Page 118 of Coordinates of Death

“I just got out of prison, Kord.” Sebastian fiddled with the buttons on his shirt. “I’m not up on the news.”

Aurora jerked upright, her chair scraping on the floor. “Yet you answered a plea from him over the dark web. Did you forget that one detail?”

“Fine. Yes, I needed the money and thought the free trip would be worth it.” He smirked. “Plus, getting back at you both for all the pain you caused was the icing on the cake.”

Aurora marched into his space and slammed her palms on the table, lowering to his eye-level. “The pain you caused. I know what you did.”

Her confession only sharpened his evil smirk.

“Sebastian, tell the lady what you know.” Kordell had to rein in the conversation before Aurora escalated it even more.

Her flushed cheeks and narrowed eyes told him she was close to the breaking point. After that, not only would Wheeler come down hard on her for being unprofessional, but Sebastian could sue for harassment.

“Why should I, after you sent my entire family to prison, Kord? You and your stupid allegations.”

“Allegations?” Now it was time for Kordell to come unglued. Keep it together. Remember what’s at stake. He swallowed his anger. “I saw that young girl in your basement in that secret room.”

Sebastian huffed and sat back in his chair. “Fine. I’ll tell you, but I want a deal.”

Aurora’s gaze whipped to Kordell’s, her wrinkled forehead lines betraying the struggle she faced.

The same struggle he wrestled with in his mind. How could they give this man a deal? Not after all the pain he and his family had caused.

“Corporal Hunt?” Kordell kept his exchange professional, reminding her of why they were there, but he would not answer the man. That wasn’t his decision.

Her cell phone lit up on the table. She snatched it and read the message. “Well, it seems like our leaders are telling you we’ll work out a deal.”

Not the command she had obviously wanted. “Go ahead, tell us what you know.”

Kordell raised his index finger and looked at Aurora. “I have a condition too, if that’s okay.”

She nodded her agreement.

Kordell clasped his hands and placed them on the table. “You tell me what really happened the night your father drugged me.”

“Fine. I’m not going down for murder, so I’ll spill everything. First, I did not kill anyone. I only drugged Ginny with the syringe I was given. And I was told to take her to the institute.”

“How did you find out about the location?” Kordell asked.

“I got the coordinates from SBK over the dark web.”

Aurora circled the room. “What did SBK tell you to do? Taunt us? Fill that room with water?”

His mouth hung open, revealing genuine surprise. “No. I don’t know anything about that. I received instructions to beat Ginny, rough her up a bit. SBK said she was important to Rory, and I could take my frustrations out on her, so I did.”

Aurora halted, then plopped back onto her chair, biting her lip.

She was fighting strong emotions with the news of Sebastian’s cruel attack on her friend. He had to intervene to keep the interrogation going.

Kordell crossed his arms. “What else did SBK tell you?”

“Only that after I had my fun, I was to walk around and stay in the shadows. He told me that when I saw you guys enter, I should go through a certain door, then exit using the one on the opposite side of the room. Then run through a secret corridor and lock you in.” He laughed. “It was like a game to him—or her.”

“Did you ever see this person’s face?” Aurora asked.

“No. When I videoed with the person, they wore a scary mask.”

“What about their voice? High- or low-pitched? Male or female?” Aurora battered him with questions.