“Why didn’t you just tell me? I thought we were on the same team.”
“We’re in this for different reasons, mate,” he says quietly. “There’s a lot of fucking money in that account.”
“And you want all of it.”
“You’re damn right I do. You and your girl are on a mission to save the world. I’m not going to sit here and lie to you like I care.”
“You think any of that would shock me?”
“No, but if you knew Jay was involved at all, you’d think the worst—the way you already are. I wasn’t going to let you make a target out of her instead of Simon and his cronies. I want that fucker Crow gone, but I came to Boston to keep you focused on Felix. I knew you were bloodthirsty for the Boswells and it was just a matter of time before you’d take the last of them out. I was just pointing you in the right direction.”
“Away from the money trail.”
He shrugs.
“And what about the antidote? You figured I’d jump right on that as soon as Simon was out of the picture?”
He licks his lips nervously, averting his eyes briefly.
I lift the gun and point it at him, my blood pumping angrily through my veins.
“I don’t know what’s in it, all right? Mush didn’t tell me anything. It’s a gamble. You knew that.”
“Doesn’t sound like my odds are very good if you’re banking on it taking me out of the equation.”
“I don’t fucking know!”
His eyes are round, his voice uneven, like he knows he’s running out of time. To lie. To tell the truth. To do whatever he needs to do to appease me. I grind my teeth. I should shoot him. Get it over with. If he’s not working with me, he’s against me. He’s getting in my way. They both are.
“Jay knows about the antidote too?”
A resigned kind of laugh leaves him. “You’re dumber than I thought.”
I tilt my head, the darkest corner of my brain whispering at me to press the trigger. “Sorry?”
He shakes his head, a miserable smile on his face. “She’d never let me kill you. Crow? Now that’s another story.”
“Right. She just wants to send me to the front lines to do all her dirty work so she can make off with Simon’s money. I’m really moved.”
“You were going for him anyway. What’s the difference?”
“I don’t like being lied to. That’s the difference. You think I care about the money?”
“Why wouldn’t you?” he says in a raised voice of exasperated disbelief.
He doesn’t know I haven’t gotten close to burning through the money I earned from Jay’s assignments. And he definitely doesn’t know about the Halo money that flooded Isabel’s account after I killed Martine.
“Let’s just say I’m comfortable.”
He rubs at his throat again, eyeing me warily. “Then finish the fucking job.”
Slowly, I lower the gun. “I plan to. And you’re going to help me.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Isabel
I zip up my backpack and take a last look around my room. Two months ago, I left my parents’ house not knowing when I’d be back. I have that same distant feeling again—like after tomorrow, things won’t ever be the same. My gaze lands on the old picture set atop my dresser. I walk over and pick up the heavy ceramic frame that’s held the memory of my sister and me for as long as I can remember. I turn it over, lift up the metal tabs holding the photo to the glass, and release it.
Our names are written on the back with the date in my mother’s script. She probably thought we’d have so many more photos like this together. What if Mariana had lived? I brush my thumb over her sweet three-year-old face, a mirror of mine beside her. I don’t know if I’ll ever be Isabel Foster again. She seems like a stranger now.
I’m still me, but I’m not. I’ll always have my memories, but maybe Tristan and I aren’t so different anymore. Life has carved a cruel line into our psyches, a bloody demarcation between our youthful innocence and the harrowing truth. The warmth of a dream and the harsh light of awakening.
Now we see more. We feel more. And somehow, with everything that’s been taken from us, together again, we are more.
Newly determined, I slide the photo into a side pocket of my bag and sling it over my shoulder before leaving my room. I’m quiet on the stairs, careful to avoid the creaks and moans I’ve memorized from a lifetime in this house. I already warned my parents, but no matter what happens tomorrow, if Tristan and I can get away, we should stay away. And I’m not letting him fight this war alone.
My father convinced Rivero to go to Miami to poke his nose into the new DEA investigation around Javier Medina and the port authority there. Hopefully Rivero will forget about Tristan enough for us to disappear and stop looking over our shoulders. If not, maybe my father won’t give him any choice once I’m gone.
I leave a note on the counter for my parents—just a goodbye for now—and unlock the front door. A taxi is idling at the curb, waiting to take me away from the place I’ll always call home.
Twenty minutes later, the driver pulls up in front of a narrow house. Makanga’s unforgettable car and a red BMW are parked in the driveway. I pay the driver and walk up the path to the front door. I knock and wait. Tristan probably won’t want me here, but that doesn’t slow my heartbeat when I think about seeing him again and spending one more night with him beside me.
After I knock, Makanga answers and opens the screen door with a squeak. He narrows his gaze as he looks past me and cranes his neck to glance around the yard.
“I’m alone,” I say, a little disappointed at the less-than-warm reception.
“Who brought you here?”
I huff out a sigh. “I called a taxi and remembered your address. Can I see Tristan?”
I hear footsteps behind him. Then Tristan comes into view as he nudges Makanga to the side.
“Isabel.” He takes my bag and ushers me inside, but his expression is no warmer than Makanga’s. “What are you doing here? I thought you were going to stay with your parents until I came for you?”
