, she mused, feeling the tension of her restraints with every bump and shimmy of the vehicle. She was bound, wrist and ankle, and a thick strip of cotton was lashed across her mouth so she couldn’t cry out. Her guns were gone, in Siena’s possession now. And the arsenal a few feet away might have been across the world; a chain around one foot kept her tethered to the cot.
It’s all come apart at the seams.
A day ago she was trading kisses and promises of later with Max. It felt as if a month had gone by since then, and every minute that passed was one less chance to stop the approaching danger. Was the Reformationist camp stirring yet, making preparations for their unwittingly insidious march later that morning? And what about Casimir? How many of her friends were awake?
How many would be dead before the sun went down?
She glared at the back of Siena’s head. The bounty hunter was whistling, a cheerful tune that got under Pity’s skin like a flensing knife. She would have told Siena to shut the hell up if she could. She would have said a lot of things to Siena Bond.
“MMMmmmmm!”
“Calm down. We’re almost there.”
Pity went slack and stared at the ceiling. Was Max doing the same, in whatever cell Selene had him in? Part of her anger belonged to him as well. Edwin Kyros… No, that wasn’t it. Whatever his name was, he’d failed to tell her the full truth. She was going to let him have a piece of her mind, too, when she got the chance.
If she got the chance.
Suddenly, the world dipped and the light in the vehicle changed. They stopped. Siena climbed in back, Pity’s gun belt slung over her shoulder. She carried a bit of black cloth in one hand.
“Sorry ’bout this, kid,” Siena said, and she pulled a hood over Pity’s head.
Darkness, again. The bounty hunter unlocked her chains and led her from the vehicle.
Pity inhaled and exhaled as slowly as she could, the air inside the hood humid as they crossed the garage, not to the elevator this time but to a door. Pity heard the hinges as the door swung open and then shut behind them.
“Mmmm-hmmm.”
“I know where to go,” said Siena. “Not too many places in Casimir I ain’t been.”
Pity worried the gag between her teeth. Her heart was a hammer in her chest. She counted her steps to try to stay calm. One, two, three… Just like her shots in the Theatre. Four, five, six… Her heartbeat began to slow. She told herself to think of Max and how each step brought her closer to him. Wherever they were going, it was deeper than the garage and Max’s room. Somewhere none of Casimir’s own would wander into, much less patrons.
Somewhere no screams would be heard.
They stopped. Pity heard a fist bang against a metal door.
“Open up,” called Siena.
A sliding sound was followed by another voice. “Ms. Bond? I’m sorry, I wasn’t told you were coming.”
“Let me in. I have a prisoner I need to lock up for a spell. Dangerous one.”
There was an air of hesitation. “This isn’t a good time—”
“Oh, are you
havin’ a tea party in there?” Siena banged on the door again. “You wanna call Beau on down and we can all lift a cup while you explain why I had to wait out here so damn long?”
“No, ma’am—”
“Then open the hell up.”
Pity began to think the guard would turn them away, but then she heard hinges squeal.
Siena jabbed her in the shoulder. “Welcome to the tombs. Now move!”
Inside, Pity’s blood began to pulse again. It was lucky she was gagged or else she would have started calling for Max then and there.
“Your prisoner doesn’t look very dangerous.”
Pity turned her head toward the sound. The guard was no more than a few feet away.
“Not now, but she’s not someone you’d want to meet with a gun in her hand.”
Siena ripped the hood off. Pity blinked at the light, her vision clearing in time to see the bewildered look on the guard’s face. Over his shoulder, the line of cells that made up the tombs ran down a dimly lit hall.
“But that’s—”
“Serendipity Jones, fastest shot in the west,” Siena said. “Or whatever nonsense it is that Halcyon likes to spew. Thing is, she ain’t so fast right now.”
The guard stared at Pity, perplexed. She gave him the best grin she could manage through the gag.
