Lahat ng Kabanata ng Playing with the Enemy: Kabanata 201 - Kabanata 209

Ralis’ secrets were already making the rounds. Had been for two hours.Some things, especially good things, took time to cook, and Rina had been cooking for fifteen hours.Right on schedule, at 9 a.m., before Ralis acted, we had begun to leak his information online. Information about some of his businesses, the ones that our government could easily handle – fraud, embezzlement, grafting.Simple things that we could reverse if we needed to.As it turned out, we wouldn’t be needing to.We didn’t send a direct package. We made it look like some crusader had stumbled on some dirt and was secretly sharing it on the dark web. The instigator even had photo evidence of some transactions.Government agencies preferred shit that way.The next step was sharing information with his competitors. Locations of Ralis’ goods and contacts he used.Scheduled for tomorrow, but would happen right now.Not only had he rejected my deal, but he

I filed that away.I turned to Liam. “But I understand you have other matters to attend to.”I turned back to Adrian. His brow was furrowed as he stared at Liam.The guard’s gaze was not on me, but his jaw tightened slightly; I was more than a little certain he was calling me a prick too.I spun on my heel and headed to the door.“Wha– Wait! Jayden, wait!”I paused and turned back to him, keeping my expression neutral.“Where are you going?”I smiled.“Making a few more arrangements. Will be back in an hour.”I glanced at Liam, held his gaze for half a second longer than required, nodded at him, and left.As soon as I got to the main hallway, I was speaking with my sister again.“My lovely, how’s it looking down there?” I said quietly.“They’re gonna need some renovations, but our guys have the upper hand.”“How many?”“Twelve of them, ten of us. More of them on the way. At least

I gritted my teeth as the car made its way through the afternoon traffic.Vega was on the phone.The driver suddenly lurched. The vehicle came to a halt.I glanced up, out the window and windshield. There were men in black, from head to toe, firing smoke bombs.“Fuck!” I cursed.Vega pulled me down to the floor of the car and got over me as glass shattered.His body was pulled away. Someone struck my cheek, twice.I cut his arm with my wire and pulled him through the broken window.There was a loud explosion.The car rocked.Hands were on me from all sides. My grip on the arm loosened. I was struck again and was lifted off the seat.Something was stuffed in my mouth as the cool temperature outside touched my face. A bag was over my head, and my shoulder struck metal. Hard.I didn’t move. Didn’t try to speak.I saw only one face in my mind, and I held on to it.==========Jayden’s

Adrian’s POV.Two months ago, I would have missed it.My father’s guests pulled me into their conversations, no matter how many times I got away from them.I finally gave up around 2 o’clock and just sat in as the butler took over inviting people in, and Liam got the hospital staff to bring in more seats to my father’s room, as earlier invitees simply moved away from the bed to make room for the new ones.Their guards stayed outside, but the room was crowded with the large, plush sofas the older men were using.A past version of me would have been swept along, would have forgotten, but soon, three full hours had passed, and there was no sign of Jayden Malroy.I had already forgiven him, and Liam. Something that would have taken much longer barely two weeks prior.They were hiding something, and only one person they both knew came to mind – my brother.I kept my phone in my pocket, on vibrate, and every movement I made caused me

“I –”“Is he dead?” The slim face was ghostly now, the eyes damp. “Did you finally do what you’ve always wanted? Did you take him from me again? Have you taken him forever?”I stared.Lesser men than Clement Monore had gone rabid. I didn’t want to get another pair of ships for this man. I didn’t hate him, nor was he a problem in my universe.But I was beginning to think he could become one – if I didn’t shut this down the right way.I held his gaze for a long moment. I tilted my head to the side.“Do you… love him, Clement?”“There is no such thing as love, Jayden. Not in this world.”My eyes searched his face.“You know what he was to me?”“I do.”“You know what he did to me?”“Yes.”“Then after how many years, why would I need to have anything to do with him now?”His lips pursed.“You must have heard some of the things people are saying. Leon was mixed up with some really bad