Page 38 of Craved

Which leads me to the next question. “Have we got a plan?”

“I texted Quincy after Killion told me what he has planned. A team is on the way, and he’s also calling in favors from a group he used to work with in this area, as well as contacts from the SOC and some other covert agencies.”

“There’s another Stark Security agent who knows I’m here. Zane Parker. I used an emergency beacon to contact him.”

“I know,” Maxim says.

“How—oh.”

“I told Quincy. By now, Zane should be detained.”

“So what exactly is the plan?” I ask.

He drags his fingers through his hair. “The key is to locate the RF transmitter. It’s mounted on a Jeep, so part of the trick is finding a moving target before it gets in range.”

“What is the range?”

“About a kilometer,” he says. “The transmitter’s keyed to the frequency of the bacteriophage those kids ingested. If the pulse goes out anywhere within a one-kilometer radius, and those children are dead.”

I shudder. “So the trick is to take out the Jeep and its driver before they break the one-kilometer mark.”

“Exactly.”

I nod, but I hate that I don’t know who’s going to be on that. From what Maxim has told me, there are going to be a lot of children at risk this afternoon.

I take a deep breath, forcing the worry away. “And you and me? What’s our task?” I know perfectly well that we’ll just be party guests. Maxim can’t break cover, and I can’t go off and be something other than a prisoner. But I hate having no control.

Gently, Maxim tugs my hair from my fingers, then kisses my hand.

“We’ll just be at the party, keeping our eye on Killion. As soon as I get confirmation that the Jeep’s transmitter is out of commission and those kids are safe, all teams not involved in locking down the transmitter and its handlers will storm the building, providing backup so you and I can take out Killion.”

I smile. “I like the sound of that.”

“It’s a good plan,” he says. And he’s right.

But we both know that good plans can go to hell. And this night might completely go to shit.

* * * *

I’m standing by the window sipping a glass of Chardonnay when Killion steps up beside me. He looks me up and down, then nods. “You look lovely, daughter.” He reaches out and I have to force myself not to shudder as he brushes his palm against my upper arm, left bare by the thin straps of my dress. No way am I giving him the satisfaction of a reaction.

“It’s been so long since I left, I almost forgot how much I had planned for the two of us to enjoy when you got older.”

“Sorry to have ruined your plans,” I say. “Oh, wait. No. I’m not.”

I turn, then start to walk away.

“One pulse,” he says. “One pulse from a pocket transmitter, and I can take you out, girl. You remember that.”

He turns and walks away as I stand there fighting an urge to tremble as I try to make sense of his words.

“What is it?” Maxim asks, coming to stand behind me with the plate of food he’s gathered, the better to camouflage his real purpose in walking the perimeter of this room.

“Killion,” I say, then repeat what that vile monster had said to me.

“He’s being an ass,” Maxim says. “Trying to scare you.”

I’m not so certain. The one thing my father has never done is make idle threats. “Is a pocket transmitter really a thing?” The only transmitter I know of is the one Killion has strapped to a Jeep.