J A K E

Three days later and Hunt was still in the hospital. He'd lived through the first night with only a few minor problems. Now, he was stable and recovering, but he still wasn't allowed to have any visitors.

I didn't particularly care whether the man lived or died. He clearly didn't have as much power as the ONNT counsel and his men weren't going to come close to finding Hundsen. He didn't benefit me like he seemed to for some of the others on the team.

What would benefit me, as I walked through the echoing marble halls of the compound, was finding the assassin. She once told me in a hotel room that she'd help me take Hundsen down, even if the others wouldn't. It was time to see if she'd honor that promise.

Normally, I'd go alone. It was much easier to have control over the situation when you were the only person to take care of. But this particular job I had in mind would require two people. Also, a fighter would be wise to have by my side given the place I was planning to go to.

I found her standing in the middle of the hallway, talking to Peterson. I narrowed my eyes; I'd always disliked him and his optimistic ways. His friendship with Hunt also made a few questions arise; what kind of person willingly befriended their imprisoner?

"Tesla."

That got her attention. Her gaze traveled over Finn's shoulder to me. "What do you want, Evans?"

"I want you to come over here so I can tell you something," I commanded and then glared at Peterson, "Privately."

He got the picture and quickly left the hallway. "What do you want?" she asked again, looking slightly hesitant. She was afraid of what I'd ask her. It was clear that she was keeping secrets, but I'd save that interrogation for a different time.

"I need you to come with me during this next job."

She gave me a wry smile. "Do you need my particular skill set again?"

"Exactly."

"Where's the job at? Does it involve all these late nights that you've been gone?"

"As a matter of fact, it does. We're going to Hundsen's home."

She blinked, clearly taken aback. "Are you sure that you got the right place? There's no way that his house could have been easy to find."

"Would I be arranging a job there if I wasn't sure it was the place I wanted?"

She rolled her eyes, but I'd piqued her curiosity. "How'd you get the address?"

The thought of the man found through the papers Kane and Riley had stolen for me crossed my mind. I'd had to torture him for information. I remembered the smooth slice that my icicle had made through his wrist and how he'd screamed when I severed his hand. "The usual."

"Ah," she nodded understandingly. "Torture and killing."

"Precisely. His information is correct, I know where Hundsen lived before he disappeared. Are you coming?" After the words had exited my mouth, I wondered why I'd phrased it like a question. Normally, I'd say it like a command and expect everyone to go along with it. Why had I given her a choice?

Tesla stared at me for a moment, deciding what she'd do. "Yeah," she said eventually, "I'm coming."

We got in the car and I drove out the gate onto the road. "If there's been any good outcome of Hunt's shooting, it's that we don't have to ask him permission to leave any more," she said suddenly.

"You think I asked permission before?"

She let out a breathy chuckle. "Yeah, you don't ask permission. You just take things that you want."

"That's how life is," I said bluntly. "If you don't take what you want, someone else will."

"There's always someone who's willing to take advantage of you," Tesla agreed softly, crossing her arms. I glanced over at her as she gazed out the window. Her light eyes were glued to the passing scenery and the sunlight from outside turned her white hair even brighter. I quickly looked back at the road.

"That's why you have to destroy them first, before they ruin you."

"Too late," she said in a voice so quiet I had to strain my ears to hear it. There was then silence in the car.

I pulled into the neighborhood that Hundsen had lived in. It was clearly inhabited by wealthy folk, lined with massive, luxurious houses. As I drove the car further inside, I found myself hating the area. Of course Hundsen would want to flaunt the money that he'd made off of my success.

I knew exactly where the house was. My memory had always been good, but now that I was going to infiltrate the place Hundsen used to find comfort? I couldn't forget the way there if I tried.

Outside, the sky was navy blue. I'd chosen to go during the night so that we'd have the darkness on our side. I always had a backup plan, but I still didn't want to risk neighbors being suspicious. That was part of the reason I'd brought Tesla with me.

My eyes locked onto the mansion I was seeking. Pulling the car off to the side, I turned it off and put out the lights in the car.

"Hundsen is gone," I said into the darkness, "But you never know who could be watching the house in his absence."

"It's nothing I can't handle."

"Good." I got out of the car and shut the door quietly. "I'm counting on it."

"What exactly are we looking for in there?" she asked, stepping in stride with me as we walked across the street.

"I am there to find any information regarding Hundsen's current whereabouts. You are there to make sure we don't have any uninvited guests."

I didn't have to see her to know that she was rolling her eyes. "Cut the shit. We both know that I'm going to help you look and protect you at the same time."

She infuriated me sometimes. "I don't need protection," I informed her. Growing up on the streets was the best teaching experience I could have asked for. "Though what's in the house might. Hundsen has many secrets. I'm not sure how many of the answers lie inside that house."

We reached the top of the steps leading up to the house. A fountain bubbled cheerfully off to the side. With one thought from my mind, the dripping water stopped and the fountain froze over.

"There are cameras everywhere," Delphinium said softly as we walked. "Someone could be watching us." She raised her eyes towards the closest one, ready to crush it with her mind.

"There's no need for that," I told her, and said, gesturing to the camera, "I knocked out the power to the house before I came to the compound to pick you up. They're offline now."

