"Now that we know Scarborough's schedule, we need to know where he lives. And better yet, where Warrington will be over the next month or so. He might have that information in his office, which he keeps locked during the day."

  I try to figure out what he means, but unfortunately, he's telling me exactly what he means.

  "I need to break in," I say. "Tomorrow night?"

  Goodman hardens his glare as if this new task is punishment for hitting his buttons. Hell, it probably is. "No. I said that he keeps his unoccupied office locked during the day."

  Seriously? While I'll be glad to be somewhere that he isn't, that he's going to endanger me while he crawls back to his hole and hides sends liquid fury into my chest. I ball my fists. I've seen what daylight did to Jeremy, and how sick and vulnerable it made him. And that was in an armored vehicle with tinted windows, and then again in my old apartment. Now Goodman wants me to subject myself to that. I might be inside while I break into Scarborough's office, but there will still be some effects. Especially when I must travel afterward.

  And I don't want any more reminders of my state than I already have.

  But I harden and force myself to nod. "Got it." Once again, short answers are my savior.

  "He is in the other Senate building. Far from my office, of course," Goodman continues. "You will have security and a bit of help. Work quickly. Amelia will go with you."

  That makes sense. She broke into Holden's apartment with me before. She can break into an office. That’s why Goodman brought her on.

  He backs off and looks down the hall, as if he wants to be anywhere but here.

  And that pisses me off enough for my impulse control to slip. "What if I get caught?" I ask. "Everyone's staring at me, you know. This is a dangerous job. And you said that it was your job to keep me safe." If there’s one thing I hate, it’s hypocrites.

  He advances on me so quickly that I back into the wall from shock. The red lines in his eyes darken to the crimson of rage. "As my heir, you are to do what I tell you. That is the law. And our law states that if you step out of line, I may ensure that it does not happen again. Do you understand?"

  I swallow.

  The rage in his eyes is scary, but the unsaid parts are terrifying.

  "I understand."

  He backs off, and I hate that this monster has scored a victory. It's my vain hope that Beatrice hasn't heard this exchange.

  "Excellent. Stay in line and prove yourself, and you will have your rewards." He smiles, almost warmly, and I hate the relief that spreads through me. It's a puppet string. "Your guard will take you back to the residence when you finish, hopefully before full dawn. First, we will wait a bit, and then you will pretend to walk out of the building with me. Once most people clear out, you will go to the other Senate building with Amelia."

  Yes. This is punishment, or at the very least, manipulation. Amelia frowns at me as we walk with the entourage out of the building, and past the officers who can't do shit to stop Goodman from bringing in his armed guards. The SUV waits, and Goodman pauses, scrolling through his phone while a few others leave the building and get into their own cabs. Thankfully, there aren't many people of either species since most of the lawmakers use an underground parking ramp.

  The faint gray light that signals the start of dawn stretches across the sky and slowly shifts into a faint pink, and I hope Goodman gets stalled. But the area clears, and he enters the SUV without a word. Nadine gets in with him, and so do the two male guards, leaving me and Amelia standing there alone.

  Well, I have security. And it's the security I hoped for.

  We wait until Goodman pulls away to walk to the other Senate building. Of course, we'll have to go past the security in that one, but at least I haven't been in that building enough for everyone to recognize me. We get through, and I'm glad when the human officers don't question us or look at us twice. We probably just look like staffers, even though Amelia must sacrifice her weapon, an ankle pistol.

  "They just let you through," I say once we're down the hall. Though I've picked up details about William Scarborough's schedule, I don't know where his office is. But Amelia must. She does a lot of logistics for the Diamonds.

  She still doesn't want to look directly at me. The guilt about what happened at the mansion is killing her. "The security officers here won't mess with Goodman or anyone working for him. Or rat on them. The security are the first ones on his chopping block if anything about him even remotely gets out."

  "That's not corrupt at all." I follow her around a corner and past a bunch of heavy wooden doors, trusting where she's going. "So, how do we get out of here fast? We need to get to, you know, with the news we just heard." I keep my voice low in case anyone is listening.

  Amelia curses under her breath. But I hear it. And it's creative.

