There was another gray horse ahead outside of Carmen’s up on the left.
“I assume that’s Roslyn.” I said. “Trever did say he would see us soon.”
“When?”
“I don’t remember him saying that.” Adele said.
“No. It was after. We were getting ready and Ruby needed help finding something.”
“Oh.” Adele looked right at Darius but he managed not to look back. “Let’s try to make this quick.”
“Yes, please.” He muttered.
We stopped in front of Carmen’s and got off our horses, tying them up on the posts and heading right inside to waste no time.
There were all kinds of people around and the noise level was quite high.
“Wow, so alive this early.” I said. “Kind of weird.”
“This place never sleeps. Everyone comes here because this is where my father lives on his days off. This way.”
She led us through all of the people to a room in the back and paused just after a couple of steps in. The General was sitting on one of the couches with Trever, Ryon and Kole sharing another.
“Father.”
“Good. You made it.” The General stood up and walked to a doorway on his right. “You three follow me and you three stay here. They will make sure you’re—comfortable.”
“No!” Adele snatched, pulling me close to her in some sort of attempt to save me but I felt perfectly safe.
“Adele—trust.” General Balwin said.
“It’s not you I don’t trust.”
She had every reason to think she couldn’t trust anyone here but I did. I’ve only been around Trever for a few minutes since we’ve been here but I felt I could trust him on some level. I didn’t know why. I couldn’t explain it but there was something about him and I showed confidence in it. “It’s okay. Go.”
“Zayden, don’t—”
“Don’t worry. Just go. It’ll only be a minute.”
Adele’s hand slid down from holding my arm and she slowly started to part from me, stepping towards the door. Her eyes never left mine until she had no choice but to turn away and Ruby and Jaylyn followed.
“I suppose I must thank you, Zayden.” General Balwin said as he stayed behind. “She can sometimes be unsettling as I hope you can forgive me for making her that way.”
“There’s nothing to forgive.”
The General nodded but didn’t let his gaze last long and his eyes moved over to the other couch while he spoke. “I’ll keep them distracted as long as I can.”
He turned away, following the girls and there was definitely something going on here. That was a very scheming look he shared with Trever and I was ready to know what it was. I thought I could trust him but I guess I had doubts.
It was quiet. Breaths couldn’t even be heard and Trever seemed to wait until the General was completely out of sight before speaking. “Well, gentlemen, there seems to be a little problem.”
“Problem?” I’ve heard this before. We fully turned to them and I reached to my side while Troy put his hand on his sword next to me.
Ryon sighed to the assumption that this would turn into a fight. “Not that kind of problem. Pull that out and the problem will be your own.”
Trever sighed and hit him in the arm. “You said you’d be on your best behavior.”
“I am!”
Kole laughed. “You are aware that even his best still isn’t very good.”
“Yes, thank you.” Trever sighed again, turning his attention once more to us still on our feet. “Please, you’re our guests. Have a seat.”
Troy and I lowered our hands from our weapons and we all sat down on the adjacent couch with our eyes carefully on the lookout.
“You have a very unusual way of going about things.” I said.
“Yes, as I hope you can forgive me for the delay. This had to be done alone.”
“What’s the problem then?”
“Besides the fact they let you live?” Ryon said in a low disturbed voice.
“Enough!” Trever snatched.
Kole laughed again, trying to keep it to himself. I couldn’t even believe these three were friends. They were so different from each other then again, maybe they weren’t friends at all and this was just some kind of business arrangement.
“We seem to be in need of your help but there is also the issue of trust that has come up.” Trever went on. “We need to know that we can trust you before we go ahead and tell you what needs to be done.”
“Don’t hold your breath.” Ryon muttered. “And limit the use of the word we.”
“Only you can be the one to decide that you can trust us.” I said. “Who are we to tell you who to trust?”
“I need to hear you say it. What you’re about to hear is highly classified information that only four people know about and three of them happen to be sitting right here with you.”
“Their word isn’t good enough.” Ryon cut in. “You can’t trust a traitor.”
“Our options are limited on such short notice. We don’t really have a choice at this point.”
“Well, if you don’t have a choice, why would we have to say it?” It should have been a pretty obvious statement.
Ryon sighed that showed he was getting frustrated and stood up. “How about we forget it? Can’t send a bunch of kids to do a man’s job. I’m going.”
“I agree.” Kole replied as he stood up too. “I really want one of those drinks with the little floating thing in it. You can only find them there. It’s heartbreaking. Who decided that? We should kill him.”
“You want to go because of a drink?” Ryon seemed confused by his reason. “Are you insane?”
“You both are.” Trever said, pulling them back next to him. “And you’re not going. We have something else to do.”
“We do?” Ryon asked.
“Yes.”
“That could be rescheduled so we could go.”
“No. They’re going so they’ll do it.”
Curiosity finally struck me about something said. “What exactly will we be doing?”