“But I am.” Siena thrust a shock stick into the guard’s gut. He doubled over and crumpled to the floor.
“Mmmmmm!” Pity struggled against her restraints.
“Hold on!” Siena checked the guard, then shoved the shock stick back into the satchel she carried. She pulled a knife from her belt. “Don’t move.”
Pity felt the cold touch of the blade against her cheek as it sliced the gag away. She spit. “I still don’t see why that was necessary.”
“I said you got Joanna’s mouth, didn’t I? Didn’t trust you to keep quiet and not blow it.”
Siena cut the ropes around her wrists. The moment she was free Pity bolted down the hall.
“Max?” she called. “Max!”
The first five cells were empty.
“Pity?” In the sixth, a pair of hands appeared on the bars.
“Max!” She laughed and wrapped her hands around his. There were dark circles under his eyes, which brimmed with confusion, but otherwise he appeared fine. The anger she felt about the piecemeal truth of his past evaporated. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“No, but…” His gaze darted over her. “What’s going on? No one would tell me anything or let me talk to Santino or Halcyon or—”
“It’s my fault!” She tightened her grip on him. “Sheridan was leaving and… Selene threatened…” Pity hesitated. “Sheridan betrayed her. She threatened to put you in a Finale if I didn’t go along and kill him.”
Max’s features twisted with disbelief. “Selene wouldn’t do that. She wouldn’t.”
“She would and she did,” Pity said. “But that’s not our biggest problem right now. Daneko wasn’t the one behind the assassination attempt, Sheridan was. And his forces are gonna storm Casimir and take it and… and… Santino is in on it, Max. Him and others, I don’t know who.”
Max jerked toward the bars, blood draining from his cheeks. “When?”
Pity felt a brief fluttering of pride that he didn’t question her at all. “Any time now. Siena—hurry up with the damn door!”
“That’s why you got the gag!” came the reply.
But a moment later the cell door clicked and slid open. Pity threw her arms around Max, burying her face in his neck before raising her mouth to his. The taste of him briefly washed away the fear, filling her with desperate warmth.
“Save it for later, Jones!”
They broke apart.
Siena stood outside the cell, dangling Pity’s gun belt in one hand. “I give these back, we gonna have a problem?”
“Not so long as we’re in Casimir. Beyond that, I can’t promise anything.”
Siena smirked but tossed her the weapons. “I’ll take my chances.”
“What did you say about my mother?” She strapped the belt on. “As good as anyone with twice her years?”
“Look, I don’t know if you realize this,” Max interjected, “but I’ve been locked in a cell for the past day. Invasion aside, what else did I miss?”
Pity opened her mouth and then closed it again, not knowing the right words. “Max…”
“Or is it Maximillian? Or Edwin? Or Khristos?” Siena said. “That’s a lot of names, even for a rich boy.”
Max wavered, his whole body seeming to go slack. Pity grabbed his arm to steady him as he stared at Siena, his face ashen.
“Sheridan made a deal with Drakos-Pryce,” Pity explained. “The presidency… for you.”
For a moment, Max looked like he was going to be sick. Then anger flashed across his features, there and gone like summer lightning.
“Decision time, Jones.” Siena put a hand on the sawed-off shotgun holstered at her hip. “You coming or not? We can’t linger here any longer, and I want to be gone before the bullets start flying upstairs.”
Max shivered once before finding his voice. “No. We can’t go.”
“I’m not in the habit of leaving that choice to my bounties,” said Siena.
Pity took his hand in hers. “I’m not gonna let her take you back there. I swear.”
Max raised her hand and placed it over his heart. “Yes, you are. I’m sorry, Pity, but sooner or later this was going to happen.”
“No!”
He ignored her and turned to Siena. “I’ll come with you, willingly, but only if we go to Selene first. No word about my parents. We warn her and Beau, and then we leave. Pity comes with us, and on the way we get her somewhere she’ll be safe. You got that, Pity?”
