Page 34 of Dark Gambit Reliance

"I want to give you an update on our plan."

Sofia hadn't expected that. She was a pawn, a nobody, and yet the big boss himself was calling to tell her his plan? They probably needed her to do something.

"What do I need to do?"

"Nothing. You need to stay in Safe Haven and call Valstar every other day to keep up the appearance of everything as usual."

"So why are you telling me the plan?"

"Courtesy. We are decent people, Sofia."

She let out a breath. "I know. So what's the plan?"

By the time Kian was done talking, Sofia's heart was hammering against her ribcage, and her throat was tight. She didn't like that the entire liberation plan depended on Jade.

"What's the time frame?" Marcel asked.

"Probably a few days."

Sofia motioned for Marcel to pour her wine. "If you plan to liberate the compound in the next two weeks, there is no need to fake my death."

"Let's leave it as a contingency," Kian said. "Our plans might change after we get more information from the guards at the entrance to the tunnel and then change again after we talk with Jade. We might decide to pull back and leave things as they are until we figure out a solution. If that happens, you'll run out of time. If Igor commands you to return before we fake your death, and we do it then, he will suspect the truth, and he might retaliate against your family."

Everything Kian had said was true, but if she could avoid causing her father unnecessary heartache, she would.

"He will not command me to come back in the next two weeks because he thinks I'm collecting valuable information for him. Can we at least wait that long?"

"One week," Kian said.

"Is it possible to give Jade a message for my father? I don't think his heart could take the news of my death."

"No," Kian said. "After we free Jade from Igor's compulsion, she can deliver a message, but your father won't be free, and the compulsion would force him to report what Jade told him. It would expose your ruse, and it would expose Jade."

24

MARCEL

When the call ended, Sofia closed her eyes and let out a breath. "I'm scared."

"I know." Marcel brushed the curve of her arm with the tips of his fingers.

As goosebumps rose where he'd touched her, he scooped warm water into his cupped palm and sloshed it over her arm. "Are you cold? Do you want me to add hot water?"

"I'm not cold." She moved her head, and the long strands of her hair floated in the tub around her.

"Do you want me to wash your hair?"

She chuckled softly. "The only one who has ever washed it for me was my Aunt Isla. Aunt Hannele didn't have the patience to deal with it. My cousin Helmi always wore hers shoulder length."

"Do you have other cousins?"

"I have two more, but they are much younger. Helmi is only two years younger than me." She groaned. "I pray to the Mother that nothing happens to them and all the others I care about. Heck, I care about everyone except for the murderers." She shivered. "I didn't know what they did. I didn't like the purebloods because of their superior attitudes and low regard for everyone who wasn't a pureblood. I forgave most of the restrictions they put on us because it was necessary to hide that aliens were living on Earth. I even understood their need for human females as breeders. They made it seem as if the women had a choice and that they did it because sex with a pureblood or even a hybrid male was such a mind-blowing experience that they were more than willing. I doubted that part, and I even doubted Helmi, who sang the praises of her hybrid boyfriend's sexual prowess. I thought they had no real choice, so they pretended to like it." Sofia opened her eyes and smiled at him. "But if a Kra-ell's bite has a similar effect to yours, then I believe it. If I get to see Helmi again, I'll tell her." She chuckled. "She will be happy that I finally believe her."

He went down to his knees, picked up the shampoo bottle, and squirted a dollop into his palms. "You will see her again, as well as your aunts, your father, and everyone else."

"I pray to the Mother that I will."

He lifted her hair and supported her head with his forearm. "Who do you think is best suited to run the compound once Igor and his cronies are eliminated?"