She shook her head in wonder. "You really take every little factor into your plans, don't you?"

"Of course. Nothing will go wrong that way."

"We'll see about that. We don't seem to have the best luck so far." She walked up to the metal side gate. "I'll go in one of the side windows and unlock the front door for you."

With that, she leapt up the gate with the grace of a panther and down to the other side. I could hear a distant clicking sound as she unlocked a window with her mind. A few moments later, the front door creaked open. I walked inside and shut the door quietly behind me.

The inside of Hundsen's house was exactly as I'd expected it. A massive glass chandelier hung from the high ceiling, shooting particles of light onto the spiraling staircase and luxurious living room. Marble pillars decorated the path deeper inside the house. It was a beautiful place, clearly worth a large sum of money. I wanted nothing more than to let out the ice brimming in my fingertips and destroy every part of it.

"Are you okay?" Tesla asked and I turned to find her staring at me with a hesitant expression on her face.

"I've never been better," I said, turning to the rest of the house with a strange smile beginning on my lips. "I've wanted to be here for years and now I am."

"You have that look in your eyes again. The only time I've ever seen you look like that is when you're about to do something horrible and murderous."

"It's Adiago Hundsen's home. You should be afraid of what I'll do." I walked into the large kitchen and she followed me. There was an immeasurable amount of food in the cabinets.

"Hundsen didn't take any food with him, wherever he went."

"He didn't take any of his valuables, as far as I can see. That means he's staying somewhere where he doesn't need to worry about money or food. It also means that he expected to return back here in a short amount of time."

"It's unwise for him to come back here when we're still looking for him. He's probably hired people to either get rid of us or hand us over to Imperium."

"I don't doubt it," I said, walking out of the kitchen and into the family room. "But I'll kill him before he kills me. I didn't live this long to just die at his hand in the end."

"And we need you to help fight Imperium," Tesla stated as she picked up a withering plant on the mantle. "I can't have you dying before then."

The family room did not live up to its name. There was no indication that anything happy or family-related happened in the room. It was stocked with expensive decorations and untouched pristine couches.

The assassin turned away from the dying plant to look around at the rest of the room. "He clearly didn't do much relaxing here. Though I'm not sure exactly what I expected from an insane criminal lord."

I moved to a wine storage area that took up almost the entire wall in the hallway. Behind the glass doors were rows and rows of various bottles of the liquid. I wondered if he drank with the intent to forget. I hoped he did. I hoped he was so bothered by what he'd done that his conscience seared him every single day. But I knew that wasn't possible. He was too alike to me. And I didn't have a conscience.

I looked closer at the wall. All around the wood paneling was a small groove. "There's something behind there," I said suddenly.

Tesla walked over to where I was and examined the wall for a moment. After focusing on it, she slowly pulled the entire thing, paneling and all, out from inside the wall, revealing a hidden area behind.

I followed her inside and found that it was a weapons safe. There were rows and rows of stands where guns could have been hanging on the wall. But there were only three left: two assault rifles and a pistol.

"He armed someone with these missing guns," Tesla said, pointing at the empty racks. "Who do you think it is?"

"Not the Club; they have weapons dealers that they buy their guns from."

"Maybe assassins he hired to give us trouble," she said in realization. "We should take these three with us so he has nothing to arm himself with here."

"No, we're leaving them. I don't want him knowing we've been here in case he comes back earlier than I was expecting."

She took a step back from the guns. "Then what's your next part in this plan? I know you; you wouldn't come here for nothing."

"Tomorrow night, I'm bringing Shires here to get me eyes in this house at all times. I want to be aware when anyone enters or exits this place."

"That way, you'll know when Hundsen returns." She nodded, impressed. "Smart. What will you do when he does arrive?"

"We'll see," I said nonchalantly, even though I had a perfect idea of what I would do.

After moving the wine case back into place, we went on to the rest of the downstairs. It consisted of many sitting areas and guest bedrooms, more than anyone could ever need. There was nothing out of the ordinary that I could find as I searched through drawers and cabinets.

When I was sure there was nothing informational downstairs, I began to climb the spiraling staircase. My footsteps echoed through the empty house. When I made it upstairs, the double oak doors to my right caught my eye.

As I pushed open the doors, I saw that this immense room was undoubtedly Hundsen's bedroom. A four-poster bed was on center display, as were the many works of expensive-looking art that hung on the walls. It came across as more of a museum filled with beautiful things than a bedroom. I wanted to burn it all.

"I never thought that I'd be standing in Adiago Hundsen's bedroom, but here I am," Tesla muttered under her breath next to me.

I opened the drawer on his marble side table. Inside was nothing but a loaded handgun. Even he was paranoid. It was good to know.

Tesla rounded the other side of the bed to check the identical nightstand. I heard the opening of the drawer and the sound of her pulling something out of it.

"Jake..." she called, slightly trailing off, "You're going to want to see this."

I closed the drawer with the gun in it and went to her. "What is it?"

She handed me a small, framed picture of Hundsen with a dark-haired smiling woman. "Hundsen has a wife," she drew out. It was the same picture I'd seen in Hundsen's desk the night I'd cut out his eye.

The corner of my lip quirked up. I knew what was next in my plan to ruin Adiago Hundsen.