hold I had on his hair. However, his struggles meant I didn’t have time to swing him around as a shield, and without a free hand, I couldn’t activate my cuff. I pressed the knife deeper. “Tell them not to shoot.”
The door burst open and I tightened my grip, but no one entered.
“Get this crazy bitch off of me!” Riccardo demanded.
I jerked his head back and slid the knife deep enough that the tip disappeared into a well of red blood. “You’re only alive because you might be useful. Call off your dogs.”
I watched the door, tensed to dive behind the meager cover Riccardo provided. A familiar profile flashed into view for a second as the person on the other side of the door assessed the situation, then Ian appeared, missing his coat and mask and covered in blood.
Ian’s lip was split, his nose was bleeding, and blood dripped sluggishly off of his left hand. On his torso, red stains stood out vividly against his white shirt. As I watched, the largest one spread. If all of that blood was his, then we were in deep, deep trouble.
“Impossible,” Riccardo breathed. He tried to jerk away, but I tightened my hold and dug the dagger in a little deeper. More blood slid down the front of his neck and he swallowed, then held still.
Relief crashed into me. Ian was injured, but he wasn’t dead.
“Where is Lord Ferdinand?” Ian asked in a deceptively soft voice. He favored his right side, but he still moved with most of his usual predatory grace.
“How did you get past the guards?” Riccardo whimpered.
“I killed them,” Ian said without inflection. “You will be next unless you cooperate.”
As Ian neared, Riccardo leaned back into my legs, trying to escape.
“Let him go,” Ian said.
“I didn’t search him,” I warned.
“He’s not going to try anything because he knows I’ll kill him,” Ian said. His voice was still too flat, much like his expression.
“I don’t think he’s that smart.”
Ian took the decision out of my hands. He transferred his blaster to his left hand and wrapped his right around Riccardo’s neck and pulled him up. He drove him back against the wall, holding him high enough that Riccardo was on tiptoe just to breathe.
“He is definitely not that smart,” Ian growled. He held out the blaster. “Trade me and watch the door.”
I took the blaster and gave him the short knife. “Ferdinand is alive,” I said. “Find out where. You have House permission to do whatever it takes.”
For a brief moment, Ian’s expression morphed into familiar exasperation. It was a welcome change from the blankness he’d been sporting. Of course I knew he didn’t need my permission, but perhaps Riccardo did not.
“We don’t have Ferdinand,” Riccardo whined.
“Then I suppose you are no longer required,” Ian said. His knuckles whitened as he tightened his grip on Riccardo’s neck.
“Wait,” Riccardo gasped. “We don’t have him anymore. But I know where he is.” When Ian didn’t loosen his grip, Riccardo continued, “We sold him!”
“You sold my brother?” I questioned, my voice soft with menace. “To whom?”
Riccardo rolled desperate eyes to me. Whatever he saw in my expression made him flinch. “Swear to me that you’ll let me go if I tell you.”
I stared at him, trying to master my rage. “I will let you go if you tell me everything you know. Quickly.” After all, if I’d found him once, I could do it again.
“We were paid an enormous amount of money to snatch Ferdinand from Earth. We were supposed to deliver him to our contact, but they never showed.”
“Leaving you with a huge liability,” Ian said. “Why sell him? Why not kill him?”
“Because we assumed our contact wanted him dead but didn’t want any paper trails leading back to them. And while the Consortium might eventually overlook a kidnapping, murdering an heir is something else altogether. Plus, we don’t work for free and the second half of our payment didn’t go through.”
“Who ordered the grab?”
“I don’t know,” Riccardo whined. “It was all done anonymously.” Ian tightened his grip and Riccardo rushed to add, “We think it was someone high up in the Consortium, but we don’t know.”
“Who has my brother?” I bit out.
Riccardo wavered. “Remember your vow,” he said. He swallowed. “We needed to get rid of him quickly and quietly. To put him somewhere he could be retrieved if needed, but otherwise wouldn’t be found. Ever. And we needed someone who wouldn’t ask too many questions during the transfer. That’s harder than