“I sure as hell do not!” She ripped her hand away. The look on his face splintered her hopes of escape into shards, which buried themselves in her heart. “So that’s it? You’re just gonna give in?”
“No,” said Siena. “He’s making the best play he can, given the circumstances. Fine. You’re still no one. I suppose I can make Selene understand that Pity was half out of her mind with love when she broke you out of here. Me? I was only going along with an old friend’s daughter to make sure she didn’t make a mess of things.”
“No!” cried Pity. “No, I do not agree to this!”
Siena ignored her. “But you stray one inch from my sight and the deal’s off. Understand?”
“No, he doesn’t!”
“Please, Pity.” Max kissed her again. “I’m sorry.”
“The hell you are!” She balled her fists, nails biting into her flesh. “The hell with both of you!”
Siena sniffed. “Before you really do lose your mind, maybe I should point out that my job ends the moment I deliver Mr. Pryce here back to his parents. After that, no reason you two lovebirds can’t be together, so long as you don’t mind being together back east.”
“No reason?” Pity surged out of the cell, fury emanating from her so thickly that even Siena Bond moved aside. “Then maybe you should ask Mr. Pryce what happened to his last girlfriend.”
They locked the guard in an empty cell and returned to the basement tunnels. Siena brought up the rear, keeping Max in her sights as he trailed Pity. Every time he got close to her, she quickened her step, refusing to look at him.
He touched her arm. “Pity, c’mon. Talk to me.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.” She stepped out of his reach. “We need to hurry.”
Max grimaced, matching his pace to hers. “I know you don’t understand, but I only want you to be safe.”
Pity stopped and shoved him away. “Safe? I was ready to do anything—anything—in order to keep you safe. And it doesn’t mean a damn thing because I’m gonna lose you anyway. That’s what I understand.”
Max’s eyes searched hers, too surprised to fight back.
“Not the time,” Siena warned.
“Time for what?”
/> They turned to the new voice. A few yards away, at an intersection of tunnels, stood Luster.
“Shit,” said Siena.
Pity stepped away from Max. “What are you doing down here?”
“I’ve been looking for you two!” She stalked over to them. “You never came back after Adora fetched you, and then Max disappeared, too, but neither of you were in your rooms last night!” She paused, looking nervously at the bounty hunter. “I got a bad feeling. I was checking Max’s again.”
Pity locked eyes with Siena.
“Rats on the ship,” said the bounty hunter, easing a hand into her satchel.
Pity’s pulse quickened. There was no way to know whom Sheridan had gotten to. No, not Luster. She wouldn’t believe it. Luster loved Casimir as much as anyone. She would never endanger it.
You would have said the same thing about Santino a few hours ago, she reminded herself.
The gun was out of her holster in a heartbeat. Luster shrieked as Pity threw her against the wall and pressed the barrel to her shoulder. “Whose side are you on?”
“What? Pity, why are you—”
“Whose… side… are you on?” The words boiled out. She moved the gun so that it was pointed at Luster’s temple.
“Stop!” Max lunged at them, but Siena held him back. “What are you—?”
“Quiet, Max.” This time Pity’s voice was deathly calm. Luster’s terrified face floated in her vision, tears streaking down her glittering cheeks. “Tell me whose side you’re on.”
Luster trembled. Her mouth opened to speak, but nothing came out. The silence dragged on until finally, a specter of a word escaped from between her lips: “Yours.”
Pity’s arm went limp. The gun fell to her side and she stepped back, anger smothered. A bone-deep desire to sit down right where she was blossomed, to close her eyes and pretend the last twenty-four hours had been a nightmare.
Luster raised a hand to her mouth but remained rooted in place, her eyes wide and wet.
“That doesn’t mean much,” said Siena.
“I know.” In that moment Pity didn’t think she could have raised her gun again if she tried. Luster was her friend. As foolish as it was after everything she had learned, it was a truth Pity refused to let go of. “But it means enough.”