Loyalty Pawn #2 Novels & Stories

And now, standing in the wreckage of their arrogance, I felt the sweet, cold satisfaction of victory. But the game wasn’t over yet. There was one final level left to play. I turned toward the fruit bowl on the side table, the same one that had sealed Lauren’s fate. I selected one, picked up the small silver knife again, and began peeling it with theatrical slowness. I extended the peeled grape toward Lauren, smiling. “Want a bite?” She recoiled against the pillows, eyes wide with animal terror. “Get away.” Behind me, I heard the thunder of footsteps—Nathan charging like a bull. “I’ll make you pay—”

“How did it come to this…” I smirked in disdain. “Your Highness, the support you got through dirty tricks was never going to last. “How could a man like you ever be king?” [Yes! Our girl finally broke free from that love potion!] [Let Christof rot in his cell and keep dreaming. This chapter is so satisfying!] [Harald has a wife now!]

“I haven’t decided which of them I’d mourn.” He laughed once, low and broken, then stopped. The sound died between us, leaving only that shared recognition: that we had already lost too much to call this safety. I reached for the locket at my throat. His eyes followed the motion, sharp, wary. “It’s my mother’s,” I said. “Inside is everything that can ruin your war.” He stepped closer until the edge of his coat brushed my sleeve. “You trust me with it?” “I don’t trust anyone,” I said. “But you’re the one who keeps showing up when I need a liar.”

“Oh, that's sweet if you. How beautiful. I want you to choose.” Jane paused, her heart skipped a beat. “I don't get you. What do you want me to choose?” “Loyalty, Jane,” Palmer said smoothly. “You were designed beautifully, Jane. The perfect tool. You were smarter than your father. More dangerous than Michael. But you made love your weakness. We taught you better.” He said with a wicked smile on his face. “Come back to us. Yes, you didn't know who Phil was working with, but now you know. You must finish what you started. We had a mission for you, you must help me dismantle whoever stands in my way. In return—”

Satisfied that the most recent smell of werewolf was at least a few days old, I went back to the front to see what other stores were here. Besides the small sketchy grocery, these was a pawnbroker and a small spa. I decided that the pawnbroker was as good as any place to find a weapon or two, hoping that they at least had some silver jewelry or some such. The door made a pleasant beep as I entered, the neon lights and junk strewn about just shouted desperate situations and last resorts. “Ello! How can I help ya?” An older man with bushy grey eyebrows and a kind smile called from the back display case. “Buying’ or sellin’?”

He did. The night outside had edged into that late hour where the city held its breath between violence and exhaustion. The rain had softened to a mist that clung to skin and hair, turning every streetlight into a halo. We slipped down the back stairs and into the narrow passage between buildings. Lights glowed under the pawnshop’s side door. Ira’s hunched figure appeared when Kieran tapped the coded knock. “You’re all insane,” Ira muttered as he let us in. His eyes flicked to my stomach, and then away, like looking too long, might summon tribunals out of thin air. “I want triple for this, Sable.”

Cain smiled. This was interesting to him. “He might even be willing to pay us. She's going to be to him, a delightful change from the fat, old rich creeps he usually lays.” “But, there's a slight glitch. Would he be willing to tattoo his right hand as Pascal's?” Cain snorted with contempt. “A little oil in his engine and that bum would lay his mother. You have nothing to worry about.”

“My apologies, Your Majesty. I have no further questions for this witness.” *** “State your name and occupation for the record,” Orlov said to his next witness. “My name is Heny Ahger, and I’m a former mercenary for hire.” “And you are no longer a mercenary because..?” Orlov prodded. “I was arrested about six or seven months back on the charge of attempting to assassinate the Empress.” “You said for hire, Mr. Ahger. Do you not belong to a guild?” “Uh, no. I frequent pubs and taverns and pick up bounties, mostly solo work,” Ahger replied bitterly, the cuffs around his wrists chafing painfully against his skin.

“I have no other choice. I need the money plus you said I can take it back when I can fully return the money and pay the interest, yes?” “That’s true, so are you pawning it for 30 thousand?” “Yes sir.” I said and the man nods as he open a small safe behind him with some padlocks. He counted the paper bills on top of the tiled counter top, all are in thousand amounts. I take the money and fold it placing it into the inside of another empty pocket of my holster belt. “Take care miss and... nice costume.” The man said as I wave and leave the shop.

"Death is but a pawn in my control. I can take him off the board here and now if you desire it." Holly swallowed. She knew who this was without even having to speak his name. It was something she knew without being told and she knew the danger of this conversation. "Why do you even want to help me?" "To take you off the board," he replied back. "I would like to forever change your fate, not just the hiccups that Dagon has managed. That is what he calls himself at this time, is it not?" he chuckled. "Pestilence was always the rebel."