Page 69 of Shai

“Three?”

A shadow crossed his face. “McIntyre, and… two of his guards. I had no choice. It was my only way out of the building. They weren’t going to let me just leave.”

“How did you kill them?”

He swallowed, the action reverberating down his throat. “I got the first with the razorblade. It was easy. It…” He swallowed again. “He was already dead before I got out. The second, I had to… fight him for his gun. I shot him. He was still alive, but I assume he died soon after. He didn’t look like he was going anywhere.”

“Do you know how many men I’ve killed?”

Something approaching the beginnings of a smile appeared on Elijah’s lips. “I should think you’ve probably lost count.”

I pushed Elijah’s wine glass closer to him. “You’d be right.”

His gaze drifted over the glass, but he made no move to reach for it.

I let out a laugh. “I haven’t poisoned your wine. It’s perfectly safe to drink.”

A muscle twitched in Elijah’s cheek. “It would make sense though, wouldn’t it?”

He’d lost me. “What would?”

Elijah toyed with the stem of the glass. “For you to get rid of me now that I’ve served my purpose. It would tie up all the loose ends.”

“Would it?” I thought about it. “Perhaps.” I reached over and snagged his glass, bringing it to my lips and taking a gulp of the wine in it. “There. You can wait a couple of minutes and know that it’s safe when I don’t drop dead.”

Elijah was still looking thoughtful. “I guess if you wanted to kill me, you could have done it with the gun you took off me. And it makes no sense for you to get me off Void only to kill me.”

“Exactly.”

He picked the glass up, downing half its contents before placing it back down. “What happened at McIntyre’s compound? After, I mean. Taylor wouldn’t answer questions about that either.”

“The men who had any sense split right after McIntyre’s unfortunate and untimely demise. Harris, who apparently has none, voted himself the new king of the castle. He’s been doing his best, but it’s quite frankly embarrassing. They won’t last long. We’ve been picking them off at an alarming rate.”

Elijah shifted in his seat. “So you’ll have everything you ever wanted

soon. The city will be all yours.”

“It will.” I lifted my glass in a toast. “Thanks to you. Let’s drink to a

new beginning.”

Elijah made no move to reciprocate the toast, his brow furrowing. “And

what will you do now that you’ve achieved your aim?”

I smiled at him. “There are always things to still want.”

“Are there?”

“Of course.” I watched him closely, watched the range of emotions

flicker across his face as I waited for the question that he had yet to ask. I didn’t have to wait long.

“What about me?”

“What about you?”

“You’re not going to kill me, but I assume you’re not going to let me go