Primal God (The Defiant God Brotherhood #4)

Epilogue 1

Claudius

My phone buzzes and I know who it is without even looking.

“Blanc,” I greet. “You’re up late.”

“Irons,” his voice is strained. “I need… I…”

“Blanc. Are you there?” I look to see if the call has been dropped. It hasn’t. “Blanc. What in the fuck is going on?”

“Letter. Tell Carter to read the letter.”

The line goes dead. When I try to call him back, it goes straight to voicemail. Fucking hell.

I call Grant Carter on his secure line, knowing he’ll answer.

“This is Carter.”

“Blanc just called me and sounded like he was in distress.” I pause. “He said to tell you to read the letter. Does that mean something to you?”

There’s an even bigger pause.

“Carter?”

“Yes, it means something. Hold on.”

He’s FaceTiming me a moment later.

“Yes?”

“One moment. Let me grab the letter.”

Grant is in the actual fucking Oval Office, sitting at his desk. He reaches into the top drawer and pulls out an envelope.

When it’s in his hand, he says, “There’s not a safer place in the world to keep this.”

“What is it exactly?”

“Blanc gave it to me after I won the Presidency. Said he wanted me to hold on to it just in case.”

I sit forward in my chair. “Just in case what ?”

“I think you know what.” He pauses. “Did your source ever come up with anything?”

“Only a bunch of dead ends.”

“Dead ends. That’s fitting, since everyone involved seems to die.”

“So, the letter is what? Security?”

“Something like that.” Grant opens the letter, skimming over it. “Holy shit.”

“What?”

“Blanc has a family.”

“We already know that…”

“No, I mean another family.” His face pales as a smaller card falls out of the envelope. “Fuck. I get it now.”

“Get what?” I’m growing frustrated.

“I’m going to send you something.” Someone calls his name off camera and Grant says, “I have to go. You’ll understand when you get my email.”

He ends the call, making me curse under my breath. I don’t get to wonder what he meant for long because his email comes through. In it is a copy of the letter and of the card.

And I do understand.

“Fuck.”

I understand completely.

The fucker after us has somehow slipped into the Oval Office—the most secure place in the world—and left his calling card and a date. October 31. And I’m the only person who can save Blanc’s secret daughter because I’m the only one who understands how the trafficking rings work.

Something pulls deep in my chest.

I failed once. I won’t fail again.