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