A Widow's Poison, A Wife's Rebellion novel Chapter 994

Just what? Starla couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence. She didn't even know what to say anymore. She had never expected things to get this bad, and she had certainly never wanted them to. But what choice did she have now?

"Where are you?" Herbert demanded, his voice tight.

"Take a wild guess."

Silence.

"Do you want to hear it for yourself?"

Starla pulled the phone away from her ear and held it out toward the valley. The firefight had reached a fever pitch. The staccato crack of automatic weapons and deafening explosions tore through the air, traveling straight through the receiver to Herbert.

"You're on Manton Isle?" Herbert's voice shook slightly as the chaotic sounds registered. His heart lurched.

She had lost her mind. To go to a place like that, in the middle of the night, while a full-scale assassination was taking place? Didn't she know how dangerous it was?

"That's right," Starla said, bringing the phone back to her ear. "I came to see for myself exactly how your men are protecting that old bastard. I wanted to see just how determined you are to keep him alive."

"You lied to me?"

They had agreed she would be at the Cyrus Sea. But instead, she had gone straight into the warzone. A heavy pressure settled over Herbert's chest. When he had left Yoran Country, Yardley had warned him this was likely a trick to lure him away. Yet, Herbert had bet on that one-in-a-million chance that she was telling the truth. Even during the trip, a nagging part of him knew she was probably playing him, but he had desperately wanted to believe her.

And now, that one-in-a-million hope was dead. She had played him like a fiddle.

"Didn't you lie to me too?" Starla countered effortlessly.

"Licht cannot die. You're going to be disappointed tonight," Herbert said, his voice dropping low, carrying a faint trace of apology.

"You're helping him? Do you even hear yourself?" Herbert finally snapped. How could she possibly help Amos? She was clever, sure, but her skills were suited for navigating the internal politics of the Yelchin family. Against an entrenched military force like Licht's?

"So you're allowed to protect Licht, but I'm not allowed to help Amos put him in the ground?" Starla retorted.

"You know that's not what I mean! This isn't the Yelchin family! This isn't a game you can meddle in, you don't even have—"

"I don't have the capability, is that it?" Starla cut him off sharply.

Herbert didn't answer.

"Herbert, I never realized you were so arrogant," Starla said, her voice turning dangerously soft. "Underestimating someone usually comes with a very steep price."