Illicit (The Wrong Alpha 3)

When both of them nodded, he continued in a quiet, measured voice, “There is a way to fool the test. I can’t tell you any particulars because I’m under NDA-tech. Even talking about it vaguely is—hard. The method’s existence isn’t known to the Inheritance Department yet. Only a select few in the government know about it.” He smiled humorlessly. “You can probably imagine how furious our superiors are right now for its unsanctioned use. Not only did he use the tech unsanctioned, but he used it on home soil, increasing the risk of exposure exponentially. It’s a good thing he didn’t attend society functions as me and his contact with other people was minimal—so it’s not bad as it could have been. Our superiors are still pissed. He was supposed to be on leave, not prancing around pretending to be me.”

Liam shifted in his seat. “Is he in trouble? Is that why he isn’t here?”

Ant heaved a sigh. “Partially. He was also heavily wounded. He was taken to the hospital just prior to your arrival.”

Liam’s vision swam a little.

“Wounded?” he managed through a dry throat.

“Yes,” Ant said, drumming his fingers over the armrest. His fingers were thicker than his, not as long and elegant.

“How?” Liam whispered. It wasn’t really the question he wanted to ask, but he couldn’t ask what he really wanted to know. How badly is he injured? Is he okay?

Ant pursed his lips. “Apparently he confronted Uncle this morning and told him he caught his man red-handed when he attempted to poison him and that his man confessed everything. It was a gamble, but it did work. Uncle bought the bluff, got nervous, and gave himself away. He shot him point blank.”

“Point blank?” Liam said faintly, his heart dropping somewhere to his feet.

“Yes,” Ant said, his gaze darkening. “Arrogant idiot. He’s one of the best intelligence agents out there, but he’s always been too damn overconfident for his own good. He shouldn’t have underestimated Uncle. He was lucky I arrived when I did or he would have bled out.”

Liam swallowed, gripping his own fingers so hard it was painful.

“What happened after that?” Jules said.

Ant shrugged. “Uncle had no idea their conversation was being recorded and transmitted to our servers—at least the arrogant ass had taken that precaution. Him accessing the server alerted our superiors, and our handler alerted me and the police. It was a lucky coincidence that I was on the way home already and arrived before Uncle could finish him.” Anthony snorted. “If Uncle didn’t indulge in some gloating, I wouldn’t have made it in time. And it was a good thing that he did. He confessed everything, thinking that his nephew was dying anyway.” His lips thinned. “Apparently, Mother didn’t just fall down the stairs, either.”

Jules sucked in a breath. “What? He arranged her death too?”

Ant gave a clipped nod, his face expressionless.

Liam stared at him blankly, feeling curiously devoid of emotion. Or maybe he’d just lost his capacity to be surprised.

“So is he all right?” he whispered at last.

His brows knitting, Ant shot him a sharp look.

Liam hoped he wasn’t blushing. “What?” he said, trying not to sound defensive. “We thought he was you. We got a little attached to him over the past month.”

Jules made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a snort and quickly started coughing to cover it.

Liam glared at him.

“I’m not sure,” Ant said, brushing a hand through his hair in a frustrated gesture that sent a pang of familiarity through Liam’s chest. He really was his brother. “I asked our former handler to contact me if his condition changes, but there’s been nothing so far.” He pulled a face. “Strictly speaking, they aren’t obligated to tell me anything. I don’t have the clearance anymore.”

“You mean you left the service?” Jules said.

Ant nodded. “I was about to resign and return home anyway, but my wound makes me unfit for service in any case.”

“You look fine,” Jules said.

Ant smiled without much humor. “I’m fine by regular people’s standards. My squad had only the fittest and most capable.”

Literally biting his tongue to stop himself from asking more questions about him, Liam tried to focus on the conversation between Ant and Jules, but his brain only comprehended snatches of it.

“…did Uncle try to escape?” Jules said. “Is that why you shot him?”

“No,” Ant said. “I shot him because I could.”

The coldness of that statement finally managed to catch Liam’s attention. He stared at Anthony’s expressionless face and didn’t know what to think.

“He killed Mother,” Ant said, as if that justified shooting a man who was about to be taken into custody anyway. “He nearly killed my best friend—and it’s possible Uncle did kill him if he doesn’t pull through.”

Liam looked down, his fingernails digging into his thighs hard. He knew his face was blank. He was good at hiding his emotions. No one in the room probably had any idea that anger and animal fear were eating him alive.