by Lila Jean
“I can,” Zane sighed deeply, shoulders squared, intently staring at the television and looking for all the world like he was ready for battle. “It’s a PR move for him, to make him look like he’s willing to cooperate so that when we inevitably fail, it hurts Tina’s public image even more.” Zane shook his head, jaw tensed. “Well, he’s in for a surprise.”
Anthony watched the tiger shifter for a moment, noting the blurred emotions of appreciation and distrust, and Anthony wondered if Zane how much he hated and how much he admired his father’s cleverness was.
“In exchange, we make a humble offer,” King Alexander said, lifting his chin, pausing for effect, as if the words he was about to deliver were earth-shattering. “I will acknowledge Tina Andrews as the One Queen, give her everything she desires, in exchange for bringing us justice.” He paused, looking humble, looking as though he had been beaten. “Prove to us your power, goddess. Prove to us we were wrong, I beg of you.”
“That rat bastard,” Zane said under his breath.
“Let’s just focus on the task at hand,” Tina said, clicking off the television and watching Zane with a mixture of concern and understanding. “We can do this.”
“Damn right we can.” Draven stood and clapped his hands together in anticipation. “Where do we start?”
“Cora,” Anthony said simply. “She wants Tina’s magic. She’s desperate, and she’s nervous because we know who she is.”
“Right.” Tina shuddered briefly. “She wants me to put on that necklace of hers.”
“So, how do we trick her?” Killian asked.
For a moment, no one spoke. They all sat or stood in silence, arms crossed, deep in thought. Anthony flipped through what little he knew of the woman, trying to come up with anything, but he kept drawing a blank.
“I’ve got it!” Tina jumped to her feet, smiling excitedly. “We give her what she wants!”
“But she wants you, boss,” Draven said, a look of concern on his face.
“Exactly.” Tina’s wicked little grin just widened with the thought. “When she thinks she has the upper hand, she’ll talk, especially if I try to guess at her plan and guess wrong.” She shrugged. “People love to contradict you, especially if they think they’re lording something over you. It’s a basic police interrogation tactic.”
“You know any other police interrogation tactics you want to share with the class?” Draven lifted one curious eyebrow.
Anthony, however, just grinned, impressed with his mate, per the norm. Every time he thought he had figured her out, she surprised him in some fantastic new way.
“Let’s dig into this whole ‘give her what she wants’ thing first,” Flynn said warily. “You’re suggesting we get caught?”
“More or less,” Tina curled a lock of her hair around her finger, absently twirling it as she paced the living room. “Zane, can you get me Cora’s number? Her real number, the personal one, not the one she texted me on.”
“Yes,” he said cautiously, arms still crossed, looking at her like he wasn’t sure he liked where this was going.
“Good.” Tina set her hands triumphantly on her hips. “Because I have a plan.”
21
Tina
Wearing a fake blond wig and a baseball cap, Tina sat alone on a park bench in a secluded stretch of an obscure state park in one of the many national forests in Montana, chosen specifically for its isolation. At this time in the afternoon, despite the high sun and warm summer air, she was alone on the path, the trees around her rife with hiding spots.
So far, all was going according to plan, but here came the tricky part, and Tina just hoped all this would work.
She whipped out a burner phone, one Zane had intentionally bugged just this morning and dialed the number he had given her that was supposed to be Cora’s personal cell. This was intentional, a ploy to trip Cora up, put her on the defensive and throw her off her game by putting the ball back into Tina’s court. After all, Tina wanted to show that she had friends in high places, too.
As the phone rang, Tina’s throat went dry with a mix of anticipation and nerves. Cora was a multi-billionaire, not someone to mess with lightly, and Tina was inviting this psycho into her life. By necessity, sure, but still. It set her on edge.
“Tell me how you got this number,” a familiar voice said over the line, the tone cold and demanding, as though she could rip out Tina’s heart over the phone.
“Isn’t that what friends do?” Tina asked, smirking, making sure her voice sounded a little cocky, a little too sure of herself. This whole plan hinged on one thing, and one thing alone, which was to make Cora feel like she had the upper hand even when she didn’t. Without that, it would crumble.