“I figured you could use some help.”
Makanga chuckles before walking over to his chair.
“I don’t need help,” Tristan says. “I need to know you’re safe so I can concentrate.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “How are you getting into the building tomorrow?”
“The way most people get into the building. Through the visitor center. I can get where I need to from there. Does your father know you’re here?”
“No, but he got you this.” I pull the staff pass he arranged out of my bag and hand it to Tristan.
He stares down at it, then up at me. For a split second, I worry I’ve gone too far. Of all the times I’ve pushed myself into his plans, maybe this was the time to step aside and let him do things his way. I cross my arms tightly again, a small defense against the hard look he’s pinned on me.
“What did you tell Morgan?”
I suck in a breath that’s less than steady. “That you were meeting with Simon.”
“At the Capitol building.”
“Yes. Obviously.”
The muscles in his jaw flex. “Isabel, why the hell did you do that? I have this under control.”
My apprehension slips, quickly replaced with frustration that we’re fighting this battle all over again. “Like hell you do. Walk in the front door, kill Simon, and walk out? That’s your strategy?”
When he doesn’t say anything, I step around him, taking my bag from him as I move. I settle on the couch and pull out a few visitor-guide brochures, unfolding one on the table in front of me.
“With a staff pass, you can enter through the entrance on the north side. Keegan’s office should be close. This way you won’t risk anyone seeing you trying to sneak someplace you aren’t supposed to be.”
He comes closer, hovering above me. “You’re worried I won’t be able to make my way to his office? That’s what this is about?”
I glare up at him. “I’m worried about you underestimating everything because you want this too much. We’re talking about the Capitol building, Tristan.”
“Which thousands of tourists flow through every damn day. I made it out of an international airport in less than five minutes. You think I can’t get where I need to go in there?”
“You also had security immediately looking for you, which isn’t something we want. Will you stop being so pigheaded and just let me help?”
He doesn’t answer me, which is almost promising. It’s not a yes, but it’s not a no.
Makanga is wearing a smirk as he leans over to look at the map on the brochure. “Seems like a more direct approach. Is the pass legit?”
“My father assures me it is. He doesn’t know I’m going to be there yet, but when he realizes I’m not home in the morning, he’ll figure it out. He’s not going to do anything to jeopardize this. I promise you.”
Tristan’s eyes grow wide. “You are not going anywhere near this. Mark my words.”
I exhale a frustrated breath through my nose and push on. “Where will Keegan be?”
“He’s planning to be late for the meeting. I figure I’ll have about fifteen minutes before Simon gets restless and leaves.”
“Which means that whatever happens, chances are Keegan is going to find Simon after and alert security before you’re even out of the building. He won’t have any other choice if he doesn’t want to somehow implicate himself.”
He exhales with a subtle shake of his head. “Not necessarily.”
“It’s a tight window,” I say.
He shrugs. “It’s do-able.”
“If someone stumbles upon a crime scene, the police are going to be looking for you faster than you can disappear. I’m not talking about getting out of the building, Tristan. I’m talking about getting out of DC before there’s a citywide manhunt.”
A heavy silence falls on the room. Makanga seems to be holding his breath. I’m waiting for Tristan to react. To tell me I’m wrong or toss me in a cab back to my parents’ house. He stares down at the map a moment before taking a seat beside me. He steeples his fingers in front of his mouth, saying nothing, which feels oddly like resignation.
I bite the inside of my mouth to keep from smiling.
“I can come in through the visitor center and, when the time is right, create a diversion. Something that will give Keegan a reason to leave the building instead of meeting Simon as planned. An evacuation will create confusion with all the visitors and staff trying to leave in a rush. No one’s going to notice either of us. Security will be too busy trying to get people out. It should be a while before anyone notices Simon after that. By then we’ll be long gone.”
Tristan is quiet for a long time. So long that I know he’s at least considering my proposal. He doesn’t want me getting mixed up in this, and he won’t want me in the building when it all goes down, but we threw solo missions out the window a long time ago. He could do it alone if nothing went wrong, but I’m convinced we’re stronger together.
The look he finally casts my way is filled with frustration—but also, I hope, acceptance.
Makanga pulls the lever on his recliner, elevating his legs with a loud clank. A smirk curls his mouth as he settles in. “I can drive.”
TRISTAN
The firm knot pressing against my throat is one more reason for me to silently curse Isabel’s plan. I feel ridiculous in the navy-blue suit she picked out for me, except she hasn’t stopped looking me over since I put it on at the store this morning.
“You’re distracting me,” I mutter, trying to ignore her appreciative glances.
She laughs. “Why?”
“Why do you think? Are you focused?”
She slides her hand into mine. “I’m focused. Promise.”
“You should probably go now,” Makanga says from the driver’s seat. “There might be a line to get in.”
I check my watch. Simon is set to meet Keegan in fifteen minutes. Isabel needs to be in place before then just in case.
