Interlude [h.s]

seventy-eight

The man lets out an unimpressed scoff. "We are stronger than you think. You can barely guess at the allies we have. And even if he survived, he's only one man in a country ravaged by a civil war."

The glass splinters in Kiara's hand. "It's them, isn't it? They're behind this."

The man doesn't reply.

The wine bottle hurtles past the man's form. Wine splashes the room. "Answer me!"

He sniggers. "How does it feel to be on the weaker side, Ms. Bryce?"

Kiara's eyes widen. He knows who she is. Her cover is blown. The freedom Harry tried so hard to give her has just disappeared.

"We know what you've done. We'll come for you too. We'll cleanse this country from the sewers to the top of the Palace, level by level. You can't stop us."

"You can't win—"

"We've come so far. Now we know who the true enemy is. It's only his fault if we're here, and now he'll pay for it in blood." He lets out a booming laugh. "Do you hear that? The ringing bells of opportunity! The time has come..."

He keeps blabbering on, but all Kiara can see is the look in his eyes. She's seen it before. "Oh, you didn't." She knows what she has to do now. The ringing bells of opportunity. She's hearing them too, now, and she's certain she isn't the only one.

She stands up and scrolls through her phone. She finds the number and calls it, ignoring the raving man at the other end of the room. The phone on the other side rings for so long that she starts thinking her call won't be picked up, but then there's some shuffling on the other side.

"Yes? Who's there?" A hiss, a creak, and a low murmur follow the question. Is it a man's voice? "Jackson, stop it." The sentence is whispered, but the microphone of the device picks it up anyway.

"Use my first name." Definitely a man's voice. Kiara would ask, but she's quite certain she does not want to know. She's had enough of the Palace to last a lifetime.

"Am I interrupting, Evelyn?" Kiara asks into the phone. She turns her back to the man, but keeps an eye on him over her shoulder to make sure he won't make a move while she isn't looking. Not that he'd manage to escape. She's quite good at tying knots, especially around arrogant men that think they're above everyone else.

There's some more movement, and then heels tapping on the floor. A door opens, then closes. "It depends on what you're going to say, Ms. Bryce," Evelyn says. She's alone, now.

"Where the hell is the Palace?"

"Pardon?"

"Dacran was attacked again," Kiara explains, "yesterday. Where were you?"

"We'll be there as soon as we can. But you must understand the priority of the personal guard is to find the President, and the personal guard has control over the army, so..."

"They're going to destroy this country!" Kiara hisses. "Trust me, I want him to be found just as much as you do, if not more—"

"Careful, Ms. Bryce." The tone of Harry's secretary is glacial. Kiara knows she's offended.

She changes topic. "I have one of the them here. Are you coming to pick him up? I mean, one of the group that attacked Dacran."

There's a pause. "As I said, the Palace's priority aren't these attacks, but..."

Kiara sighs. "I understand."

"Have you made any progress?"

She thinks for a long moment. She can only think of one thing—the woman she met in front of the eggs shelf a few weeks ago. But it's only a supposition, and she isn't even sure she'd recognise her in a crowd. Dammit. "Nothing yet. It's hard with everything that's happening. But..." She looks at the man and lowers her voice to a half-whisper. "Have you checked the hospitals in the area?"