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"Deal with her?" I raise an eyebrow.
He waves away the warning in my voice. "She's always been a wild one. Does whatever the hell she wants. He's the only one she listens to and even that is only half the time."
"You think she landed herself in here because she was reckless?"
He scowls, poking my chest. "Don't fucking blame her for being here. These people shouldn't exist. The world would be better off without them in it. No matter how she got here, it's not her fault."
I hold up my hands. "Wasn't saying that. But we need to know if they're in Harris. If she followed you here, thinking she could help..."
He deflates, eyes skipping to the women huddled in the corner still whispering to each other.
"I don't know. I'll ask her, but we gotta stop this before more people like her get caught by the Guild."
"Reinforcements. We need backup."
He nods, but he's not paying attention anymore. He's too wrapped up in whatever horrific scenarios that are running in his head. I walk away, all the ways this could go wrong—Aelia's death playing over and over in various ways in my mind.
Thirty-Two
Aelia
"What do you mean we can't afford it?" Jenkins growls, and I shrink down in my chair.
Dante slides in front of me, pointing at the screen. "There's not enough liquidated assets to pay for the luxury the Auction normally has. Couple that with the recent influx of more bodies and the funds just aren't there."
"What about the raise in dues? That's why I upped them." A flush travels up his neck the more agitated he gets.
"Unfortunately, many of the council members are dragging their feet," Dante says, shaking his head as if this is a terrible turn of events.
It's not. And it's totally because of Dante. He's been stringing them along ever since Jenkins put him in charge of communication between headquarters and the satellite cities. One month isn't enough to do any real damage, but it's pushed the Auction date out at least. New Year's is right around the corner and most of the members are grumbling about the delay.
"I thought you were dealing with that. Why did I allow you into the Guild if you aren't going to deal with these things?"
"Because I infused your business with hundreds of thousands of dollars," Dante growls, facing Jenkins and crossing his arms.
A chill runs through me. All the escape plans we have include us just running for the nearest exit. That won't work here. And since Jenkins has a strict no weapons rule, we don't even have the added protection.
I close my eyes, planning the route to the closest exit. The problem will come if Jenkins overpowers Dante or he hits the alarm. He had it fixed last week, along with the addition of steel sheets capable of blocking the windows. Dante said something about total lockdown, which I don't fully understand, but I know it's not good.
"I bent all the rules for you. Fix this. Now." Jenkins storms from the room, leaving us alone.
I push back from the desk, standing abruptly. The chair knocks into the wall, and I stutter to the side, eyes darting to the door. My hands tremble as I shuffle into the corner, praying to whatever god will listen that he won't come back to investigate the noise.
I've never been left alone in here. Someone is always watching. Even when I go into the Pit, Jenkins has said he follows me through the cameras. Grant usually isn't too far behind.
Dante steps toward me, but I throw my hand out, making a point of glancing at the camera in the corner of the room. His face changes, brows pulling low, and I remind myself it's all an act on his part.
"Get back here, now," he grunts, pointing at the chair.
The command in his voice overrides the panic, and I woodenly walk back to him. Sinking slowly into the chair, I roll it back toward the desk as I pull in deep breaths to calm my racing heart. My eyes flick to the door again and again, unable to fully smother the anxiety rushing through me.
He leans over me, pointing at the screen as he murmurs in my ear. "Are you okay?"
"He's never walked out while I'm here," I breathe, fingers shaking as I pull up another program.
It takes me four times to enter the right information to access the files. Dante wants me to siphon more money into an offshore account, but after Jenkins's outburst, I'm not sure it's such a good idea.
A phone rings and I jump until Dante fishes it out of his pocket. I rarely see him use it, but over the last month he's been taking more calls. He's also been disappearing during the day, refusing to tell anyone where he's been. Then Jag snuck off, coming back smelling like gunpowder and smoke. No matter how much Avery badgered him, he refused to say what he'd been doing.
