Page 21 of Reverie
“So that’s what you had me go on a wild goose chase all around Isla Cara to look for? Or do you think I actually have this book?” I say, thinking back to Misha’s accusations right beforethe raid. “If my father wrote anything down, I’ve never seen it. In general, whenever I was in his presence, he was too busy doing other shit.” Or other people.
“Fair enough,” Misha grinds out.
“The book wasn’t in the places you searched on Isla Cara. You only went to the vault and to his office. So there are two options here, really. It’s either hidden somewhere else or someone else took it,” Amelia says.
“Or it doesn’t exist anymore,” Leo replies.
“That could also be the case. But we should keep searching for it or for any other clues that might lead us to The Architect.”
The Architect, The Legion’s leader.
“Is that what you think is in the book?” I ask.
Amelia and Misha nod before the Ukrainian speaks. “There were at least a hundred pages of documentation, all written in code. Anagrams, we think. Elysium is what they are calling their new utopia. Panacea, as you can deduce is?—”
“Is our technology and their means of access to this new utopia. Yeah, got it,” I grumble, cutting Misha off.
“Okay, so we need to find the book,” I say, and I try not to stress about the fact that I just said “we.” Why do I feel like I’m about to pick the wrong pill inThe Matrix?
Misha smiles. “Yes, we do.”
“But before anything, what we really need is to find and eliminate Morris Winthrope,” I say. Misha, Luna, and Amelia go quiet.
“That’s the first order of business. We get rid of the person who just tried to abduct and kill my family. Let’s give him the same treatment he gave us.”
Rage fills me as I visualize Winter and August on the ground in my hangar.
No, that would be too good for the fucker.
“In fact,” I add, “why don’t you tell me how the fuck they got into Amelia Manor? Rio was head of security, I thought, and apparently he’s your guy too.”
A drumbeat increases in my left temple, making my eye throb.
Misha makes a short sound in his throat as he cracks his knuckles before answering my question. “We were made aware of Winthrope’s plan to make a move against you all. That’s why I wanted you to leave for Isla Cara earlier. I’d hoped you’d be able to provide me with something, anything valuable.”
His voice has an edge to it, and I don’t fucking appreciate it.
“We had our eye on Carlos Medina, and we knew that Rodrigo Lopez was a wild card.” He shifts in his chair—a small movement. “I was…overconfident in what we had set up at Amelia Manor. So when we received intel that youdidhave the journal, I got distracted and fell into the trap.”
I blink at the man. Who told him that? And why?
“Where did you hear that?” I reply.
Misha waves his hand in the air and mutters, “Unimportant.”
When I tilt my head to the side to assess him, he raises his eyebrow and shrugs.
“I don’t have the journal,” I say, feeling very tired.
“I see that now,” Misha replies. Not only is he taking all the responsibility for what just happened at Amelia Manor, he’s showing his cards. That they—he—fucked up.
I don’t have anything to say to that because the fact is, since he decided to take up the mantle of protecting my family, the failure does fall on him.
But it falls on me more.
I won’t let them get hurt again. I’ll give my life to ensure it.
“We will take care of the clean-up at Amelia Manor, get rid of the bodies,” he adds.