Steel's Edge by Ilona Andrews

Author:Ilona Andrews [Andrews, Ilona]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fantasy, Contemporary, Azizex666, Fiction
ISBN: 9781101613405
Google: 3t6q3OPl2-MC
Amazon: 1937007820
Barnesnoble: 1937007820
Goodreads: 12119496
Publisher: Ace
Published: 2012-11-27T05:00:00+00:00

NINE

“YOU look good,” John Drayton said from the opposite end of his cabin. “Solid. All grown-up. I remember when you were sickly. You kept raising animals because you couldn’t stand to watch something die. I take it you’ve gotten over that.”

George examined the man in front of him. The key was to cordon off his own anger and evaluate him as he would any other opponent. The years had banged John around, but he was in good health. He ate well and carried a few extra pounds. The air in the cabin hinted at the spicy notes of his cologne. His clothes were well cut from good fabric. His hair was professionally shorn to flatter his face. John Drayton was a vain man, and he liked spending money on himself.

George remembered him as being big, a tall shadow. He remembered him being funny. He would make jokes.

The thought spurred the vicious part of him into a gallop. Jokes. Right.

For the first hour and a half, John had kept his mouth shut, probably waiting for him to talk. Waiting for “How could you abandon us, Father?” and “I’ve waited for you to come back, Father!” Waiting for some tell, some clue or lever to push. Keep waiting, scumbag.

Most people didn’t handle silence well, and John had banked on it and lost. George had no problem with silence. It was an effective tool, and he’d seen his Mirror handlers use it to great effect. Having finally realized that no clues would be coming, John decided to start talking and probe for weaknesses. George had sat in on enough of the Mirror’s interrogations to guess the most likely course this conversation would take: John would try to bridge the gap between the six-year-old sickly child he left behind and the sixteen-year-old he saw now.

“You remember what I told you when I left?”

Like an open book.

“I said—”

You mind the family, Georgie. Keep an eye on your sister and brother for me.

“—for you to keep an eye on your sister and brother for me. You’ve done good. Jack’s still alive, that’s something. Couldn’t have been easy to make that miracle happen.”

What do you know about it? What do you know about Jack, about his rages, about his not understanding how people think, about Rose spending hours to coax him back to humanity? What do you know, you slimy weasel? You know nothing of our family. You chose to know nothing.

“How’s Rose?”

Where were you when she worked herself into the ground? Oh, that’s right, getting rich from misery, rape, and pain.

“You afraid to speak to me, George?” John slapped his palm on the desk. “Damn it, boy. Tell me how my daughter is!”

George moved Lynda a step closer. “Do that again, and I’ll let her gnaw on your neck, slowly, one bite a time. Rose will be delighted when I bring her your head.”

John leaned back. Fear shot through his eyes. He hid it fast, but George had seen it. Yes, he knew the type. John would do anything, say anything to avoid physical pain and punishment.

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