Chapter Twenty-Four
For a moment, the words made no sense. He shook his head. “What?”
“At least, she wasn’t twelve years ago. I don’t know now. Your father had no contact with her. That was part of the deal. The only way he could guarantee that what they’d done would remain secret.”
“I don’t understand.” They’d buried her. He’d attended the funeral. She had to be dead. Because the alternative was…fuck.
She took his hand. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry? What for? That my mother is alive when I thought she was dead? Isn’t that cause for celebration?”
She didn’t speak, just let him think it through.
His mother had obviously been unhappy. He’d known that. Even considered that maybe she’d committed suicide, and his father had kept it from him. Instead, she had made a deal with his father. And she’d walked away from him, happy to leave him behind, let him believe she was dead.
“She wanted to take you with her. She begged your father, but he wouldn’t even consider it. He told her you were Conclave through and through.”
He thought back to his eighteen-year-old self. Until his mother’s death, when the doubts had started, he’d been loyal to the Conclave. Oh, he’d believed that changes were needed, but he’d never doubted their right to rule. How would he have reacted if his mother had asked him to go away? To leave it all behind? Honestly, he didn’t know, but he would never have betrayed her.
“Your father truly believed that you wouldn’t want it. That if you did go away with her, you would resent her in the end and maybe even give her away. And if anyone from the Conclave discovered she was alive, it would be an immediate death sentence. For both of you and probably for your sister as well.”
“My sister?”
“Your mother was five months pregnant.”
“I know.” She’d wanted another child so much. It had made her death even more tragic.
“With a daughter,” Sadie continued. “It was what triggered her desire to get away. She didn’t want her daughter growing up within the Conclave.”
“You mean growing up like me?”
“She loved you.”
“How the fuck do you know that?” Of course she hadn’t loved him. She had fucking walked away without a backward glance. He’d often wondered if there was something wrong with him. Here was the definitive proof.
“It’s not proof of anything,” she said fiercely. “She was distraught about leaving you—I saw it in your father’s head. But she hated the Conclave, hated the things your father did.”
He remembered the first time he’d realized that his mother wasn’t entirely happy with their lives—the execution he’d mentioned to Kaitlin. He’d been five. All the families had been called together. One of the hereditary members had tried to leave. She’d been found and brought back—executed as an example.
His mother had told him to close his eyes. He hadn’t. He’d been determined to prove he was a fitting member of the Conclave, and wanted to make his father proud. Maybe that was when she’d realized he wasn’t worth sticking around for.
“She never thought that.”
“You don’t know what she thought. She allowed me to believe she was dead. That maybe my father was implicit in that death. Do you know what that did to me?”
“Yes.”
Of course she fucking did. She was no doubt in his head right now.
He pulled his hand free and got to his feet, pacing the small room. The leopard raised its head, growling softly, and he glared at it until it put its head back down. But it continued watching him. He came back to stand in front of her. “All these fucking years, my one driving force had been based on a goddamn lie. I left. I distanced myself from my father, in case I found out that I needed to kill him to revenge my mother. And all the time, she was living somewhere else. Happily ignoring the fact that she had a son. Bringing up my goddamn sister who is no doubt worth a hundred of me. Bringing her up to be goddamn nice. Something I’ll obviously never be.”
“No, you’re not nice. You wouldn’t have been nice, even if you hadn’t been part of the Conclave. But whatever you believe, you’re not evil, either.”
“Pity my mother couldn’t have seen that.”
“What else could she have done?” Sadie’s tone was reasonable, but he didn’t want to be reasonable. He felt betrayed, abandoned.
“I don’t care.”
“Yes, you do.” For the first time, he heard a flicker of anger in her voice.
He pressed his hands to his skull. He needed to get out of there. “I’m going for a walk.” He needed to be alone.
“How fucking melodramatic.” Now she definitely sounded angry.
Good. So was he. Fucking furious. With his mother. With his father who had lied to him all these years. With Sadie, who didn’t fucking love him, either.
Shock flared on her face as the thought passed through his mind.
“I…” She shook her head.
Yeah, what did he expect her to say? That he was wrong?
He turned and walked away, grabbing his T-shirt as he passed. He hesitated at the doorway, then headed off in the opposite direction from the house. He was vaguely aware of the great cat rising to his feet and following him. He paused and turned to see Sadie standing in the doorway watching him. “I don’t need a fucking babysitter.”
