Zachariel doesn’t know about the enhancement, and I’m leaving it that way. I believe he’s genuinely trying to help me—and we both want to get free of Moloch’s grasp—but once we leave Gehenna, our interests may not be so well-aligned. And in spite of how good he is in bed, or how grateful I am that he saved my life, I’m not going to run away from my problems—not until I’m sure no one else will pay the price for it.
I’m suited up and back in Zachariel’s bedroom, waiting for Moloch to allow me out of my prison. Zachariel has similarly ditched his corporate disguise for a fresh round of debt collector wear, only a little higher class with a black silk shirt under his trenchcoat. He has a theory: that my suit will subtly remind Moloch that I am a debt collector, as well as an attractive woman, and somehow those things will work in my favor. I’m certain Moloch doesn’t care about any of that, but I need to find out what he does care about… and how to use that to our advantage. Stalling until Zachariel’s handler can extricate us is a grand plan—if things don’t go sideways before then.
Everything depends on what Moloch has in mind for me. Which we’re about to find out.
The door to Zachariel’s bedroom slides open. A tall debt collector I don’t recognize fills the doorway but doesn’t come in. He’s just retrieving us, so Zachariel and I step out into the narrow hallway and take the short walk back to the large center room of Moloch’s lair.
Today, it’s relatively empty, but I’m surprised to see Ishtar. Last I heard, she had remained behind in Sacramento with Seth. I look for him, but it’s just her and Moloch—he’s reposed in his black velvet throne, while she stands next to him. Moloch has changed into a dark corporate suit, while Ishtar’s off-the-shoulder midnight number is a perfect match for the gothic palace décor. My mind begs me to make sarcastic comments about their formalwear, but my good sense locks the humor away.
Moloch’s already killed me once.
Our collector escort hangs back while Zachariel and I approach the king of death on his throne.
Moloch stays seated. “Ms. Sterling, you look remarkably well for a dead woman.”
I’m not sure what to say to that. Zachariel’s face is impassive, giving me no hints whatsoever. I need to play this cool, but fooling Moloch about anything is going to be exponentially harder than before. And I wasn’t very good at it then. Impulsively, I decide the truth is probably better.
“Being alive is definitely my preferred mode,” I say carefully.
“Is that so?” Moloch rises from his chair and steps closer. He takes a moment to look over my suit, but it’s not the appreciative stare I’m getting from Ishtar. More like he’s trying to pierce the synthetics with his x-ray blue eyes to get a peek inside at what makes me tick. “I hope you understand the situation here, Ms. Sterling. The only life you have is the one we allow. Every drop of it belongs to me. Every minute you live is by my grace.”
I only have sarcastic retorts for that, so I stay silent.
His gaze runs over my unbound curls, still slightly frizzed from the experiment with the suit. It’s like I’m a wild animal he’s inspecting.
“You clearly aren’t afraid to die,” he says, as if that’s a conclusion he just reached by examining my hair. “Tell me: what motivates you, Ms. Sterling?”
I swallow and do my best to inject truth into my voice. “I didn’t realize what I had to lose before. The funny thing about dying is, well, it gives you a certain taste for living.”
He arches an eyebrow. I think he actually believes me… probably because it’s true. Moloch glances at Zachariel, who is still stony-faced. “By the rosy cheeks this morning, I trust you’ve had more than a taste.”
“Like I said… I didn’t know what I was missing.” Also true. And the blush that runs unbidden to my face probably helps win the chuckle from Moloch.
He steps back, beckoning Ishtar to his side. “What do you think, my love?”
Ishtar floats forward and drapes a hand on his shoulder, but her eyes are all for me. “I think she’s positively stunning. If you don’t want her, I’ll be happy to keep her.”
He chastises her with a not-too-serious frown. “I still have uses for her, beyond your plaything, Ishtar.”
She pouts, but I suspect this is all a game between them. Or for show. I’m not sure.