“It’s about this mission. Let them worry about the test the General has given them and you just worry about keeping them alive.” It seemed odd to me. That was what we needed to do? “This will be one of those missions where they’ll require undercover aid for that reason.”
I looked at Darius and Troy and they seemed just as disturbed about this news as me.
“But they’re the Kalu Assassins.” Troy said. “They wouldn’t need aid.”
Laughter filled the room but I didn’t think his statement was funny. It was the truth. Wasn’t it?
“So you’d think.” Kole replied. “But we know those girls better than you. One slightest distraction would compromise any mission.”
“They don’t know about this, do they?” Troy asked.
Trever laughed. “No, but it was done in their best interest, I assure you. It’s one of the reasons they’re still alive today.”
“So, that’s it?” I asked.
“Well, before we allow you to leave with them, there is something particular you should know about your destination. They’re going after someone named Chan Doe at the pier. This is a very uneasy town as is why the requirement for aid. Never let them go anywhere alone. They are fully capable of handling it themselves if they are together but never let them go anywhere alone.”
Kole laughed while pulling his glass away from his lips. “Unless you want them falling victim to your initial plan of them.”
My eyes narrowed to the thought that they knew everything that happened during our meet because someone was watching. “Of course not.”
“Then just watch them.” Trever said. “Women are only seen as objects in that town.”
I already knew we wouldn’t allow rape to become an issue on this trip. I would never have Adele fall close to the risk again and we nodded, complying with the terms of the kind of aid that was requested of us.
“Good.
Now remember not to say a word to them about this conversation and if anything happens to any one of them, physical or emotional, the outcome of this test will not matter and we’ll happily be your personal escorts back to Seni or be just as happy to deal with it ourselves, understand?”
“I don’t think you have to worry about that.” I smiled, glancing briefly to my sides. “They’re bringing us along for a whole other reason.”
Ryon laughed under his breath. “Yeah. To protect you from us.”
Kole laughed too and Trever tried to hold back his but a quiet laugh came out and he sucked it back in quickly by clearing his throat. “Yes, well, have a safe trip, would you? It’s going to be a long ride and you’ll need to save all of that strength.”
“Well, gentlemen, I hope you’re done.”
The General walked out before anything else could have been said and Trever answered like nothing was wrong. “Just finished, General.”
“Good. Join me for a moment, would you?”
“Of course.” Trever, Ryon and Kole got up and started to follow him into the back.
I watched Adele’s eyes lift while Ryon passed her but he didn’t even look.
“We need to talk.” Jaylyn had stopped Kole from continuing after them and they just stood in front of each other, eyes locked.
Kole’s eyes shifted back when he heard us rise to our feet. “Not with an audience.”
Jaylyn took his arm before he could turn away and jerked him back to her. “Nice try.”
“I already know Ellie went to see you this morning about her birthday, okay, Jay? It’s just too bad you won’t be there.”
“Not that I don’t want to be.”
“Who said I was disappointed? I always knew you’d cast her aside like you eventually do with everything.”
Jaylyn’s mouth dropped. “That’s not what I did!”
“Please. It’s only a matter of time anyway so think of this as just making your separation easier.”
Adele and Ruby both gasped lightly at the same time, drawing Jaylyn and Kole’s attention to them.
“Sorry.” Ruby smiled. “We’re not in this conversation.”
“Yeah, you’re not.” Kole said with his eyes directed towards Ruby then moved them back to Jaylyn. “We’re done.”
He turned away to head down the hall, ending the conversation but Jaylyn didn’t seem ready. She followed after him and her worry reflected off her voice. “Kole, you can’t be serious!”
He stopped in his tracks and turned back to Jaylyn with a small level of his anger showing. “You really want to talk about this now?”
“Yes. I really do.”
Kole looked back at us to see Troy’s continuous stare and took Jaylyn’s wrist. “Fine.”
They only walked a couple more feet away and turned to each other, standing close together while they talked but I became confused. Their mouths were moving but we couldn’t hear them, not even me. “What’s going on?”
“It’s Kole.” Adele said. “He’s blocking us so we really can’t be a part of the conversation.”
“What are they talking about?”
“Ah, let’s see.” Ruby turned herself fully to them and played out what they were saying based on their body language, attitudes and subject of their discussion. “She’s begging him not to have Ellie cut from her life and he is completely against it, bringing up the mother thing and saying something about how it’s all Jaylyn’s fault and she’s only seconds away from crying.”
Jaylyn’s jaw clenched to hold back something and Kole’s last words were heard. “Have a nice trip.” He turned from her and walked away to join the others in the back.
Jaylyn huffed without saying a word and walked out passed us without making eye contact.
“See?” Ruby smiled. “I knew it.”
“Well, that was wonderful.” Adele said. “We should go.”
We followed her outside.
“Where’d she go?” Troy asked.
We looked for her but Jaylyn and her horse were gone.
“Waiting outside the gate probably.” Ruby said.
“What happened back there?” I asked while we started to head back down the street. “Did Jaylyn kill that girl’s mother or something?”
