Chapter 2

Sal hesitated. "Cade, can you really handle that? The Carlisles have serious connections back home."

I let out a cold laugh and said slowly, "I've been in Rathai for fifteen years. I've had blood on my hands, and I've pulled people out from under the knife. The Carlisles can be as powerful as they want. Their reach doesn't extend out here."

He shook his head again. "It's not happening. You don't understand. Brynn gave specific instructions, and I can't afford to screw this up. Cade, you should go."

I did not waste any more words. I turned and walked back to the holding room.

The floating text kept scrolling.

[Arden has been locked up for seven days. He's been shocked three times, and the whippings happen every single day.]

[He's covered in injuries. If this keeps up, he's going to die.]

[Brynn has no idea what Rathai actually is. She thinks it's just a few days of scaring him straight.]

I pulled out my phone and hit speed dial. A few minutes later, my five bodyguards arrived.

I walked straight into the holding room. Arden was still huddled in the corner, staring at me blankly. I crouched down and checked his injuries.

Up close, they were far worse than what I had seen from a distance. His back was covered in lash marks, some already blackened and festering. His arms were dotted with circular burn scars from electrical shocks, new ones layered over old.

"Can you walk?"

He nodded and struggled to his feet, but his legs buckled, and he nearly collapsed. I caught him and turned to my bodyguards. "Get him out of here."

We had barely cleared the holding area when a crowd surged in from the far end of the corridor. Sal stood at the front, his expression dark.

"Mr. Brennan, what exactly do you think you're doing? Taking someone off my property?"

I stepped in front of Arden. "Sal, I already told you. I'm taking this boy, and I will pay you every cent he's worth."

Sal laughed, but there was nothing warm about it. "Money? What the Carlisles are offering is a long-term partnership. You're one man, Brennan. What do you have that can compete with an entire family?"

My bodyguards drew their guns. Sal's men raised theirs, and the two sides locked into a standoff.

Sal lit a cigarette. "Mr. Brennan, I'm giving you one last chance out of respect for the years we've done business together. Leave the boy and walk away. The auction's about to start, and the Carlisle people are here. If you walk out with him, I have nothing to tell them."

I held his stare. "And if I take him anyway?"

His smile vanished. "Then don't blame me for what happens next."

Tate, one of my bodyguards, leaned in close. "Boss, they've got us outnumbered."

The floating text turned frantic.

[It's over. The boss only has five men, and Sal has at least thirty.]

[Brynn and Corbin found out Arden never made it to the auction floor. They're heading over with people right now. They're already at the door!]

The words had barely faded when footsteps echoed behind me. I heard the sharp click of heels on concrete, unhurried and deliberate.

A group emerged from the far end of the corridor. The woman at the front was young, dressed in a tailored suit, her expression cool and assessing. She carried herself like someone accustomed to looking down on everyone in the room.

The boy beside her wore a crisp white casual outfit, his hair styled to perfection, and the look he gave Arden was pure, unconcealed malice.

[Here they come. Brynn and Corbin!]

[Corbin is really playing the part. If you didn't know better, you'd think he was here to rescue his brother.]

Brynn surveyed the standoff and let her gaze settle on me. Her brow creased. Then she turned to Sal, her tone sharp with displeasure.

"Mr. Keever, why is our 'merchandise' still here? The auction is about to begin."

Sal hurried over to her with a placating smile. "Ms. Carlisle, I wasn't expecting you to come down here personally. We've got a small situation, but it will be sorted out momentarily."

Brynn's eyes moved from me to Arden standing behind me. She looked at him the way a person would look at a piece of inventory.

"Who is this?" she asked Sal.

"Cade Brennan. He's in the jade trade." Sal gestured between us.

"Cade, this is Ms. Carlisle, from the Carlisle family in Harstead."

Only then did Brynn look at me properly, sizing me up with undisguised contempt. "Mr. Brennan? A businessman out here in Rathai?"

I did not respond. I reached into my pocket and drew out a piece of jade, letting it rest in my open palm.

Under the lights, the stone was luminous all the way through, an even and vivid green without a single flaw. It was the kind of specimen that was rare even among the finest old-mine glass jade.