He turns back to me. “Let me be very plain, Ms. Sterling. As long as I have a use for you, I will do precisely that. The moment you are no longer useful, then your life energy will be up to the highest bidder.” He throws a smirk to Ishtar, but it’s gone by the time he faces me again. “It’s truly unfortunate that we could not win you to our cause. That would have been most advantageous. Perhaps now that you’ve experienced a moment of death, you have discovered a new wish to live. Perhaps not. But someone like you is not as much of a mystery as you would like to think. You’re proud and rebellious, willing to die rather than bend… I know precisely what kind of person you are. And what will cause you the most pain.”
I clamp my mouth shut, locking in the protest that Moloch doesn’t know me at all. But my heart is beating faster along with every word—and with the fear that he knows all too well how to hurt me.
“You truly forced me into this,” he says, although his smile betrays the pleasure he’s taking in it. “Not that I would hesitate to use any means to accomplish my purpose, but you should know that you are responsible for leaving me very few alternatives.” He pulls a slim hand-held from the pocket of his tailored black suit. With a few taps, he brings up something then turns it to face me. “Here’s one of those alternatives.”
It’s a picture of Wyatt. My breath hitches involuntarily. Before I can even think of something to say, he taps something else up on the screen and turns it back to me.
“And here’s another.”
This time it’s Miral. My eyelid twitches. My mouth opens and closes, but I can’t even form words. I want to beg him to not hurt them… except I know that will only speed the likelihood that he will.
“You don’t have to tell me who your confidants are, Ms. Sterling,” he says. “I already know them quite well. If you’ll remember, we’ve been watching you for some time.”
I can’t breathe again until he tucks the hand-held back in his pocket.
“Since I cannot have your voluntary cooperation in dismantling your father’s work,” he says, “then I will have your assistance under duress. Regardless, step by step, if you do not wish to see the few remaining people in your life join your father in the grave, then you will do as I say. I suspect, soon enough, you will wish I had not allowed Zachariel to bring you back.”
He turns his cold gaze on Zachariel. “As for you, my friend, that was a very poor choice on your part, asking for the chance to keep the lovely Ms. Sterling for yourself. Gehenna needs to be at the core of everything you do—otherwise its potential will not come to fruition. Your devotion must be absolute. I had thought you understood this, but I can see that I was mistaken.”
My heart takes another lurch, afraid Zachariel will pay for saving me, long before we have any chance to make our getaway.
“I had a momentary weakness,” Zachariel says coolly. “But you could say my taste for that weakness has been extensively satisfied.”
“Really?” Moloch’s skepticism is clear. “I suspect your fondness for the delicious Ms. Sterling goes beyond such simple things. But you’re a valuable member of Gehenna. I do not want to lose you. So you’ll have your chance to prove yourself once again.” He glances to me, satisfaction in his gaze. “When Ms. Sterling has taken all she can bear and comes begging for her life to end, that is when I will allow you to take it back, Zachariel. It will give you a chance to prove your loyalty to the cause is greater than your taste for any one collector. Until then, I’d prefer if you remained in your room.”
Zachariel tips his head. “As you wish.”
But my heart is banging around in my chest. How are we going to escape if Zachariel is confined to quarters? Or will I regret all o
f this long before then, just as Moloch says? My panic steps up another notch as Moloch waves his hand at Zachariel, dismissing him. He presses his lips together, turns, and marches away with our escort, back to his room.
Shit. What am I going to do now? I’m afraid I know the answer: whatever Moloch asks of me.
“Now then, Ms. Sterling,” Moloch says, dragging my attention back to him. “Assuming you actually care about your friends, you will listen very carefully to what I’m about to tell you.”
I’m cursing inside, but outside, my expression is blank, like the emotionless robot I will have to be to carry out his demands, whatever they are. And it’s quickly becoming clear that, should I ever escape from Moloch’s lair, going into Witness Protection may be the only way to keep Wyatt and Miral from being perpetually on Moloch’s hit list.
“Now that the Akulife deal has successfully transpired—and well done on that, by the way—I can see the many advantages that control of Sterling Cybernetics would bring to Gehenna. Especially given that this technology, the life energy storage method, is so vital to our plans. We need to make sure Sterling is firmly in the hands of someone I can trust to support life energy technologies. The company has a long future ahead of it, one I expect to outlast your tragically short life.”