  She still won't look at me as we walk.

  "You know I told Dr. Fletcher to go through with it," I hiss. "If anyone fucked up here, it was me. I went back to my apartment. You know that. Now I'm living with it."

  She stops and sighs, facing a set of bathrooms farther down the hall. "You had no good choices. Don't blame yourself. I should have done more, but Coffrey and Voss never got the chance to tell us the full plan."

  Amelia's drowning in her own dark sea. I've brought pain to everyone in my circle and I'm not even trying. Great.

  I want to get moving. "Why are we just standing here with the news we just heard?"

  "Someone else is coming to help us out." She keeps watching the bathroom, and then she snaps her fingers twice.

  Jeremy and Nathan emerge from the bathroom in silence. Nathan looks up and down the wide, empty hall and nods. He approves.

  How the hell did Amelia do this?

  "Ember," Jeremy whispers, approaching.

  Just hearing my actual name has a therapeutic effect. I can feel normal for a few seconds as Jeremy hugs me. I let my head rest on his chest, and he holds me close. “My father sent me to help you with this mission. He and Goodman have been talking about it for a bit. Haywood says I’ve been having too much fun, and that I need to help the Spades more. Oh. What did he do now?" A low growl enters his voice, as he must realize that I am not okay.

  And then I must ruin the moment and tell him.

  "Goodman wants to kill your father. He wants the Presidency. And if I don't shut my mouth and help him, it'll be bad."

  Jeremy tenses as a rumble fills his chest. It's that same rage that I feel inside. He grasps the back of my blouse and squeezes, as if he's trapped in a hurricane. "He wants to do what?"

  "Right from his mouth," Amelia says.

  I shudder in the First Son's grasp. "He trusts me not to tell you. Says he knows you don't care for your father. He probably wants me to kill Haywood in his sleep or something. Shit."

  Jeremy works his jaw. "That bastard. They'd trace it to you. You'd be the one to get in trouble, and he'd get all the glory. I won't let that happen." He digs his fingers into my back.

  Nathan draws close. "I knew Goodman was bad news, but the rest of the Service disagrees. I think they're afraid of him."

  "Tell them!" Jeremy snaps. "It's their job to stop people like Goodman."

  Nathan hesitates as Jeremy releases me, and I stand there, waiting for his response. "If I do that, I will compromise Ember. She will not be allowed near you again, despite your connection. That will take her out of the Diamonds and end our plans, and Goodman will know she told us."

  I shudder. Yes, he'd accuse me of telling Jeremy the truth. I'm glad Nathan can think straight because he isn't bathing in the full horror of this. "What do we do?"

  Jeremy works his jaw harder. "That's a very good question." Helplessness shines in his eyes.

  Nathan shakes his head. "I don't know yet."

  "We won't let Goodman get that far," Jeremy says, glaring down the hall. Then he motions to me. "Tell me everything you've found out while we loot Scarborough's office. Yes, I got word from Goodman that you’d be doing that. He knows I hate Warrington and would help with this.”

  She nods. "Glad you got the message.”

  "Well, I'm more than willing to destroy her, too," Jeremy says. "In fact, he hinted to my father that this would happen. Both men expect me to help with this mission."

  Goodman wanted Jeremy to be here. He's relying on me to stay quiet and want a piece of that power, then. Or he's testing me and making sure I don't tell Jeremy the truth, that I'm loyal to the Goodman name only. I'll pass that test because Jeremy and Nathan will stay quiet and pretend everything is fine.

  We board the elevator and find Scarborough's door on the ground floor, and my hearing tells me that no one is inside. The hall empties quickly except for two janitors who mop and make their way around the corner, away from us. Most staff have gone home, and we're entering that dawn period where it's too early for human tourists, yet too scarily close to the danger zone for everyone else.

  "Clear," Nathan says after surveying the hall. I'm glad we have him, and that Goodman trusts me to keep my mouth shut about his secret plans. He's used to intimidating others and getting what he wants.

  Scarborough’s door waits. Senator William Scarborough, Heart Party. I grab the doorknob. Then I turn the knob as hard as I can, expecting the lock inside to snap thanks to my new strength, but I meet resistance.

