“Oh, I know there were labs somewhere in Brooklyn, but he would never reveal their location.”

“So much for your earlier boast that he completely trusted you,” I said.

Frederick smiled benignly. “Boasts and lies all have one purpose—to make people like you do as we wish. And if that doesn’t work . . .”

The knife sliced deeper into my skin, and pain flared brighter. I really was going to enjoy hurting this bastard . . .

“Did you teach Luke to use magic?” My voice was still surprisingly without inflection. Which was a good thing—Hunt was already enjoying himself far too much for my liking.

“That, I believe, was an unfortunate side effect of the infection. He could not control me, but he did have some access to my thoughts and memories. Did you find the labs, Emberly?”

“I don’t fucking know. We found an air lock that’s accessible through a hidden entrance in his office, but whether that’s the labs or merely a large safe is anyone’s guess.”

There was little point in lying about what we’d found—if Rinaldo did have a mole in PIT, he was probably aware of what went down there.

It also meant all this was pretty pointless. Unless, of course, Frederick was simply confirming information they already had.

“And did you manage to gain access?”

“No. It was code locked and had a hand scanner attached.”

“Meaning it will take some time to break in.” His expression was irritated. “Which means more unfortunate delays.”

“For whom? And where are the scientists?”

I didn’t really expect an answer, and I didn’t get it. Instead, he withdrew the knife’s tip from my skin. “You, my dear, are far too dangerous to keep around. Rinaldo might think he has you by the short and curlies—” He paused, amusement touching his thin lips as he wiggled the knife back and forth across my pubic hair. Tension rolled through me as I waited for the flick of pain that came with flesh being pierced, but it didn’t happen—not this time, at any rate. “I, however, do not believe that to be wise.”

“He hasn’t finished with me, Frederick. I wouldn’t—”

“Oh, he’s going to be incredibly annoyed by my actions,” he cut in. “But he and I have been business partners for a very long time. One might even say decades. He will, in the end, respect my actions.”

Decades? That wasn’t possible—not without him either being nonhuman or a thrall. But even if he had sworn blood service—thereby becoming Rinaldo’s human servant and gaining a very extended lifespan in exchange—he wouldn’t have the free will to do something like this. Unless, of course, being a dark witch gave him some sort of immunity.