I grit my teeth. The trade is my father’s company to save my friends’ lives. Moloch doesn’t mess around. But I frown, because even if I wanted to do this, I’m not entirely following how he expects it to happen.
“What do you want me to do? I can’t simply hand over Sterling shares to Gehenna.” Not least because that would raise the profile of the organization—if there actually is an organization beyond Moloch’s maniacal cult and followers.
“That would be impractical, I agree,” he says. “What I require is that you construct a will designating a new recipient of your Sterling shares after your death. Ishtar would be a fine choice, as my trust in her is unparalleled, and she has the benefit of a solid legal presence.”
I don’t ask why Moloch himself doesn’t want the shares. Perhaps he’s even more of a ghost than he appears. “If I construct a will deeding my shares to Ishtar, I doubt I would survive the trip home. I may be under duress, Moloch, but I’m not stupid.”
Moloch smirks. “Perhaps you have more desire to live now than I suspected. But I already told you: as long as you’re useful to me, you’ll get to keep your life energy. Ishtar may be in line to own the shares, but she doesn’t have your ability to walk into the CEO’s office and structure an acquisitions offer. Or ensure that the internal operations at Sterling are proceeding as planned. There are many ways in which you can earn the right to stay alive, Ms. Sterling.”
He’s not exactly leaving me a choice. “Okay. There’s just one problem with that.”
His face darkens. “What is that?”
I’m sure I’m not supposed to present him with problems, so I hurry with my explanation. “It’s just that I’ve recently updated my will. As in… yesterday. I’m afraid if I send off something to my attorney now, especially designating someone unknown to the company, it’s going to get flagged. Not only would it be questioned in court, I’m not even sure my attorney would accept my authentication code a second time on this. Especially given my recent absence, not to mention my bizarre behavior, in and out of the office. This is something I’m going to have to do in person.”
Moloch’s dark look transforms into a sort of grumpy stare, but I think he believes me. Again, the truth seems to be working. But I’m just now realizing this could be my ticket out—or at least away from Moloch’s lair for a moment. Maybe for good. If only I could take Zachariel with me…
“That is indeed a problem,” he says. “Who is the current recipient?”
“My assistant.” I bite my lip, hating to reveal that. But Wyatt’s already in Moloch’s cross-hairs. “He was also my father’s assistant. It was a logical choice.” Which is true… Moloch doesn’t need to know how far my personal feelings for Wyatt go. I’m not sure I know the extent of them myself, but anything beyond friendship just puts Wyatt in more peril.
Moloch purses his lips. “I see you were quite busy during your brief visit to Sterling.”
I hold my breath to see if there’s more coming from that statement. Moloch may hold the threat of hurting Wyatt over me for “motivation,” but if he knew Wyatt and Miral, and even Jax, already have information about the plot against Lifetime, they wouldn’t last a day.
When he doesn’t add anything, I say, “It can be handled, I’m sure. I just need to make an in-person visit to my attorney’s office.”
Moloch looks put out by this, but he’s not disagreeing. “Fine.” He throws a glance to Ishtar who has been holding back and listening with great interest. “Ishtar will accompany you with all of her documents. You can validate that she is the person you would like the assets transferred to at the time of your death.” He trains his cold blue eyes on me. “But make no mistake, Ms. Sterling—should anything unexpected happen during your visit, I am quite capable of making your friends pay the price.”
“Understood.” But my mind is already spinning ways I can use this to get out of Gehenna—even if I have to leave Zachariel behind. Which I really would rather not do. There has to be some way to keep everyone safe from the lunatic standing in front of me.
I just haven’t thought of it yet.
Ishtar driving a black sedan down the mean streets of LA in formalwear… strikes me as funny. Maybe it’s a gallows kind of humor, considering she’s driving me to the attorney where I will sign over all my father’s shares in exchange for my friends’ lives. But it still strikes me as so ridiculous, even disarming, that I can’t help but stare.