  “Now what?” I ask Jeremy.

  He tries the door, too, with the same results.

  “Reinforced locks,” he says.

  "Okay," Amelia says. "We need a different way, and before the two of you lose your strength." She nods to me and Jeremy. "I'll clean any scent you leave by raiding the supplies closet. I know where they all are."

  "Shit," I say, wringing out my wrist. "Goodman was expecting this to be difficult."

  Jeremy works his jaw. "Some of these doors are reinforced like this, especially if the lawmakers are rich. Breaking the door itself will cause too much noise. We'll have to go through the outside window." He grimaces at me.

  The outside window. Shit. What time is it now?

  "Move," Nathan says. "His window is in a hidden location. Amelia. Come back and clean this afterward. We need your help now. We have a tiny time frame in which to work."

  I eye a clock on the wall, and thankfully, they're everywhere and make up for the lack of cameras. It's almost six in the morning. Shit, how did we use that much time already? Goodman waited longer than I thought.

  He did that on purpose, too. Yes, Haywood and Goodman are punishing us.

  Amelia leads us out of a side door and onto grass, and I realize that the sky is already an orange pink, even though we're on a narrow patch of grass between the Senate office buildings and away from any prying eyes. Instantly, the first twinges of a headache shoot across my eyes, and my arms shake with weakness. "That fucking coward," I say through grit teeth.

  "We have to deliver the goods, or he'll up the punishment," Jeremy whispers, trying to block the growing rays from me with his body. But it doesn't do much good. "We will factor this into his death." He rubs his head as he walks, and I know he's trying to take the pain off me.

  "This is Scarborough's window," Amelia says. "And there are wooden shutters inside, but I think you two might still be strong enough to break past them." She kneels, cupping her hands under a window to make a foothold.

  I'm glad she knows the layout of all the office buildings. I use the handhold, grabbing the stone windowsill with more ease than I thought possible. The headache intensifies as I leave Jeremy's shelter, but I'm still able to do an effortless pull-up to the window itself.

  The window, of course, doesn't open at all. It's installed right into a heavy frame which is installed into the stonework itself.

  My temper flares, and I raise my fist and slam it into the glass. I brace myself for it to shatter, but only a crack appears across it.

  "Bulletproof," Jeremy says. "Still, good on you for cracking it. Here." He jumps and slams his fist down on the glass again and again, and it finally cracks under his supernatural strength. He peels away large pieces and tosses them to the grass. A hole opens, and then he pounds at the wooden shutters inside.

  They, too, break inward, making splinters. A dark office waits on the other side.

  Jeremy wants to spare me from having to face my strength. This is part of him making me feel normal. And though part of me appreciates it, I'm disappointed. I wanted to handle this myself, despite having no grudge against Scarborough.

  "Ladies first," he says with an evil grin.

  "Thanks." He scoots aside, still holding the window frame, and allows me to crawl through the hole.

  I'll ask how this break-in will be covered up later, because Goodman will be pissed over us leaving evidence behind. Maybe he wants us to fail so he can keep me on my toes, and maybe Jeremy, too.

  And just to spite him, I won't.

  The pain in my head grows as the morning light gets brighter, and cool relief sweeps through me as I get into the dark office and straighten, pulling splinters off my clothes. Jeremy follows, and Nathan does the same while Amelia remains outdoors. Already, I hear her tapping a message to someone, probably to get the window and shutters fixed before anyone sees this. I'm glad we're between the buildings and not facing any roads, and I'm glad we have the Diamonds' help. Or maybe Amelia is tapping a message to Goodman's secret assistants, whoever they are. He never gave me the list he promised.

  "Okay. Open cabinets. Nathan, take photos." Jeremy switches on the light, even though we don't need it to see. My vision is fine in low light, and I'm still not used to it.

  Scarborough's office is even more elegant than Goodman's, though far less paranoid. He has a cherry wood desk that reflects the orb lights on the ceiling and a placard that might be gold. He’s painted his walls a deep tan, and it smells fresh, like he has money to blow on office improvements. Whatever. I search the office, which is full of polished file cabinets, top-end computers, and exotic rugs.