“Yes, you do. It’s a jungle out there. The real thing. I didn’t save your life for you to go and get eaten by a goddamn lion.”
He shrugged and stalked away, found a track heading off into the trees that surrounded the clearing where the house stood. The path was narrow, well used, and soon he was climbing up a steep incline. Ahead, a man perched on a boulder to the side of a narrow opening in the mountain. A stranger, though, he had the look of all the Tribe about him. Tall, black hair, deep blue eyes. He rose to his feet when he caught sight of Ethan. An automatic rifle was slung across his shoulder, but he made no move to aim the gun, although he did step in front of the opening.
“Hi,” he said. “You must be Sadie’s friend.”
Hah. Was that what he was? Her friend? Her lover? He had a flashback to the feel of being deep inside her.
The man’s eyes widened, and then he grinned. “I’m Ryder.”
“Ethan.” He held out his hand and the other man shook it. Ethan nodded to the opening. “What’s in there?”
“Just hope you never find out.”
“Why? Because then you’d have to kill me?”
He patted the rifle. “Yup.”
Now he really wanted to know. What could they possibly be guarding out here in the middle of nowhere?
But he wasn’t getting past Ryder. He turned and walked back the way he had come. Then he headed in the other direction and into the jungle. The track here was wider, wide enough for a vehicle, and he could make out tire tracks in the soft earth. This must be the main route into the area. He followed it for a while. The house had been built in a valley, and he was quickly climbing again. He kept his mind blank. Soon he’d have to think everything through. He walked until his legs ached and sweat soaked his T-shirt. Then he found a rock and sat down. He could no longer see the house; it was hidden behind the turns in the track. He still had his babysitter. The leopard watched him out of golden eyes, clearly taking his job seriously.
The place was amazing. All around him, the jungle was rampant with life. Plants grew everywhere, lush in the damp air, and the sounds of birds and animals, insects filled the air. He slapped at a mosquito on his arm.
Then took a deep breath.
His mother was alive.
Or had been, and there was no reason to think she wouldn’t still be. And he likely had a sister. She’d be nearly twelve now. What was she like?
His mother had walked away from him without a backward glance. To save his sister from turning out like him, no doubt.
Would he look for them?
Really, what was the point? His mother had clearly washed her hands of him. She didn’t want to be part of his life. So fuck her.
He felt strangely empty. Finding the truth had consumed him for so long. Find the truth and then deal with the consequences. Now there was nothing to deal with, but he still had to decide what to do next.
He needed to contact Fergus and find out what was happening back in London.
Or did he?
Could he walk away from everything? Turn his back on the Conclave? Maybe they would come after him. Hell, of course they would. But he was better than most of them. He could ensure they’d never find him and deal with anyone who did. He had access to almost unlimited funds.
Of course, that was presuming Sadie’s friends actually let him leave here. He didn’t think she would allow them to kill him, but maybe she wouldn’t be given the choice. She’d said that this Kane wanted to talk to him, though he suspected there wouldn’t be much talking going on. He’d presumably take a look in his mind and decide how much of a risk he was.
What would he see? He didn’t think he was a risk to them. Not on purpose, anyway. He’d never do anything that might bring harm to Sadie. He’d die before he let any harm come to her from the Conclave.
At that thought, his brain stopped working. Just for a second and then started again.
He loved her.
Loved a woman who would never allow herself to return the emotion.
She wanted him, but she was too guarded. She wouldn’t allow herself to feel more than physical desire. She kept him at a distance, and he wasn’t sure there was any way to break through the walls she’d built up. She’d lost too much. Been betrayed by too many people.
Now she was keeping herself safe from more hurt.
So why would she take a risk on a man like him?
While he’d sat, clouds had gathered overhead. Now the first drops of rain started to fall, and he got to his feet and rubbed at his aching shoulder.
Time to go meet the man who wanted him dead.
By the time he got back, it was raining hard, washing the heat and the sweat from his body. As he approached the house, Sadie appeared on the veranda. She waited as he crossed the lawn, watching him, her face expressionless.
“Fergus is calling,” she said as he stopped in front of her. “He won’t speak to anyone but you. I think he suspects that we might have offed you already.”
“And am I allowed to talk to him? I’m not quite sure of my status here.”
