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They searched the groundsand the streets. Empty. For all the noise and thunderous crashes, there was no damage anywhere. Due to the late hour of the night, the district was mostly silent, those from the House of Oolun celebration long gone.
Guards met them out front the pavilion building. “A bunch of youth with rockers. We sent them home.”
Rockers. Hahn and the others groaned behind Rook. The toy mimicked explosives when launched into the air and burst into an array of bright colors that lit the sky.
“Thank you for letting us know.” Rook waved the guards on.
Dorian stared into the distance. “I thought it was Tempest.”
“We all did,” Kjar said, scanning the area.
Propping his hands on his hips, Rook turned in a complete circle. While the others talked, his mind went back over the last few minutes. This didn’t feel right but he couldn’t say why. He didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.
Something continued to poke at him. Specifically his interaction with Jarad just now. He went through, step by step from arriving at Jarad’s office and everything said. Rook’s eyes widened. Through everything up to this point, the other man had never once thanked any member of Ghost Unit. When they spoke in the hall, Jarad had been relieved and thankful.
Rook spun around.
“Rook!”
He rushed back inside. If he was right, it was already too late. Seraphina had fooled them all. She had stood right in their faces and none of them picked up on her pretending to be Jarad Oolun.
He had to admire her boldness. If not for that one slip when she grasped his hand and said thank you, he wouldn’t have picked up on the difference
The question remained though. Was he too late? Had she already killed Jarad?
The door was locked when he arrived. Dropping to one knee, Rook removed his kit and bypassed the lock. He eased the door open silently and stepped into Jarad’s office. Seraphina stood in front of Jarad, a high powered laser pointed dead center at his chest.
She stiffened and glanced over her shoulder. Her eyes widened. “Don’t come closer.”
“You can’t do this, Tempest,” he used her false identity, knowing the others would hear through his comm. They would figure out where he was and wait for his signal before coming through the door. He had to have this situation in hand by then.
Seraphina licked her lips, tears glittering in her eyes. He raised his hands chest high and took a step forward. Her chest rose and fell with each exhale.
“You don’t understand. He has to die.”
“Because of Coco. I know,” he agreed, taking another step toward her.
Jarad sputtered and Seraphina jerked around to face him. “Don’t you fucking move!”
Rook froze as well. The fury on her face was easy to read. She was on the edge, her body practically vibrating with nerves.
“Coco Vindori,” Jarad said in wonder, staring at her face.
Rook had no idea what Coco looked like but he had the feeling Seraphina had chosen her friend’s image for this final confrontation. The dark hair and green eyes complimented the sharp features but he liked her best with reddish brown hair and hazel eyes that flickered with passion when he kissed her.
Suddenly, Jarad laughed uproariously. “Is that what this is about? Some worthless girl I fucked a long time ago? I thought you died.”
Seraphina tightened her hand on the weapon she held. Rook tensed, prepared to leap forward if he had to.
“You’re going to pay for what you did to her,” Seraphina snarled.
Proving he was every bit the idiot, Jarad’s mouth curled up in the corner. He cocked a hip to the side and lowered his arms as if death didn’t stare him in the face. Rook didn’t doubt for one minute, Seraphina planned to kill him.
“You stole from me,” Jarad said with a shrug. “All this time, I slept good thinking you got what you deserved.”
“She didn’t deserve to die!” Seraphina screamed, cheeks flushed in the face of Jarad’s contempt. “You didn’t know she’d taken a stupid vase and stolen from you. You ordered the hit because she refused to sex share with you again. She didn’t want a relationship with a piece of trash like you.”
Confusion glimmered. Then anger darkened Jarad’s eyes and his face took on an ugly cast. He eyed her trembling figure from head to toe. “You must be that bitch friend of hers. I thought I’d had you killed too.”