Ruby looked over at Adele like she thought maybe she should answer. “We shouldn’t talk about it but if you really want to know, you’ll have to get her to tell you.”
Would she? That was my biggest concern.
Chapter 27
Troy
Things were becoming more difficult. Why didn’t she tell me? Jaylyn clearly has some tie to him though she often expresses her hate. There’s a child; a child that looks almost identical to her but smaller. I wanted to believe that she wasn’t hers but it was hard to deny when I saw them together and now, she’s upset again. Something Kole had said to her upset her and I wanted to find out why. I wanted to find out everything.
The ride was quiet. Adele led the way with Zayden next to her. I rode behind them with Ruby and Darius to my left but my eyes were forward, unfocused on anything. I only had one destination in mind and didn’t care about anything going on around me.
Jaylyn was waiting for us outside the gates like Ruby had said and we started off slowly without a word. The silence between us was more obvious now but still, no one wanted to say anything to her. I knew it was going to have to be me. I moved my horse closer, her stare was straight ahead of her like she was riding alone and I was encouraged by others to get her to talk.
“You all right?”
It was a simple question and the only one I could think of that didn’t sound too obvious in what I really wanted to know.
“Fine.” She snatched, jumping a little too quickly into conversation like she’s been waiting for someone to bring it up.
“Will you tell us?”
Jaylyn paused and looked around. Everyone had their eyes on her. She appeared hesitant to say anything as a reply but did while looking straight ahead of her again. “You really want to know what a horrible person I am?”
“Why not?” Darius smiled. “Maybe it’ll make us feel better about the things we’ve done.”
I didn’t want it to be brought up like some kind of joke but Jaylyn took it rather well. She let out a slight laugh from her closed lips but kept her eyes forward. “Yeah, I’m sure it would but I was kind of hoping for a different answer.”
“Look, you don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to.” Zayden said. “We just saw how upset it made you and didn’t know why.”
“No. It’s all right. I don’t mind telling you.”
“Are you sure?” I asked. I didn’t want her to be pressured. I didn’t want to make her think that she had to.
“Yeah, as long as you really want to hear it and you can stop me if at any point it becomes too uncomfortable for you.”
“It won’t.”
She took a deep breath and began the telling of her story. I wasn’t going to interrupt. I wanted to hear it all. “All right, well, it starts several years ago when Kole met and obviously slept with Ellie’s real mother. Her name was Leah. Blonde, beautiful but not better than me just so you know.”
I laughed quietly from her remark. How could that have been true? No one was more beautiful than her.
“Anyway, I didn’t like her. That shouldn’t really be so shocking because it’s always been hard for the three of us to like other women. We’re different, not like them. We couldn’t relate as well as we do with each other but I didn’t make an openly big deal about how much I didn’t like her. We’re usually good at keeping that stuff hidden but my behavior started to change when I found out she was pregnant. It quite literally set me off when I heard about it because I knew that she didn’t deserve it. It wasn’t because it was Kole’s or even the fact that they were together. I just knew she didn’t deserve it.
“The nine months went by fairly quickly because back then we were only home for maybe a week at a time in between missions
and every time we came back I noticed the changes. She was using her frailty from the pregnancy to get things out of Kole because he has a ton of money to throw around and she was one of those girls. That just made me sick but when I was around her, I was supportive and polite until that night I got her alone.”
She stopped and took a breath. I thought maybe it was becoming too much for her and let her know she could stop at any time. “Are you all right? You know you don’t have to.”
“I’m fine. I was just getting a little ahead of myself. That night, we were completely secluded from anyone else that might have heard the yelling. That’s when I told her what I really thought and what I knew she was doing. She admitted to hating me just as much and agreed that she was using him, that she wouldn’t stick around after the baby was born. Just knowing that those words came from her lips, I snapped.
“Looking back on it, I can’t even believe that was me. I broke her pathetic little neck without wavering my decision at all and she fell dead. It was so quick, she probably didn’t even feel a thing. My hands were tense at my sides without regret and then I saw the movement from her stomach. The baby kicked. It was still alive. I didn’t even hesitate for a second knowing that the baby would have died with its mother dead so I cut her open and pulled Ellie from her womb.
“There was blood everywhere. Someone was bound to notice soon so I just cut her free from her and took her with me, leaving Leah where she fell. I secretly brought Ellie back to the manor that night and Adele and Ruby didn’t find out what I did until the next morning when they heard Ellie in my room.
“For the better part of a day, they were convinced that I did it because I’d wished that she was mine and maybe that was true on some subconscious level but in reality, I did it to save her from the horrible mother she would have had. Leah wouldn’t have loved her. She was cruel and selfish. It wasn’t until about a week later after I already fell in love with her and named her that they started to believe me and got me to agree to tell Kole about her. I haven’t seen him all that week but by then he knew about Leah’s murder and the disappearance of the baby. He went through a lot because of me and I dreaded every step I took closer to get to him because I knew how things would go.
Endless Night (Fate's Intent Book 3) Page 12