“Neither am I. The others are all out at the moment. But I want to know what’s going on back in London. Just don’t mention where we are.”
“I don’t actually know where we are.”
He followed her into the house and down the hallway into an office at the back of the building. A desk with a computer stood in the middle of the room, which was empty of people. So he wasn’t to be interrogated just yet.
Sadie sat down in the chair behind the desk, pressed a few buttons, and Fergus appeared on the screen.
“Hey, Fergus, nice to see you. And here’s your boss. Still alive and dying to talk to you.” She got up and waved him to the chair.
Ethan took the seat. Fergus looked fine, the bruises from his interrogation had already faded to yellow.
“What’s happening?” he said.
“Nothing good. You need to get back here.”
“Tell me?”
“They all woke up with no ill effects. Just two dead. Your father and Travis. They managed to keep it quiet and clean up. But there are a lot of unhappy people.”
He’d bet they were. Someone had gotten into the place, managed to knock them all out, and killed their leader. They would be feeling vulnerable right now, and that made them dangerous.
“They want to know where you are.”
“What did you tell them?”
“That I believed you were laying low. You were injured at the conference, and you believe it was an assassination attempt. There’s a full-blown investigation going on.”
“And they believe you?”
“Not sure. But Lauren is making a bid for the leadership. She’s spreading the rumor that you’re dead and insisting that the Conclave needs a leader, and sooner rather than later.”
Shit, that was not good news. If she became entrenched, got any support, then she would be difficult to remove. And while he’d considered walking away, he hadn’t really thought through the implications. Like who would take control if he wasn’t there. Lauren was truly amoral. She could not be allowed to take leadership.
“She approached me,” Fergus said. “Asked for my support, offered me a position and a shitload of money.”
“What did you say?”
“I played along. Told her I was waiting to hear from you, but I’d consider it. I had the idea that if I rejected her outright, I might not last too long.”
“Probably not.”
“So are you coming back?” Fergus asked.
He had no choice. What he would do when he got there, he had no clue, but he couldn’t allow Lauren free rein. He would tear the Conclave down first. He glanced up at Sadie, but she shrugged. “Hopefully. I’ll know later today.”
When this Kane had decided whether he lived or died, was he a prisoner or a free man.
“Has there been any sign of the people who made the attack on the party?” he asked.
“If there has been, no one is telling me.”
“What about CCTV coverage?”
“Nothing. It was all knocked out.”
He’d been hoping to get something. He thought for a moment. “We were attacked on the way to the airport. Can you see if you can find some coverage of that?”
“Okay.”
“And keep out of trouble. Tell Lauren anything you think she wants to hear. I’ll be there as soon as I can. If you don’t hear from me by this time tomorrow, contact Sadie. She’ll let you know what’s happened.”
Whether he was still alive.
Fergus didn’t look happy, but he gave a nod. “Okay, boss. Can I have a word with her?”
Ethan gestured to her and she came around.
“Look after him,” Fergus said.
“I’ll do my best.”
The screen went blank.
“You’re going back.” Sadie said, but it was more a statement than a question.
“Will I be allowed to?”
“You plan to destroy the Conclave.”
“I think it’s time.”
“And the records? The files on the Tribe?”
“Everything.”
She pursed her lips. “Could you see if there’s anything on Josie? What they did to her. Anything that might help.”
“Of course.”
“Then I think—”
She broke off as the door opened. Jake walked in, followed by another man. The similarities were more than superficial. They looked like brothers. He was guessing this must be Kane. For once, he wished he could read minds. This was the man who would decide his future, and he hated that.
Jake nodded.
Ethan rose to his feet, crossed the room to stand in front of the other man. “Kane?”
“Yes.”
How long would this take? How long for him to find out what he needed to know?
“It’s already done.”
“He’s better than me,” Sadie said. She turned to Kane. “And?”
“He loves you.”
She cast a brief glance in his direction, but she wasn’t giving anything away. “I know.”
Kane exhaled, looked at Jake. He got the impression a conversation was going on between the two men. He tried to hold back his impatience, but a smile flickered across Kane’s face.
“Fuck off,” he snarled.
The man smiled outright. “I accept that you’re likely more use to us alive than dead. You’ll dismantle the Conclave?”
“I’ll tear it down.”
“When do you want to leave?”
“Now.”