“Tina, dear,” Cora said, her voice relaxing somewhat, and Tina heard the creak of someone reclining in a leather chair. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I’m tired, Cora,” Tina said in her best exasperated voice, trying to sound bored more than anything else. “Running, being hunted, it’s all getting old real fast.”
“And?”
“And,” Tina said, letting a bit of annoyance slip into her tone, “I want to call a truce, Miss Stratford.” Tina hesitated, hoping that hadn’t sounded suspicious, but she needed to find a way to fit Cora’s full name into the call without being obvious about it in case she revealed anything important on the bugged call.
On the other end of the line, Cora laughed darkly, and the chuckle had an almost pitied tone to it like Cora couldn’t believe how silly one human could be. “Oh, sweet thing,” she said, still laughing. “Why would I call a truce when I’m so close to winning?”
Tina did her best not to smile in victory since now they were finally getting somewhere. Time to set the trap. “Is that what you call killing innocent diplomats? Winning?”
“Obviously.” Cora sounded so sure of herself, so cocky, that Tina could almost hear the woman shrug. “Are you starting to piece it all together yet, little goddess?”
“I’m starting to,” Tina said, voice tense, waiting for the ax to drop. Any minute now, the call would take a dangerous turn, and it was one she couldn’t come back from. She had to be ready.
“That’s too bad for you, then,” Cora said.
As the woman spoke, a little red dot appeared on Tina’s chest, coming from somewhere in the dense forest, and Tina sat a bit straighter. “You wouldn’t kill me.” She called Cora’s bluff. “You want me.”
“Do you know why I want you?” Cora asked, clearly challenging the statement. “Do you know if I want you alive or dead? Do you think it really matters?”
“Of course, you need me alive.” Tina stood, looking in the direction the dot was coming from, glaring at the gunman as if he were Cora. “If you didn’t, you would have killed me back in Russia.”
“Hmm.” Cora paused a moment, a bit of a smile in her voice, and she clicked her tongue in disappointment. “Very good, but I don’t need your men alive. You want to keep those, don’t you?”
At that moment, Draven walked onto the path not far from Tina, his hands on his head and a royally pissed expression on his face as three gunmen walked out onto the path behind him. He looked at her with an exasperated expression, and seconds later, Flynn was led onto the path behind him.
“Be a good girl,” Cora said through the phone. “Don’t make me kill them. Put the phone down and come see me.” She laughed. “We have loads to talk about, don’t you agree?”
Tina grimaced and pocketed the phone before putting her hands on her head in surrender. She let them lead her and the two princes to a van out in the parking lot. The soldiers shoved her inside, and she winked briefly at Draven as he took a seat across from her. When the guards looked away, Draven flashed her the briefest of mischievous smiles in return.
So far, so good, but getting ‘caught’ was the easy part. Getting Cora to confess in a way Tina could somehow record was going to be far more difficult, and escaping what was sure to be a wildly secured compo
und was going to be next to impossible. Still, with everything that was at stake, Tina simply had no other choice.
Tina squared her shoulders, prepared to do whatever had to be done to take down this evil monster of a woman.
22
Tina
Under the threat of two dozen automatic weapons taking Draven’s and Flynn’s lives, Tina walked through the double front doors of a massive mansion, the two-story foyer leading to a double staircase and a large view of the ocean beyond. They had been unceremoniously shoved aboard a jet and flown gods knew where, but it didn’t matter. Deep down, Tina kept waiting for a trap to spring as she delicately walked the line between duping Cora and falling into her hands.
A guard dressed in a black helmet and sunglasses wordlessly nudged her toward a second set of doors off the foyer as the guards split up. Only two walked behind her with their guns aimed at her chest, and the rest pushed Draven and Flynn deeper into the mansion, their hands still firmly planted on their heads in a sign of surrender. Right as the doors to this mysterious new room opened, Tina saw Draven look her way, his expression blank, just a twinge of concern in his eyes.
Here goes nothing, she thought, taking a deep breath as she stepped over the threshold to whatever waited beyond.
