“I’m sure we’ll see each other at the club,” I say. “Will you be there tonight?”
His eyes change almost imperceptibly. They narrow and darken a little.
“I will, but I’ll be working. No time for distractions, unfortunately.”
“Is that what I am? A distraction?”
“In part. I wouldn’t be able to focus on work if you were beside me.”
I arch a brow. “And what work is that?”
“Rescuing baby animals, of course.” He grins.
“Right.”
“What have you heard about me, Kennedy?”
I shrug. “You told me yourself you’re a criminal.”
“Don’t bullshit me. I told you what I know about you.”
I pause for a second. “You’re a hacker. A black hat. You got rich by stealing money from rich people. And you’re good.”
“Great.”
“Modest,” I say with a wry smile. “And elusive.”
“You heard all this at the club?”
“Disappointed you’re not as top secret as you thought?”
He shakes his head. “If I wanted to stay hidden, I’d use another identity.”
“How many do you have?”
“It’s a fluid number. How many doyouhave?”
“Changing my hair and name is hardly assuming a whole new identity.”
A flicker of annoyance passes over his face. “Don’t try to bullshit me. I know what you do because I do it, too. Eva’s got her own walk, her own laugh, and her own preferred drink. The real you is Kennedy, but you know how to assume other identities, and you know how to do it well. What I can’t figure out iswhy. You’re either a criminal yourself, or you work in intelligence.”
“Maybeyouwork in intelligence, and you’re playing me.”
He laughs and stands up from his chair. “If you want to know me, I’ll let you know as much as I let anyone else know. If you want to fuck me, I’ll show you a real good time. But trust me on this—if you’re trying to work me,don’t. You may work for some low-level hacker group that thinks they can infiltrate my business, or you may be some agent trying to get a promotion by bringing down the best. But the only one who will fall is you, and I don’t want to see that happen.”
“Noted. And if I see you at the club tonight, I’ll try not to distract you.”
I head for the door and he says, “You sure I can’t give you a ride?”
“You mean in your car, or…?”
“I’ll give you any kind of ride you want. Just say the word.”
I give him a flirty grin. “I’ll remember that. Be good, Nix.”
It’s all I can do to play it cool until I’m out the door, and then I stand with my back against the wall for a minute, getting myself together.
Nix rattles me. Or whatever the hell his actual name is. Phoenix Ash? Yeah, right. I’m the fucking intelligence agent, yet he’s the one who figured out my real name and my parents’ names.