She takes a deep breath and looks to me, her humor faded. “I’ll wait for your signal. Then you have to head to the rotunda right away. The staff won’t evacuate the same way as the visitors. You don’t want to get grouped with them once everyone starts moving.”
I hold her stare a moment, wishing I could tell her that despite her obstinance, I’m totally floored by her compulsion to help me, to be with me, to stand beside me at all costs. I lift her hand and kiss the back of it. “I’ll meet you back here after.”
Her eyes get glassy before she lurches forward to hug me one last time. The next time I hold her like this, we’ll be free of Simon. And if we’re not, I might never hold her like this again. I close my eyes and push away the possibility. Isabel’s plan is a good one. If Keegan doesn’t fuck things up, I should be able to get out of this with my freedom and Isabel with hers.
“I love you,” she whispers against my ear.
When she pulls away, I kiss her gently, unwilling to say it back but silently vowing I’ll tell her every day for the rest of our lives if we survive this. Until then, I just need one thing from her.
“Be careful.”
“You too.” She touches my face before getting out and walking hurriedly down the path toward the visitor center.
Makanga puts the car into gear and drives us around to the north side of the block. “You good?”
“Never been better.” It’s a lie, of course.
“You going to make it clean, I hope?”
I meet his reflection in the rearview. “It’s going to be what it’s going to be.”
We’ve reviewed everything a few times, everything except what’ll happen once I’m finally alone with Simon. If this goes sideways, Makanga and Isabel will at least have the benefit of plausible deniability. Besides, I can map everything down to the minute, and something could and very likely will change. At the end of the day, all I care about is making sure Simon can never hurt anyone ever again.
The minutes tick by. Simon strikes me as someone who arrives right on time, never late and not a minute too soon, so I plan for that. Five minutes till, I reach for the door handle.
“If I don’t come out right away, you get her out of here. Don’t wait for me. Got it?”
Makanga doesn’t answer, but I know he’ll probably err on the side of saving his own ass even if Isabel begs him to hang around. I take his silence as affirmation and start the walk toward the north entrance. Isabel wasn’t wrong. Getting into the building with easy access to Keegan’s office is the biggest hurdle. As long as Morgan’s staff pass does the job, it’s one less thing for me to worry about. But I’ve learned to take nothing for granted. Things could get messy really fast.
Once I’m inside, the security guard checks my pass and waves me toward security. I lay my leather bag on the roller belt and step through the metal detector. No beeps. I wait for it on the other side, hands tucked into my pants pockets, feeling as confident as a slimy politician who pads his government salary with bribes from monsters like Simon.
I collect my bag and meander the halls until I find the maze of underground offices below the Senate floor where Keegan and every other senator can enjoy a meeting place away from their primary offices. The journey is shockingly unremarkable. The cinder-block walls are painted sunshine yellow. The signs are little more than shorthand directions for people who haven’t already familiarized themselves with these pathways.
I pause outside Keegan’s office, listening for voices inside. All I can hear are footsteps echoing through the connecting halls. The very high possibility that Simon could be on the other side of this door is almost too good to be true. I can still remember when Jay told me he was a shadow. A shadow I’ve found not once but twice.
My heart beats faster. Not from fear but from something akin to glee. I’ve never been so invested in someone’s demise, and I don’t think I ever will be again. No one deserves this more than
Simon.
I put my hand on the knob and open the door. From his seat on one of the fancy upholstered chairs, Simon glances up and smiles automatically. It fades quickly as I shut the door behind me. I unbutton my jacket, set my bag on the lacquered coffee table, and take the seat opposite him.
I fold my hands across my lap as a triumphant chorus of trumpets and horns plays in my mind.
“Simon. At long last,” I say, unable to school my unabashed grin.
His already pale complexion seems to drain a fraction. “Tristan.” He says my name awkwardly, like he’s not sure I’m really, truly sitting across from him.
“You remember me. I’m flattered. Have we already met? I probably wouldn’t remember if we had.”
I’m still smiling, even as the truth burns at the edges of my internal celebration.
“What are you doing here?”
I don’t even try to stop myself from laughing. It’s loud and feels good and ends with a cleansing kind of sigh. “Sorry. I’ve just been wanting to meet you for such a long time. This is a real honor.”
He doesn’t seem to share my sense of humor. He glances to the door.
“Keegan’s going to be late,” I say, quickly smashing any hopes he might be dreaming up for an escape. “Hope you don’t mind if we catch up while you wait. I’ve been trying to fill in the blanks a little lately.”
“I don’t know what you had in mind, but this is hardly the time or the place.”
I shrug.
“We should take this meeting elsewhere. My hotel is close by. We can discuss business there.”
To his credit, his stony expression gives little away. After so many kills, I’ve gotten used to all the desperate pleas and telltale signs of crippling fear. I’m feeling strangely bereft in the face of Simon’s admirable self-control. There’s still time to break him, though.
“Not a chance,” I finally say.
He doesn’t blink. “Let’s get on with it, then.”
I take a deep breath, all too aware of our limited time but committed to doing this just right.
“You know, you’re lucky I never killed Isabel.”
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