I leaned in, took her face in my hands, and kissed her. Hard, deep, unforgiving. When I pulled away, her lips were bruised and her breath was coming fast.
“Now clean the table. We have work to do.”
She stared at me, stunned, then nodded.
I watched the way her body moved, the way her wolf hovered just under her skin, ready to bolt or bite or both.
She didn’t slam the dishes into the sink. She simply washed them and set them in the dish drainer. Dishwashing was as methodical as everything else she did. It was as though she lost herself in the task’s monotony. I sat at the table watching her, picking steak from my teeth. My brain wouldn’t quiet. There was no logic to what I felt—the mate bond. This girl had been around me for years before she’d disappeared when she’d graduated from junior college. I’d always watched her with fascination. Now I knew why. Now she was my problem. Now she was in the crosshairs.
She came back over to me fifteen minutes later, drying her hands on a dish towel. If she were trying to look innocent, she failed miserably. She had the kind of face that refused to behave.
I waited until she was close enough to smell the fabric softener clinging to her sleeve before I started in.
“Why Silas Drake?” I asked.
She stopped dead. “Is that a trick question?”
I stood. “How does a bottom-feeder like him get claws into you?”
She crossed her arms. “He bought out Axel’s marker. Simple as that. Axel gambled at his establishments and couldn’t pay. Next thing I know I’m getting threats from Greenbriar. They wanted a hacker, not an accountant. They wanted me.”
“Bullshit,” I spat. “Greenbriar doesn’t pull stunts like this. Not with Iron Valor. Unless…” I leaned in, dropping my voice. “Unless they thought you’d fold easily.”
She glared, but didn’t deny it.
“That’s not fair, Wrecker. I’m not easy. Axel is the only family I have left in the world. Someone tells you the person you shared a womb with is going to die if you don’t do what they say, you ask what they want you to do. I thought I could just fucking slow them down or something. Buy time. Not…” She shook her head, angry with herself. “Not destroy everything.”
“Guess you’re not as smart as you thought, then,” I said.
“Guess not,” she said, soft.
I paced the length of the kitchen. The floor creaked under my weight. She watched me, arms still crossed, but the fight had gone out of her.
“What does Silas want?” I asked.
Her fingers tightened on her biceps. “He wants Iron Valor off the map. He wants to see Bronc dead. And he wants you in pieces, floating in the fucking river.”
“Nice to know I’m popular,” I said.
She gave a sad little snort.
I slammed a fist on the counter. The whole house jumped. “You don’t get it, do you? We’re not the only ones with something to lose. You think Greenbriar will let you go once they’re done?”
She met my eyes, and for the first time, I saw fear.
“No,” she said. “I know how it ends.”
I nodded. “Good. Then you know why we do things my way now.”
She went quiet, chewing on the inside of her cheek.
“I need everything,” I said. “Every password, every server address, every contact you have inside Greenbriar. And Parker, you’re gonna have to plant a bug inside.”
She hesitated. “How? They’ll know…"
“You have the benefit of Silas’s ego. He thinks he’s smarter than us. I’m going to help you make it look like what you’re doing is working. He’s going to think he’s winning. Don’t get me wrong. This is going to be dangerous for you. I’m going to keep you alive though.”
I took her hands in mine. “I have to know who else he’s working with. He knows he can’t bring us down alone. You’ll need to arrange another meeting to let him know you fixed the transfer problem. I’ll give you the tech you’ll plant in his office.” I told her. Then I reminded her, “You’re alive because I let you be. That ends if you cross me again.”
