Greg stares at me, and for the first time, I feel like we see each other. We’re not hiding behind each other or trying to find something in the other that isn’t there. For the first time, we’re looking at each other and seeing the real person standing there.
“What do you have on Jonah?” he asks.
My lips curve into a hint of a smile, and I give a single nod before going over to the couch to gather what I brought with me. Greg takes a plate of breakfast into his lap and Dean takes another, sitting in the chair across the bed from me. I leave my plate on the tray table so I can take bites in between going through the papers and pictures spread across the bed and my lap.
“First, I want to know what you have. What is Leviathan?” I ask.
“I don’t know exactly,” he says.
“You were in it for two years,” I point out incredulously.
“That’s the thing. I was there, but I wasn’t really in it. Not after the first few weeks, anyway. Jonah is cruel and deluded, but he’s brilliant. He has tight control over everyone around him. Nobody knows all the details except for him. Even the highest-ranking members are still kept in the dark about some things. There is a very strict hierarchy in the organization. You learn more as you move up. I was brought in higher in the rankings than the disposable pawns he uses essentially for filler, but I didn’t stay in his good favor long enough to gain his trust and learn more. What I do know is his philosophy. Jonah believes in the power of chaos. He thinks the world is sleeping. That most people never actually live. Chaos, fear, and destruction give energy and value to life, and promote power and influence.”
“Chaos. Tiamat,” Dean pipes up. “Remember? When we were trying to figure out what Martin was talking about when he was rambling about Lotan, we read about the Mesopotamian goddess that represented the chaos of creation.”
“There is also the tradition that Leviathan is the representation of destruction,” Greg says. “In Christianity, Leviathan is often used for the imagery of Satan and his destruction of everything. But he’s also referred to as the demon of envy.”
My eyes go to Dean.
“Can you think of anyone Jonah might have been envious of?” I ask.
Dean nods, the same link forming in his mind.
“Just like Leviathan means different things, it has different forms,” Greg continues. “Every member is devoted to the concept of chaos and power, but those are often different things. Jonah selects his followers carefully. Uses them for everything they have to offer. Some aid his pursuit of wealth, influence, or control with trafficking. I personally was involved with dealings with the drug cartels and weapons sales.”
“What about the others?” I ask.
“Some agents instigate chaos directly. Terrorist attacks. Staged destructions. Mass shootings. He plans the destruction, and they ensure it happens,” Greg tells me.
“Was he involved in the bombing of the bus station?” I ask. I reach down and pull out the files I have from the investigation. “I didn’t think you had anything to do with it.”
Greg shakes his head.
“I didn’t. That wasn’t the plan. Jonah was furious when that happened. He sent hunters out to find the person responsible, but no one has been able to find them.”
“Why was he so angry?” Dean asks. “If he loves chaos so much, why would he be upset about something that destructive?”
“Because he didn’t control it. It wasn’t designed around his plan. And he was afraid for you, Emma. You’re the focus of everything.”
“What?” I gasp.
“Everything he does. Every attack, every plan, every destruction, he does it with you in mind.”
That makes my skin crawl. I push it aside, focusing on the question I’ve carried with me since I saw the footage of him.
“What did you give to the man at the information desk?” I ask. “The FBI has footage of you going into the station right before the blast.” I show him a still from the video. “You have a bag, and you put it in the locker. Then you go to the information desk. I know you gave them something for me.”
Greg nods.
“I wasn’t bringing something to the station. I was facilitating a pickup. One of Jonah’s connections left a payment for a shipment of guns in one of the lockers. It was my job to go to that locker, put the payment in the bag, then put that bag in a different locker. The plan was for it to be moved again later before finally being picked up. That’s the way he did everything, making sure he didn’t leave any straight lines to follow.”
“But you did leave something at the desk,” I say.
“I hoped someone would notice something. That there would be an investigation and the Bureau would be brought in. I tried to leave as many clues in as many places as I could. I knew you weren’t going to find all of them, but if you could find any of them, it would tell you I was alive and hopefully eventually lead you to him. I wanted to leave things you would know instantly were for you and from me, but that wouldn’t give too much away, so it didn’t create more danger.”
“What was that one?”
“A note saying I would be at the restaurant at nine,” he says.
We both let out soft, sad laughs.
“That would have done it,” I tell him.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Where were you?” Dean asks. “Where did they keep you?”
“I don’t know,” Greg says. “Not exactly, anyway. Lotan—Jonah—made sure we never went the same route twice to the compound. It was another secret he kept from most members. At