Cora stood in an elegant white dress, the slinky fabric clinging to her hips, her nails red as blood as she sipped bubbling champagne out of a delicate glass. Her red lips curled into a sneer as Tina entered and the doors shut behind her.
“It’s about damn time,” Cora said, lazily setting the champagne on the fireplace mantle. “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this.”
Behind Tina, the two guards stood at the ready, guns drawn but pointing to the floor, likely in case she got any ideas. She looked over her shoulder at one of them, trying to see past the sunglasses, but it was no use. She returned her attention to Cora, crossing her arms in defiance as she gave the woman a once-over. “How rude of me to keep you waiting.”
“I’ve been saving this for the occasion, you know.” Cora tapped her finger on the champagne flute, the thin glass making a delicate clinking noise with each touch. “It costs ten thousand dollars if you’ll believe it.” She shrugged. “I suppose I got a little trigger happy and opened it a little early, but no harm done.” She drained the last of the glass and slowly licked her lips.
“I’m here,” Tina said, gesturing vaguely to the room around her. “What do you want with me?”
“I thought you said you were figuring it out?” Cora set a hand on her hips and tilted the empty champagne flute toward Tina. “You sounded so sure of yourself, too. Could it be that you’re not as clever as you think?”
Tina frowned, glaring at the woman, doing her best to play her part in this dangerous plan while she delicately tried to avoid getting caught for real.
“Put this on her.” Cora ignored Tina’s question, tossing a familiar necklace at the guard on Tina’s left as she poured herself another bottle of champagne from the silver ice bucket by the fireplace. The guard caught it effortlessly, and Tina’s jaw tensed as she watched him place the glittering jewelry around her neck.
This was it. The moment everything succeeded brilliantly, or the point where her entire plan crumbled.
Trust yourself, her gut said, and Tina swallowed hard, knowing that Damara was on board for this. On edge, anxious, but willing to see this through, Tina lifted her chin defiantly as the clasp locked at the base of her head. Her body became suddenly heavy, suddenly tired, and her beautiful connection to Damara disappeared.
“Lovely,” Cora said, sipping on her second glass of champagne. “I knew I’d wear you down eventually. Like you said, it’s exhausting to run, and goodness, you ran for ages, didn’t you?” She sighed happily, leaning on the high back of a nearby armchair with one hand, lazily nursing the champagne in the other. “It’s impossible to run from someone who has eyes everywhere, who has entire governments at her disposal, entire police forces.” Cora’s eyes narrowed knowingly, and Tina tried not to bristle with indignation as she thought of the police that had come after her in her time on the run.
“You can’t possibly have that much power.” Tina scoffed, doing her best to egg Cora on now that, for all intents and purposes, Cora thought she had the upper hand. “No one does.”
“I do.” Cora gestured at the ceiling, her finger circling a bit in the air as she gestured to the ornate room around them. “My whole family does. Always has. We know dark things about powerful people, and we, therefore, own the world.” She inspected her nails. “Well, we own the important countries, anyway.” She sneered. “But I suppose that’s what happens when you have the powers of gods. You can be, shall we say, persuasive.”
It was such an offhand comment, the bit about gods, such a little thing that Cora tossed away carelessly as if it meant nothing, but Tina perked up ever so slightly when she heard it. Odin’s comment flashed in her mind, his warning to Damara that gods had flat-out died because of human greed, and Tina realized for the first time that she was in the presence of a descendant of one of those people.
“Your family drained the life and magic from gods,” Tina said, almost breathless. “That’s how you got all your power and wealth.”
“Well, it’s not like the temple treasuries would need it anymore.” Cora shrugged. “We took a few souvenirs, of course.” She swirled the champagne, studying it in the light absently as she spoke, talking as though she weren’t divulging horrors from the past. “A few trinkets and weapons from the gods that humanity thought were lost to history.” She chuckled darkly. “I play with them sometimes.”
“You’re a vile bitch.” Tina’s voice dropped an octave in her anger, and she bristled, hands balling into fists, the necklace heavy on her chest.
