Page 95 of Fractured Memories

I shrug a shoulder. “Plan is a very loose term for what I’m doing.” I scan the room, pulling her down the hall to where I usually meet them. Both Miles and Conor have offices in the building, as well as the large sitting room we generally conduct business in. “If I can’t find Miles, I’ll force the information out of Conor.”

My patience is waning. Jude doesn’t want to spook Miles, but I’d rather dole out consequences. Starting with Conor. If he’s following Miles’s orders, I’ll find out everything he knows and leave Miles a messy present for when he gets home. I want him spooked and scared, and then I’ll pounce.

Both offices are empty, but as I approach the sitting room, Conor steps in through the back door. He’s looking down at something in his hands, not having noticed us yet.

“Oh, good.” He jolts at the sound of my voice, fumbling before he stuffs his hands in his pockets and lifts his head to look at me. “I came to meet with Miles, but you’ll do.”

He nods, recovering well enough to gesture to the large room. “What can I help you with?”

We follow him inside, and Conor moves around the table by the back wall to take his usual place. I stop opposite him, giving Eden a little nudge to keep moving. Thankfully, she understands, crossing to look out the windows and effectively blocking Conor between us. He can’t come around either side of the table now.

“Do you recall the shopkeeper we interrogated a few weeks ago?”

He crosses his arms, leaning back against the window. “I do.”

I lace the lies I’ve told him with a bit of truth. “The reason we discovered he was working with the rebels is because someone shot Lochlan.” His lips turn down at the corners, brow creasing. He looks almost surprised. Lochlan is obviously fine—Conor and Miles have met with him since—so I keep going. “And I have since learned that he isn’t the only one who has been helping the rebels.”

To his credit, Conor only raises a brow. “Do you need Miles to arrange a statement?”

I huff a laugh, though I know it sounds menacing. “No. I think Miles has done more than enough, don’t you?”

His brows pinch together. “I don’t follow.”

I take a step to my left, edging closer to Conor. “The rebels have been so active lately. The attacks in the city. Taking shots at one of the Elites. Coming after my wife.” Eden pushes off the wall, creeping around the other side of the table. “And I’ve been asking myself, how would they get that information?”

Conor swallows, starting to look nervous. It only pulls a lethal grin from me. “I don’t know.”

“I think you do.” Eden moves closer, and I keep his focus on me as I talk. “You’ve been following his orders, haven’t you, Conor? But you know what Miles has been doing behind my back.”

That has his nostrils flaring, anger replacing some of that fear. “No.”

“That’s fine.” Her hand reaches for her blade as she closes the space between them. “We’ll get the truth out of you.”

And just as Eden goes to lunge, her body coiled with anticipation, a hiss fills the air. Conor moves before she can, pointing his firearm at Eden while she pulls her knife on reflex. I rip one of my guns free, aiming at him just as I spot a small, white tube on the ground. The object he was looking at when we came in.

I open my mouth, but I don’t say a word. Instead, fire fills my lungs, and I choke. A cough sputters out of me, my body trying to reject whatever I am breathing in.

Conor’s lips twitch as my aim wavers, leaving Eden staring down the barrel of his gun. “Not so big on threats now, are you, Kieran?”

Eden stares at me in horror as my chest burns and no air seems to be going in my lungs. It’s not smoke inhalation—it’s like there’s no oxygen at all in here. But neither Conor nor Eden are reacting the same.

“What are you doing to him?” Her voice is deadly quiet as she stares at me. She can’t reach her gun without him potentially shooting her, and I’m quickly failing. I won’t risk a sloppy shot or her life.

He’s backed us into our own corner because neither of us is willing to risk the other.

“Kieran is experiencing a concentrated form of the airborne toxins in the valley.” He flicks his gaze to me. “Painful, isn’t it?”

I sway, sweat gathering on my skin. My gun clatters as it falls, and all I can think about is reaching for my holster. But I fear if I do, Conor will shoot Eden.

To hide what I’m doing, I let my body collapse to the floor. Folded in on myself, he can’t quite see my hand movements. But his gaze is still on me, and the holster is just out of my reach.

“Where is the antidote?” Eden is starting to sound panicked. “You must have one if neither of us are reacting. Where is it?”

Conor chuckles. “I’m not giving it to him.” He cocks his head, staring down at me. “But he’ll likely survive this dosage. It wasn’t intended for a room this large.”

I feel like I’m swallowing water. I doubt I’ll survive this if I don’t move faster, but I can’t jeopardize Eden.

“I’ll make you a deal. I won’t shoot Kieran after he passes out. I’ll leave him here for the toxins to work their way out of his system. As long as you come with me.”