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Maybe it was just habit now, he’d been doing it for so long that he didn’t know any other way to be. Still, it was sad and spoke volumes about the truth of Cuckoo’s character. Art had warned Zara about Cuckoo’s psychopathic tendencies, but her pathology ran much deeper than the enjoyment of watching Raven work. Cuckoo could torture a person for years, use and manipulate them, without any remorse. She was a piece of work.
The warmth of her love’s flesh was a comfort, and this piece of news made her appreciate the honesty of their relationship even more. “She’s been using him for years. She spoke about him like he was nothing, like he was a piece of shit. He has all this love for her, and yet she’s plotting to have him killed if her plan comes together.”
“She’s making him think it’s about revenge,” he said. Caressing her upper body, he brought his knees up to settle them on her, providing a reassuring cocoon. “That by chasing me around all over and harassing you that they’re punishing me for what I did, for ripping their relationship apart.”
“What they had wasn’t a relationship,” she said, tipping her chin up though she couldn’t see his face. “A relationship requires respect and compromise. She told me that the reason she hooked up with him in the first place was because she had heard he knew you. Caine probably doesn’t even know it.”
“He started out crazy,” Brodie said, wrapping both of his arms around her shoulders. “He was a regular pro at stalking me even before she came into the equation.”
When they were all younger and stupider. Chances were that Caine’s obsession with the sniper would’ve worn off when he found something else to worship. The trouble was, the next obsession in his life was Cuckoo, who commanded him to stalk the man he’d previously revered.
“But that was harmless, he was a pain, but he didn’t mean to hurt you. He just wanted to be in the club. She sought him out because he knew how to track you down. She didn’t go back to him for love, she went back to manipulate him.”
“Everybody has to be good at something.”
Slanting her body, she tried to peek up at him. “You better not be making excuses for her.”
To pacify, he ran a hand up and down her arm. “Not a chance,” he said, kissing her head. “We’ll have to take CI out from under her. She’s too close now, she could do real damage if—”
“Julian is tracking down Winter Chill.” Brodie’s breathless silence made her hurry to explain. “He appeared in Purdy’s while I was waiting for Kahlil. He doesn’t know he’s tracking it down, but he knows Grant’s accountant. He’ll have the records sent to me later. It might not turn anything up, but getting into the personal paperwork might be the way forward. Did you find out anything by following Kahlil?”
She ran her fingernails up and down his forearms that were crossed over her upper chest. “Turns out that beneath that tanned exterior, his blood runs Russian.”
“You’re kidding,” she said, pausing. “He went to meet Sikorski?”
“Yep,” Brodie said. “He’s a real sick bastard, maybe the worst sadist we’ve seen. But he doesn’t care where results come from. Kahlil probably went looking for him after he got booted by his last employer.”
“At least Kahlil hasn’t told anyone else about Game Time, Sikorski already knew. How come Kahlil’s old bodyguards are running Sikorski’s errands?”
“Kahlil probably employed those guys himself the first time, and when he got fired, he had no more need for them.”
“And somehow they ended up with Sikorski?”
“Yep,” he said. “Vermin like that work for whoever ponies up the green,” Brodie said. “We saw something else too.”
“Leatt,” she said, resting her arms over his. “He came to the meeting in Purdy’s.”
“We saw. What did he say?”
“That Kahlil recruited him while he worked for Sutcliffe and that they killed Grant because he’d served his purpose. They searched the compound for clues about Game Time ‘cause they weren’t sure we had it. When they were, they cooked up the latest deal. This is all one big mess. We can’t let them have Game Time, but we have to know. How are we going to figure all this out?”
“We always get answers,” he said. “Sometimes it takes time, but the truth doesn’t want to stay hidden.”
As her morning had proven. Brodie slid down the bed, taking her body with his, and she sat up just enough to reach the blanket he was hooking upward with his foot. Covering them both up, it was time for them to rest. Given all that they’d learned and the prospect of what could happen if they failed, sleep wasn’t going to be an easy get.
Caine wasn’t what they thought he was, neither was Cuckoo. Sikorski had hidden in the background and had risen up when all parties were at their weakest. Kahlil had a story that she was desperate to know because it would bring peace to the man she loved.
And then there was Winter Chill. They had to track down the Game Time production project or controlling the devices they had would mean nothing.
As she listened to Brodie drift off into slumber, she took stock and realized that she wasn’t afraid. She didn’t doubt the Kindred’s capability. The prospect of pain for Brodie kept her awake. Caine and Cuckoo were coming at him for something that had happened when he was a younger man, a less experienced man. He was still dealing with the loss of Art, and the reminder of the loss of his parents was the last thing he needed while he was finding his feet as the Kindred chief.
Brodie was under a lot of pressure to make the right decisions, to not screw up, and he’d feel the weight of Art’s teachings as though his uncle was there over his shoulder watching out for every mistake he might make.
All Zara could do was be here for him as a support, both in their work and in their bed, because saving the world from Game Time meant dealing with emotional issues that he’d sidelined for most of his life. It was all about to come out. It was all about to get real, and there was no assurance that this story would end well for any of them.
SEVENTEEN
She was cooking in the kitchen, whipping up something to take over to the hotel when Brodie came in and propped both hands on the lower part of the kitchen island. Glancing over her shoulder, she waited for him to say something, but he didn’t.