As she stared at Tina, Cora’s smile slowly faded into a grimace. “Maybe, but yet again, I win.” She set the champagne flute on a nearby table and walked closer, her hips swinging as she neared. “You have no idea that, by putting on a little piece of jewelry, you just signed your own death warrant.”
“Yes, you’re very clever.” Tina rolled her eyes, wanting this woman to get on with it. “You’ve outsmarted me and gotten everything you wanted. The diplomats dead, the kings at war, and what? You’re going to lock me in a tower and try to manipulate my magic like everyone else?”
“Oh, no, darling.” Cora’s mouth twisted upward into an evil little grin. “I’m going to drain you of every ounce of magic in your body, kill your goddess, and then kill you.”
At that, Tina’s jaw tensed. She watched Cora in silence, waiting for her to continue, waiting for her to reveal more.
“What?” Cora raised her thin eyebrows in mock surprise. “No witty comeback this time?” When Tina still refused to speak, not wanting to derail Cora now that she had the woman talking, Cora laughed wickedly, starting to get worked up and excited. “I’m sick of secondhand magic!” She gestured wildly, beginning to pace in front of Tina as she spoke. “It’s weak, like those pathetic demigods. I don’t want parlor tricks.” She tapped Tina’s forehead, each annoying prick of her sharp nail against Tina’s skin pissing her off a little more. “I want what you have, and now, I can finally have it.”
“That’s why you had Ray go after me,” Tina said matter of factly. “You just wanted her to fetch me for you, so you could keep your manicured little hands clean.”
“Obviously.” Cora huffed in annoyance and waved her hand dismissively. “I thought she just had a personal vendetta against you, but no, that garbage priestess got greedy and tried to take my goddess from me.” Cora looked sharply at Tina. “I suppose she got what she deserved, didn’t she? Thanks for dispatching her for me.”
“No problem,” Tina said dryly. “I guess framing me was an easy way to get rid of the dignitaries, too.”
“You really are stupid.” Cora sighed in frustration and rubbed her eyes. “I’m so disappointed, Tina, really I am. Noxxom is a pawn, just like everyone else. Just like you
.”
“So, what?” Tina shrugged, frustrated and trying to ignore the insults so that she could get to the heart of the matter. “They were just to lure me out in the open? Rile me up? Make the humans hate me?”
“A happy side effect, but no. Obviously.” Cora groaned. “I knew I was clever, but I didn’t think you would be this far behind me.” Tina gritted her teeth at the taunts since she was just playing dumb to get the confession, but damn did she hate this woman. “Noxxom are greedy idiots, Tina dear, and nothing more.” Cora’s cold gaze fixated on Tina, those icy eyes piercing her to the soul. “You know they’re weapons manufacturers, right? They’re just chomping at the bit for another shifter war, waiting desperately for the boost in revenue and stock prices.” Cora returned to her champagne and swallowed the rest in one gulp. “It’s just economics and money, little girl, nothing more.”
“That’s why they did it from the start,” Tina said softly, squeezing her eyes shut in disgust as she pieced the final puzzle together. “They just wanted to start a war, make the kingdoms distrust each other enough to do something stupid. They poured the gasoline and were just waiting for the right moment to light the match.”
“Right you are,” Cora said with a wink, lifting the empty glass as if to toast Tina’s epiphany. “Glad you finally caught up.”
“And you helped them.” Tina shook her head in amazement. “Once Damara and I fused, you just used your connections to help them do everything more efficiently in exchange for—”
“You,” Cora finished. “With all the shifters after you, I needed to ensure you weren’t caught in the crossfire.” The regal woman grinned. “You’re mine to kill.”
Tina arched her back, instinctively daring the woman to try. Even with the damned cursed necklace on, Tina could kick her ass.
“Before I kill you, I have to ask one thing.” Cora absently ran her finger over the lip of the champagne flute, briefly staring off into the distance. “Those princes of yours, are they as good in bed as I imagine they are? They’re pretty boys, to say the least.” She sneered. “I certainly hope their loyalty transfers to me once I drain you.”
