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“Nothing to say?” Her lip curled in a sneer even as her heart cracked down the middle. He’d ruined more than her opportunity to ever return to the Ice Ball again. He’d destroyed her faith, her judgment. “You weren’t silent when I had my mouth wrapped around your cock.”
Roarke’s hands clenched beneath his folded arms but he didn’t move from his position against the wall.
“Tempest.” The man seated across from her called her name in a chiding tone. “There’s no need to take your anger out on him. If you need someone to blame, I’m the one. If you cooperate and answer our questions, we can let you go and put this behind us.”
She withheld a snort. He must think her stupid. Soundproof walls comprised this room, discrete cameras placed in the corner of one ceiling, another on the floor behind Roarke’s left boot and she’d bet the credits in her hidden account that someone listened in as well.
Letting her go wouldn’t be as easy or simple as he implied. She hunched her shoulders and met the cold green eyes watching her every reaction. Her bottom lip quivered and a single tear welled. “You’re going to i-i-interrogate me, aren’t you?”
He inclined his head and didn’t deny it. “This can be a painless process.”
As if she believed him. She licked her dry lips. “C-can I have some water? Please. The drug you used has me thirsty.”
Roarke shifted as if to leave, but the scarred man held up a hand, stopping him. The hard green stare never lifted from hers. Yeah, he was definitely in charge. Had Roarke tightening like a bitch on a lead.
“We’ll take care of any of your needs as soon as we get a few answers.”
From the corner of her eyes, Roarke stiffened. Playing on his sympathy, she let the single tear fall and did a credible sniffle. “Alright.”
She’d give him answers.Lies.The same way she’d been lied to.
The scar pulled tight against his skin as the green-eyed man smiled. The grim action sent a shaft of fear straight to her heart. “I knew you’d see reason. Let’s start with your attendance at the Ice Ball.”
She dropped her gaze to the table. “Can I at least have your name and know who abducted me?”
The scarred man arched a brow. “You can refer to me as Leader One.”
Of course he wouldn’t want her to have his real name. Biting back a frustrated growl, she offered him a grateful smile. “I guess you already know me.”
“We know you use the name Tempest. Whether that is real or not has yet to be discovered,” Leader One said.
Outrage flashed. She gaped and jerked upright in the chair. The cuffs on her wrists dug into her skin. “Of course it’s my name. I go to the Ice ball every year and Vesta knows me.”
Vesta was the organizer for the event and knew her as Tempest. The older woman had no reason to question her identity. Seraphina spent top credits for the background to pass the most intense scrutiny several times over.
She’d have to ditch it now, but she had two other identities with solid covers and individual morph looks to go along with them that she could use.
Leader One withdrew a data pad and set it on the table. He didn’t glance down to read the notes and she had the feeling he’d already memorized whatever file he had on her anyway. Next, he withdrew a single long blade with a jagged edge and a matte black handle to sit beside the device.
She swallowed. Did he intend to cut her if he didn’t like her answers?
Propping his elbows on the table and fisting his hands together, Leader one made a sound under his breath. “Hmm. The Ice Ball. We can confirm that you’ve attended every year since its inception. Is that how you identify the men you kill?”
She stared at him in wide-eyed shock and twitched in the chair. “Kill? I didn’t kill anyone.”
Leader One picked up the knife and began rolling it between his fingers. First, slowly, then gaining momentum without breaking her stare.
Roarke shifted about, drawing her eyes against her will. She preferred to ignore him and treat him like he didn’t exist but couldn’t. Her gaze roved over his changed appearance. He no longer wore the suit he’d had on at the ball. She bet the black one piece jumper and boots he wore were a uniform of some sort. Fucker.
Leader One cleared his throat and continued twirling that damn knife. If the effect was to intimidate her, it worked. “I have it on good authority that you were the last to see Toll Vu, Camrin Zakar, Reed Manon...”
He continued, listing seven names in total. Men under Jarad’s criminal cabal. Men she’d killed as she drew closer and closer to toppling Jarad from the empire he’d built.
Her heart kicked up a notch, but she kept her breathing steady and didn’t flinch. Kai Phun wasn’t mentioned which meant he couldn’t attribute that death to her, but how had he discovered the others? She’d been careful. Damn near flawless.
Infusing her voice with outrage, she said, “I have no idea who those people are.”
Leader One snorted, green gaze narrowing. “I suppose you don’t know Jarad Oolun either?”
Rolling her eyes, she countered, “Everyone knows the House of Oolun. Jarad is the son of the Ambassador on Pi Vista.”
“A former lover, perhaps? Is that why you’ve gone through all this effort to take out the men around him?”
Her jaw dropped. The accusation was ludicrous and she laughed. Laughed until she could barely hold her head up. Wiping her face on her shoulder to clear away the tears of mirth, she shook her head. More chuckles escaped and she could barely respond. “I wouldn’t sex share with Jarad Oolun if he was the last man in the entire universe.”
