ne: The B
saw Leo Madu in person, he
his
crumpled on the marble rooftop of Madu Holdings, blood soaking into the grout between cream tiles like spilled wine. Beyond the body
y shadows. Her breath slowed deliberatel
r crackling audio surveillance, stalked through the chaos of Lagos's underworld
Ma
nting born of sin-flawless, sharp-jawed,
deliberate. The tip glowed briefly as he inhaled, then h
late,"
ected. Velvet wrapped in steel. A t
lm though her hand hovered near the pistol s
the humid night. "That shouldn't have h
r heels clicking against the tile
hen dropped to her hands. She kept them visible. He was the
d. "But let's not
s charged. Thick with the unspoken rules of t
name that made he
traightened. T
anged encrypted texts through burner phones and anonymous drop points. As
ecause it meant
very thing sen
d been cleaned-efficiency disguised as loyalty. The roses, untouched, s
asses and handed her one without askin
kinwunmi," he said finally.
ing to move shipments through the
dn't curse or throw the
tomorrow," he said.
request. I
. "And if h
idn't reach his eye
sier. Familiar. The kind that only came be
. There were faint lines around his mouth. A scar beneath his collarbone, mostly hidden
ted to
need
ing in her
like a trophy. Maybe it was the quiet grief that flickered-ju
t had always been drawn to broken th
or a wing larger than most hotels. She listened to the sounds of the house settling. The clicking
r back, staring at
ant her repo
ure tablet she'd hidden inside a hollowed-out book. Her fi
ow to
how of power. Increasing paran
trust. Positioning
ost-Akinwunmi
Then typed o
erous. Intelligent. Not pr
ing it. Something about that last se
like a
her
essed in a white shirt rolled to the elbows, slacks, no shoes. He stood barefoot in the grass
he asked witho
l en
ension in yo
ked. "Ex
n you walk. As if you're
. "Occupatio
You weren't born in this world. But you learne
u?" she
he said. "I don't
. So she didn't. She turned away, sipping the coff
e rode with
She flirte
t. Akinwunmi was moving weapons through an unaudited
just after sunset. Leo was
?" he
ve onto the table. "You
a long time. "T
the table and gently
a f
nded. No seduction. No p
erent," he s
on't k
't nee
fore the moment became some
e to feel. She was her
t same heat in her chest-the same treac
terrifi
't sleep
quiet. Too still.
ing through data feeds from her contac
t Madu destabilized withi
for someone like Leo. He wasn't a r
spected she was feeding information out of h
n't dou
e wasn't afra
d of what she
, Leo took h
at her door and one of his men telling
of Lagos passed in a blur of heat and noise-markets b
y entered an industrial
en useful,
w. "You always compli
. "Don't get sentimental. I do
Anya. The watcher. T
unmarked. Inside were crates upon crates of mi
irected last month," Leo said. "
k it was
nk if it wasn't, I'll be
the patterns. She recognized the technique-it wasn't just an
wasn'
t inside, something cracked
ke Leo down for the cr
d the empi
he room smelled of leather, old paper, and som
ass of wine. "I ha
all, skeptical. "I didn't
aid. "Before I learn
t was dry. Deep. Like
ighting it. I just... watched. Calm. Silent. The water was ful
aid no
said. "And you w
be
a warning,
yes. "Maybe i
r. The air thick
who you say you a
ught-but her fac
et me stay?
. I'd rather be betrayed by you
htly in her hand. She didn'
ver said anything lik
f her wanted t
garden just past midn
marble walls like silent witnesses. Somewhere inside, Leo sl
. They were real. That surprised her. No artificial dye, n
en pulled her hand away. A
poetic, she thought bitterly. A spy
came a voic
t turn. "
p or memory. "I like that about them
ower tonight-just black slacks, a plain T-sh
atching me?
h the people I
ow. "And do you
ly a breath between them. "I trust you to do wh
like a warning drum
softly. "And you carry
. "Is this how you s
thin. "Only the ones I
cratch on her thumb with his thumb. I
, loyalty. But no one had prepared her for this-for
d back. "I
," he
pa
e. It was soft. Cold. Final. "Don't lie about i
time since she walked into his world,
lie," s
ded. "
n the floor beneath the wind
eport to SIRS s
ow to
owing instability, emotio
l complexity. Mission
oversight. Request
gain-just like
n t
threat. He's a man. A dangerous one.
hit
e hands of those who would use it t
d just made a
n str
n loy
hing far mor
let hers
, a rose sat o
single, perfect bloom, de
n her hand fo
to herself, almost
ver survi
her w