“Good afternoon, Lieutenant Moore,” Brett said as they entered the room to which the man had been shown. The same room Maddox had been in when Felix had… He ignored that train of thought.
“What is this about?” Moore said, looking relaxed with his leg slung over his opposite knee, but the tension in his shoulders showed he wasn’t.
“I already explained that on the phone,” Felix said, leaning back against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. “Lieutenant Colonel Venus Cage.”
“What about her?”
Brett sat in the chair on the opposite side of the table. “Okay, let’s play it this way then. We know you have information about her missions over the years that weren’t, shall we say, on the books. We know she attempted to have you killed. And we know you called Adelaide Thompson and dropped a tip against Felix. My initial question is, why drop the tip?”
Moore stared at Brett, his jaw working from side to side before he exhaled heavily. “Exposure.”
“Explain,” Brett said.
Moore leaned his elbows on the table. “After I almost died, I threatened her. I told her I would spill all the details I had about everything that wasn’t sanctioned unless she left me alone. I know about the attacks on the guards and what shehad planned for each. I knew she would take Felix, and by that point, I needed to do something. I thought that if I made Felix a target of the media, there would be a lot more eyes on him and his whereabouts. She wouldn’t want to kill him if people were looking for him.” He gave a wry smile. “Apart from yourselves, obviously.”
“So you know what her plans are?”
Moore shook his head. “Were. Past tense. After she tried to get rid of me, I can guarantee she changed her plans.”
Brett glanced at Felix, silently asking if he should mention the meeting. Felix nodded once. “She contacted me earlier today. Said she had two more steps in her plan for outright martial law and wanted to meet. Any idea what that’s about?”
Moore frowned for a moment, rubbing his finger over his chin. “I didn’t know her overarching plan, just some of the steps involved.”
“Anything you can tell us, whether or not it’s valid, is helpful,” Felix said.
“She wanted you back in control of the cartel.”
“What about Malcolm?” Brett asked.
“She didn’t say, but I read between the lines. He wouldn’t be there.”
Felix’s heart hurt for Brett. That his sister wanted him to lose his humanity and become a soulless machine was terrifying. The man had enough weight on his shoulders without adding to it. What two steps could make her plan work? He asked Moore.
Moore shrugged. “I don’t know for definite, but my thoughts were that she wants control of everything: the military, the cartel and the royals. If she had that, she would be unstoppable. As for the two steps… I assume the first would be getting you on her side.” He pointed at Brett. “But how she would do that, I don’t know. You don’t seem like a person who would easily fall into her clutches.”
“What would her final step be? What would she need to start martial law?”
Moore frowned again. “An impending catastrophe that would cause nationwide panic.”
Brett stood. “Thanks for your help. We appreciate it.” He headed for the door, and Felix followed, indicating to the guard standing at attention in the hallway to take Moore wherever he wanted to go.
“Brett!” he called, but his man didn’t slow down. Felix jogged up to him, moving in front of him to stop him. “What’s wrong?”
Brett wouldn’t look at him, his jaw clenched tightly. “She used to joke about setting off bombs around the country to ensure everyone did as they were told. Ithoughtshe was joking.” He met his gaze. “What if she wasn’t? What if she’s going to do it?”
Felix’s chest ached for him. “Then we’ll stop her. That’s what we’re going to do right now.” He cupped Brett’s jaw. “We’ll finish this. We will.”
Brett buried his head in Felix’s neck and held him so fiercely, Felix thought he’d break. He soothed him as best he could, and eventually, reality intruded.
“I’m sorry, guys, but we need you,” Dominic said.
They pulled away from each other, and Felix smirked at him. “You’re such a pain.”
Dominic shrugged. “I know.”
“What’s up?” Brett asked as they followed him down the corridor.
“We have guards stationed throughout the perimeter of the field and in the neighbouring fields, too. We have some eyes in the buildings that overlook the field, but they are some distance away, so not much use unless they were a trained sniper, sorry. They can still keep track of what’s coming and going. Now we just need to have you wired up before you go.”