Glorious Rivals(61)

He would have seen it before—they all would have—if they hadn’t been so focused on Alice, on that threat.

“Savannah.” Grayson wanted to be wrong about that. “My sister. Sheffield Grayson’s daughter,” he clarified for Toby. “She’s the one Eve is trying to use.”

“Damn it, Eve.” Toby’s voice wasn’t angry so much as rough. Out the front of the chopper, Hawthorne Island came into view. Toby turned the copter, taking another wide arc—wider than necessary. “I’d bet a lot of money that Eve led your sister to believe that Avery’s the one who killed your father.”

Grayson could see it all now—not just Eve’s plan but Savannah’s pain, her fury. He took in everything he knew about the Grandest Game and saw immediately where this was heading.

“You’ll read Jameson and Avery in,” Grayson told Toby, knowing that they would be able to infer the situation as well as he had. “And Alisa Ortega.”

“I’ll also find Eve,” Toby replied, “and try to talk some sense into my daughter. In the meantime…” Toby’s voice thickened. “You tell your sister that it was me. You tell her that I’m the one who killed Sheffield Grayson. I pulled the trigger.”

“You didn’t,” Grayson pointed out.

“Neither did Avery,” Toby replied. “And the actual truth would be harder for your sister to swallow. If Savannah needs a Hawthorne target, you damn well make it me.”

They were close enough to the island now to see the house—close enough to see the section of the forest that was still charred after all these years, ravaged by a fire that a teenage Toby had as good as set.

“I gave Avery my permission to host the game here,” Toby said, locking his own eyes on to the island’s scars. “I don’t get to be a victim of my own sins, and this—the Grandest Game, making puzzles, giving people the experience of a lifetime—it means something to Avery. Hannah’s girl. Our girl. And Kaylie, Hannah’s sister who died in the fire—she would have approved.”

There was enough raw emotion in Toby’s voice that Grayson couldn’t help feeling an echo of it himself, and he had to ask: “Do you regret staying away from them for all those years? Avery. Hannah.”

“I had my reasons. And now my Hannah the Same Backward as Forward is gone anyway, and I regret it every day.” Toby went in for the landing. “Maybe if I’d learned to love differently, I could have loved her better.” He looked at Grayson again as the chopper touched down. “I certainly couldn’t have loved her more. I protected Hannah and Avery the only way I knew how.”

“From the old man,” Grayson said, and now his voice was the one that was thick. “From his enemies. From everything it means to be a Hawthorne.”

Toby dropped his hands from the controls, but he didn’t kill the engine “Nash didn’t come right out and say that there was a threat, but he made it clear enough that Eve is not the only reason I’m here.”

Grayson said nothing. Silence was its own kind of answer.

“You won’t tell me the details. That’s fine.” Toby hit a button and powered down the chopper. “All you have to tell me, nephew, is whether or not the threat in question starts with the letter A.”

Chapter 52

ROHAN

There was a game that Rohan liked to play, one that had proven of use to him on more than one occasion, called Who Will Betray You First? Since becoming Factotum, he’d often been the one throwing that question out to the person in his sights, letting them wonder if they had already been betrayed—and by whom.

But long before he’d won his place as the second-in-command at the Mercy, Rohan had been a master at playing Who Will Betray You First? all by himself. This time, there was only one candidate, only one player in this game who could betray him.

And Rohan had known from the start that she would.

The only questions were when and how. Savannah hadn’t said a word to Brady on the chopper ride, nor had she given Rohan any indication that her allegiances had changed. But then, with a woman like Savannah Grayson, there would be no indications, no forewarning. Regardless, Rohan had no intentions of being taken off guard.

On the yacht, he’d told her what he’d found on his mask—not so much a test as a push.

All Savannah would have to do is take what he’d given her and run, and Rohan would know: Their alliance had reached its end—sooner than anticipated, granted, but Rohan still fully intended to relish her attempts to destroy him.

Take me out of the game, love. If you can.

The doors on the helicopter unlocked. Savannah threw herself out of her seat, making it to the door first. She glanced back at Brady. “If you want me to consider your proposition,” Savannah said, jerking her head toward Lyra Kane, “block her.”

A second later, Savannah was out the door. “Hurry up, British.”

Savannah had asked Brady to block Lyra, not Rohan. Keeping up the illusion that we’re a team, Savvy? Rohan jumped out of the chopper and immediately started gaining on his quarry, his legs and stride longer even than Savannah’s.

“Your brother will not allow anyone to block Lyra Kane for long,” Rohan said, neck and neck with her now.

“We don’t need long,” Savannah retorted. “Even if they’ve managed to solve the music box, we just need long enough to get to the second floor and plug in the combination.”