Sariah sprawled over the armrest, invading my me space, to cuddle. Teeth gritted in determination, I endured the forced contact, but it was all I could do not to peel her off and sling her across the aisle. Wu looked on, amused, but he wasn’t the one with a groggy predator tucked against his side.
This time, we rated private transpo. The taskforce jet was waiting for us at a secluded airfield, and the interior was lush beyond comprehension. All buttery leather and burled wood accents. Clearly, this wasn’t meant for conveying the taskforce itself but ferrying the men and women in charge of them.
No wonder they didn’t want to share their toys with the riffraff, meaning me. Whatever Wu was, he was clearly on the tier who utilized this plane often enough to be comfortable in what I assumed was his usual seat. Stocked with his favorite snacks and drinks, it had everything but his name on a plaque bolted to a headrest.
“How much tranquilizer did you give her?” I nudged Sariah a fraction, but she was dead weight and slid right back into place. “She’s drooling on my shoulder.”
“I gave her enough to make this trip pleasant for all of us.” He laughed at my expression. “Two out of three aren’t bad odds.”
Accepting my fate, I settled in for the misery of having so much contact with a person who turned into a giant gator when pissed. “Do you think we can trust her intel?”
“Yes.” He passed me a bottle of water—flavored and carbonated. I rolled my eyes but accepted. “War will be proud to learn her daughter escaped on her own merit. That she sold out her mother’s operation to do so is a danger of the business they’re in. War will have contingency plans in place.”
What a miserable way to live, unable to trust anyone. Even—if not especially—your family.
“She has created a coterie of younglings,” he continued. “They’re not battle-hardened like Sariah. They’ll break if you apply enough pressure in the right place.”
“I’m going to stop you right there and tell you that’s one of my least favorite sayings.” At least I wasn’t on the receiving end. This time. “What difference does experience make if she rolls over as easily as the others?”
“War is paranoid. I doubt anyone suspects the full scope of her endgame. Thanases will be aware of most of the pieces. He’s her mate, she would confide in him, but Sariah can guess them. She knows how her mother operates. She understands how her mind works. Her tactical thinking is an asset worth more to us than any locations she fingers. I expect her to point us toward a few active sites while hiding the ones most likely to be occupied by her mother.”
“How can you trust her when you just admitted you expect her to balk at handing over the prize?”
“No, what I expect is further negotiation.” In fact, he sounded resigned to it. “She’ll give us a taste, proof she’s willing to cooperate, and then she’ll barter what we really want to get whatever it is she’s after.”
“So, you do think she wants more than her freedom.”
Wu tried looking innocent, but it didn’t fit his face well. “Didn’t I just say as much?”
Eager to prove two can play the innocence game, I asked, “So are you going to tell me about chala?”
“She’s Commander of—” He wiped a hand over his mouth, plucking at his upper lip before he lowered it. “She’s in charge of The Hole.”
“I got that much.” I pressed my luck further. “She works for or with your father?”
“She’s one of his underlings,” he allowed after a moment’s consideration. “What is it you’re really asking?”
“No offense, but you lost your shit when she passed on that message from your dad.”
“Our relationship is strained.” And now so was his voice. “You mustn’t view our bond through the lens of yours with your father. A message from mine means a visit is imminent. It’s a warning, not a greeting.”
From everything Wu had let slip about his dad, any father/son bonding time would be on par with corporal punishment. But what had Wu done to merit the sudden interest? How had his actions in the past several weeks earned him a slap on the wrist?
Granted, I hadn’t seen him for a week when he showed up at the bunkhouse, but seven days didn’t give him much room to cause this kind of trouble. And it was trouble. Wu hadn’t lost his cool for no good reason. The worst reaction I had ever seen from him was a clenched jaw or fist. That vocalization technique—that was next level pissedoffedness.
“Okay,” I said, playing it off like it was no big deal, “so we brace for a visit.”
The expression Wu turned on me was that of a man grasping for a lifeline. “You would stand with me against him?”
“Is that how it is?” Honest curiosity had me asking, “I’m either with him or against him?”
“Yes,” he said, leaving no room for doubt. “Either you’re an ally or an enemy.”
Proving I can’t leave well enough alone, I had to push one last time. “Which are you?”
His smile was all teeth, his voice pure silk. “What do you think?”
“I think I’m glad you’re on my side.” I slumped down in my seat, trying and failing to get comfortable. “Your dad can’t be worse than you.”