Galilee Rising(113)

"So I thought about you, and asked myself the same thing I asked you: why didn't you just leave? Sail off into the sunset? And it came to me: hubris. You came after Justin because he deigned to challenge you, and he won. He believed he was better than you, and you had to prove he wasn't. So I considered this, what really drove Cain, and my two goals: stay alive and lure him from his hole. Thus began the farce.

"I knew he'd see through my crap plan, but he didn't know I knew he would. I stuck that farce until it hurt, giving Cain exactly what he wanted: his brother. Alone. Afraid. Weak so Cain could pick up the pieces. And while I was being entertaining, while I was acting as if I were smarter than he was, he'd keep me alive. It also ensured he'd want a face-to-face to lord it over me that he saw through my pathetic display, that I wasn't a worthy opponent or competitor for his brother's heart. That I was beneath him. Not up to the game. But that still wasn't enough. Deep down he's a coward, so he'd only surface if he thought he was losing control of his players. When the game wasn't fun anymore. We had to prove our love. Our devotion. So I had to out Nightingale. And as I anticipated, when Cain realized his brother would risk everything for me, the person who truly had his heart, that's when Cain surfaced. And in that moment, it was all over. We got him."

"But he could have killed you."

"I was dead already. Borrowed time, remember? Besides, once again, he underestimated me. He was so dazzled by our two person play, he forgot about the third player. Liberty. Liberty, who stormed into the Justice lair, practically shouted I tried to enlist her in my plan, then stormed out. Who was hundreds of miles away, making herself visible there every day, including D-Day. Nightingale did technically get her husband killed. She had a real reason to hate him, and me by association. What Cain didn't know was this entire plan was detailed in the note I slipped her at the memorial, and any changes that I thought necessary, I passed to Dobbs or Shannon, who then texted her on a secret cell."

"So the one bad con was to hide the two good cons. Clever."

"Don't play a player. Would you have fallen for it?"

He smiles. "No, but only because I learned my lesson the last time."

"Which was?"

"Never underestimate you. Never. It would be a gross injustice."

I grin. "If only you could have known that sooner, right?" The front door opens, and Jem steps in with our Chinese food. I glance back at the screen. "Sorry, Ryder. Dinner's here. Oh, and you might not hear from me for awhile. I'm taking a long vacation with a very gorgeous man. I'll call when I get back. I need to pick your brain about the Albanians. Till then." I shut off the webcam.

"Albanians?" Jem asks as he unloads the cartons.

"They're a major drug supplier." I stroll over to him. "New target for the resurrected Captain Moonlight and his lovely silent partner and her supercomputer."

"Captain Moonlight?"

"Just a thought."

"One for after our vacation."

"Of course." I root around in the bag. "Crap. They forgot the sauce again."

"You mean…" He reaches into his pocket, revealing three packets of orange duck sauce, "this sauce? I grabbed some on the way out."

A huge smile creeps across my face as I move toward him. I throw my arm around his neck, slowly drawing him into a deep kiss. Oh, how I love this man. I break apart and stare into those eyes of his that melt me every time. "My hero."

Guess sometimes there is some justice in this world.