tching me, Keon? And I don

t just hang in the

tskills, the structure was a fortress of reinforced concrete, cedar, and bulletproof glass hidden behind a wall of anci

e fabric snagging on the hard muscles of his back. He turned slowly, his silhouette framed by

't a question. His voice was flat, devoid of the hea

"It goes back three years, Keon. Three years of my credit card statements. Three years of my performance reviews at Val

s against the man in front of me. "You didn't just 'find' me today when Clara fired me. You'v

ped his shirt onto a leather chair, revealing a torso mapped with scars one long, jag

"I knew Julian Vane was using your father's old firm to hide his tracks. I knew he was using you because your talent for encry

" I whispered, my heart h

s gaze dropping to my lips. "I decided that if I didn't pull you out of that sea, you'd eventually be the one Va

isgust in my voice was real, but so was the terrifying

into the sensitive skin behind my ear. "Because only a woman who has broken can be reforged into something that doesn't shatter. Look at you now. You killed

I looked at my reflection in the dark glass of the window the emerald silk of my b

at was the most terr

monster,"

the monster that kept you alive. And I'm the only monster w

l-key system. It requires my biometric signature and a manual override of the Vane encryption. We have six hours before t

dger entries, names of senators, and the final proof of how my father was f

set.' I am your equal. When the smoke clears, I take half of what we recover from V

th a twisted kind of pride. He reached into a drawer and pulled out

ow, sit down. We ha

of code began to fly, I realized that the man behind me wasn't just my protecto

not looking up

es

won't use the knife on your slee

him checking his weapon in the corn