“You know, we didn’t have to rush off,” I say, barely holding in the grin. “You could have changed, if you wanted.”
She scowls at me, which for Ishtar is the tiniest of wrinkles in her smooth, perfect skin. Maybe that’s where the humor lies: she’s so outrageously beautiful that somehow it seems wrong for her to be driving. Like she should have a driver in formalwear himself, holding doors for her to step out onto red carpets. She’s cinema-level beautiful, and for some reason, my brain tells me people like that don’t drive themselves.
“Or, if you’d like, I could drive,” I offer. “Has to be tough in that dress.” The truth is the sedan has autodrive, and she’s barely doing more than the occasional manual correction as we weave through traffic and inch closer to the towers of downtown and my attorney’s office.
This time she gives me a small smile. “Are you trying to charm me, Wraith?”
“Um… no.” That wasn’t what I meant at all, but it occurs to me that, once again, being on Ishtar’s good side might serve me well. Or at least keep me alive long enough to escape. “Just thinking you might be more comfortable in the passenger seat.”
She smirks. “How sweet of you. I’m sure your kindness has nothing to do with you making an attempt to slip away.”
“Hey!” I can fake an offended tone pretty good when I want. “Just trying to be nice. I’m not the bad guy here, remember?”
She arches one perfect eyebrow. “And we are?”
“Well, at least Moloch is.” I’m fairly certain Ishtar is in the evil category as well, but she wasn’t here when Moloch killed me. Maybe if she had been, she would have saved me instead of Zachariel. And while I’m glad I ended up in Zachariel’s bedroom and not Ishtar’s, it’s not too late for me to make nice and gain a protector. I hope.
“Moloch and I have the same goals,” Ishtar says, but her tone is softened. “He’s a little more enthusiastic about the less seemly aspects of our work, but we’re both committed to the cause. One I had truly hoped we could persuade you to join.”
“Well, I can definitely see the advantages now,” I say.
“Oh?” She’s back to being amused. “Zachariel is quite the pleasant lover. But I thought you already knew that.”
“Let’s just say bringing me back from the dead
spiced things up a bit.”
She actually laughs at that. It’s a soft musical sound. I can see why Moloch would trust her most of all, even with his black, death-loving heart.
Her smile turns salacious. “Perhaps the two of us together could convince you to join our cause on a more permanent basis.”
I’m sure Ishtar would love playing in a sandbox if both Zachariel and I were in it. I make a mental note to escape before that becomes a reality.
“You play both sides, then?” I already knew, but I want to draw her out.
“Eternity is a long time to spend with just one person, Wraith.”
“I suppose.” Truth is I haven’t given anything of the sort much thought. Until very recently, I was convinced lovers were completely off the agenda for me. Now, with Zachariel at least, sex seems like something we can both survive. And obviously enjoy. Even with just one night together, I’ve learned so much about how to control my own body, I think it might even be possible to sleep with someone who isn’t a collector.
Possible... although, perhaps, a lot less exciting.
I’ve been quiet long enough to pull a curious look from Ishtar. “Are you considering it, my lovely?” she purrs. “Because I’m sure I could convince Moloch to keep you around for much longer… if you’re interested.”
I was afraid we might get to this. “I’m still figuring these things out,” I say, carefully, hoping that’s not entirely a no, but something I could still reasonably back out on, if it became something that was happening immediately. “But I am curious: what does all this look like long term? I mean with debt collectors, well, being together. It seems like Moloch’s plan is for all of us to live forever. But what about, I don’t know, families? Children? Are those part of the plan somehow?” I’m genuinely curious about this. Plus the more of Moloch’s plan I can learn before I escape, the better. Right now, he’s driven to take over Sterling because he wants to ensure the development of this life energy battery technology. That would loosen up the life energy supply, but I’m still not sure where that’s headed. I can’t picture how Moloch can get hold of enough life energy for all debt collectors to live forever. Or even just the ones who drift in and out of his little kingdom. Maybe only the top few will live forever? But then what is he promising to the others? And what does this future of his really look like?
The Debt Collector (Season Two) Page 23