  I tell Jeremy every word of what Goodman said as I search the computer desks first, namely the one with the golden placard, and I find I can break Scarborough's locks on the cabinets easily. He can't reinforce simple desk locks. Inside there are folders I open and skim while Nathan photographs each one. I spot letters to other lawmakers. TNH stories. Even one to Warrington, recommending she join their Board of Directors. He's in on that crap, too. That makes me feel less bad about this.

  "Does your father know Goodman could plot against him?" I ask Jeremy. "Is there any way to warn him?"

  Jeremy stiffens as he goes through one of the polished wooden cabinets. "I don't know if he'll believe me. But I'm guessing Goodman would want to eliminate him before the primaries, so he'd be the only viable candidate to go against Warrington. No other Spades have great ratings right now. And Goodman is as party line as it gets."

  My stomach turns as I keep flipping through the files. "The Spades would have to put him forward as the candidate for the next election, if Haywood were to die."

  "Most likely. I should have known." He pulls open another file cabinet, finds nothing, and slams it shut. "My father is like the others, but he's the lesser of the two evils. And Goodman is right. Haywood does sometimes work with the Hearts, who Goodman thinks are all tyrants. Ironic."

  "I feel sick."

  Jeremy looks at me with those sea green eyes. "You should. We all should."

  "Can't you tell your father even if the Service can't?"

  Then the First Son screws his face up in anguish. "Do you know what would happen? You and I would never see each other again. Haywood would forbid it. The Secret Service would forbid it. And that means the Diamonds don't go forward with their plans."

  No. Jeremy and I need each other. I can't do that. Now I understand how he felt when he knew I had to leave the city. I'm almost relieved that telling Haywood would backfire on everyone.

  "I can confirm," Nathan says. "It is safer to have Ember be able to work with us, for everyone involved. But the non-Diamond Service members would not understand that. Many are loyal to the status quo and consider the Diamonds to be threats."

  I gulp and open the next folder, working on autopilot while Nathan continues to snap photos.

  I would be left alone with that monster.

  And expected to carry out his dirty work, alone.

  And then how long would I last before he had me kill and then tell him about the Diamonds?

  "Safer for everyone?" I ask.

  Jeremy leaves the cabinet behind, and he grabs a spray bottle and wipes his scent off. "Yes. If Goodman gained the Presidency, we'd all learn the real meaning of a tyrant. Do you think he'd ever let it go?"

  "No," I say.

  "That's why we both need to be able to work with the Diamonds. We cannot tell my father about this, unfortunately. At least, not right now. Not until the time is right.”

  "Ah. Ember. Stop there," Nathan says, looking at the document I'm on. He whistles. "They're directions. We've found Warrington's hideout. The Diamonds have wanted to eliminate her for years."

  Nathan snaps another photo and promises to send it to Jeremy, then Goodman. He tells me I'm supposed to tell Goodman that good news is incoming.

  "You found it," Jeremy tells me as Amelia continues to pace outside and tap on her phone. "Take the credit. That'll keep Goodman off your back for the time being."

  I nod. Yes. I need to buy time again. "Thanks. I'm still working on getting him to open, but I have had little luck. I just know he likes Shakespeare and the attack on the mansion really got to him."

  Jeremy nods. “Good. If I could do all this for you—”

  "I can do this. His kill is mine." My voice, and the viciousness in it, shocks me. "I'll figure out who he is, destroy him, and relish it."

  Jeremy steps back, expressionless. He wants to avenge me, but the monster inside won't allow that. I let Nathan snap photos of the last pages as the headache catches up with me, and I rub my scalp.

  Though it's not direct, the sun is coming through the window, and its toxic effects are already taking hold. I move away from it and join Jeremy near the door as he turns off the light switch. The reminder of my changes only deepens the anger. I no longer have the freedom to be outdoors at any point of the day. Nathan hurries away from the window as well and motions us to the door. "Amelia has contacted some of Goodman's secret assistants, who will clean and repair this place before nightfall," Nathan whispers. The red lines in his eyes are dulling. "The three of us will leave through the underground parking ramp, and there are vehicles waiting for each of us."

 

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