Panthera Spelaea
Plans and Counters

Everyone looked at me as I walked in. I froze, trying to figure out what Edward was doing here. Didn’t Zach pass along the warning? How could Art let him get so close when he was worth another nine-hundred-and-fifty million dead? Was he waiting until he had a better opportunity?

And why would Edward be hanging around when he could disappear into Sibenik? Did he find out Mikhail was dead, so there was no point in killing Art? Did he think we didn’t know about his fifty million dollar payoff to set me up? I shook myself out of my haze and decided to go with the good news. “Melanie is going to be fine,” I told them. “The beast joining her healed her body while she was on the other side or something.”

“That’s good to know,” Art said. “None of us got our beasts while we were injured. How is she handling the change?”

“She hasn’t woken up to talk about it yet,” I said. “Her Eagle was calm and at peace around us. I think it knew and trusted us from her previous host.”

“That’s probably it,” Duncan said. “When Todd killed Ekatarina, the eagle took off, but it came down from the sky to protect you. In St. Petersburg, it was war, and the eagle had no one left.”

“I guess,” I said as I sat on the empty chair next to Art’s desk. Thank God it was on the other side of the room from Edward. I might kill him soon. “How are your men?”

“They will be fine,” Art said. I heard the helicopter startup and watched as Zach boarded with a duffel bag. “My people will return to the island by boat and clean up. We’ve managed to keep the police out of this so far, but that won’t last forever.”

Even inside the office, the sound of the helicopter taking off made conversation difficult, so we waited until it was gone. Edward finally spoke up. “We need to figure out how to let the world find out about the deaths of Vasili and Mikhail. The last thing we need is for the authorities to tie it back to the island. We don’t need our names coming up, and your friend doesn’t need the headache.” sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ ꜰindNʘvel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

That settled one thing; Edward knew Mikhail was dead.

It raised another, more troubling thought. Art was sitting in his office without a hint of danger. The only one in the room giving off any scent of fear was ME, and the other switchers noticed it. Why wouldn’t Art be nervous now? Maybe Zach never told him. My blood ran cold at that thought; he was the only one I told about Mikhail’s death. It was Zach’s idea to put me with the Liger on the island as bait. Zach made all the arrangements for security and patrols. Zach’s people were responsible for getting Melanie from the airport in Split to the Elements. And Zach took off in the helicopter with a bag.

Sure, Vasili said Edward was the man, but could I believe him? Did he do it to fuck with my head about how trustworthy my fellow Switchers were? Or were Zach and Edward in on it from the start?

There were a billion reasons for Edward to bring Zach in on the plot.

“Art? Can I speak to you outside for a moment? It’s important.” I had to get him away from the rest of the group; I didn’t know who else I could trust right now. We walked out on the bow, heading forward until we ran out of deck space. I made sure no one else was around before I stood at the rail and started talking. “I don’t know who to trust anymore,” I confessed.

“Why?”

I told him about Vasili’s bragging about turning Edward against us and how a billion dollars waited for him if he killed Art. His reaction wasn’t what I expected.

He laughed. “When Edward approached me with this idea, I thought it would NEVER work. I mean, who asks for a BILLION dollars?” He extended a pinkie to the corner of his mouth and spoke in a bad Doctor Evil voice. “One BILLION dollars!”

My jaw dropped. “You knew?”

“Of course I knew. Zach was right; Mikhail would not trust anything from the IT ‘breach’ after my people picked up Todd’s sister. The disappearances plus the gaps in connection would make it obvious my computer people had found the taps. The concept was good, but we needed a better hook. A traitor in my family tried and failed; Edward thought a direct appeal from a jealous switcher would work. It went perfectly, or so we thought.”

“What did you do? And why didn’t you tell me?”

“Edward made contact with Mikhail over the satellite phone. He gave his reasons; of the five switchers in the world, all were wealthy except him. He blamed me, of course. I didn’t open up my company’s resources or help him with new identities. He pulled a Fredo, wanting a piece of the action he could call his own.”

Fredo was the worst character in the greatest movies ever made. He turned on Michael because he wanted what he couldn’t have. Respect. “Still, how do you get a billion when the last guy took the job for ten million?”

“He sweetened the pot by warning Mikhail of some upcoming moves I’d be making against his company. I’ve already cut the value of his company by a third, and I have the resources to crush him. A billion dollars to stop the bleeding would be worth every penny, much less becoming a switcher. Remember, he was dying, and he knew it. What good are his billions now?”

It made sense. “So Edward tells him I’m going to be running around this uninhabited island alone while the rest of you hit Sibenik. Zach sets it up with a decoy Liger and a bunch of guys to protect me, and we’re in business until Mikhail shows up with MY SISTER.”

“Yeah, that’s the part we didn’t expect. Zach thinks Mikhail got greedy when he found out we were interviewing for the Eagle spot. He figured out a way to get your mates and the carcass out there. We put you in a hell of a spot, John, and I’m sorry. I’m glad you came through it relatively unscathed.”

“My sister got kidnapped, he threatened to rape the girls, and Vasili blew half of Melanie’s throat away. I wouldn’t call that relatively unscathed.” My Lion was rumbling in anger at the thought.

“It turned out well. You’ll have to take the lead in training Melanie.”

“Even though I can’t fly.”

Art laughed. “None of us can. Duncan and Olivia offered to host you both back in the States. We can’t stay on my ship forever, and you both need room to learn.”

I gripped the rail and nodded. I’d enjoyed my time on the Elements, but I was more at home in the woods and mountains. “What happened with the rest of Edward’s payment? I sent text messages to Mikhail’s accountant to move forward.”

That got Art smiling. “The money is in Edward’s account, and the stocks transferred already. You took a big chunk out of Mikhail’s estate with your quick thinking.”

“What is happening with it?”

“My people are moving it around between banks. We’ll make it impossible to trace. We should discuss what to do with it.”

There were a lot of things I could do with a billion dollars. “Melanie deserves some of it. She went through hell.”

“So do you, John.” He looked back at his office. “Can we go back inside now? And can you quit looking at Edward like he’s dinner?”

I chuckled at that. “I guess so. I wish you’d told me.”

“We couldn’t, John. I’m sorry things went bad on you.” We turned back towards his office as the superyacht headed back out to sea.

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