“I was annoying,” she corrects. “I’m still annoying. I’m also twenty-four, trained in Krav Maga, and capable of reciting every password you’ve changed in the past eighteen months.”
That last part is not comforting.
“At the end of the day,” I say, “you’re still Gage’s little sister.”
“Newsflash,” she says, standing, the bag of cheese curls now abandoned. She steps into my space like boundaries are a suggestion. “I’m not a ‘little’ anything anymore.”
She’s close.
Too close.
I catch the glint of a silver chain at her throat, the edge of a tattoo curling up the inside of her wrist. Her lashes are clumped with mascara, and there’s a tiny smudge of orange cheese dust on her lip.
I want to swipe it off with my thumb.
Or my mouth.
An electric pulse ticks under my skin.
I break eye contact first.
Because if I don’t, I’m going to do something incredibly stupid.
Behind us, Arrow groans and sits up, hood falling back. “Why are you two arguing at a volume that makes my soul hurt?”
“Your fault,” I say. “You let her in.”
Arrow blinks at Lark, then at me. “You two still doing the denial tango?”
Lark grins. “He doesn’t believe in my immense value.”
“She is unauthorized,” I counter.
“She’s also holding our encrypted activity logs hostage,” Arrow reminds me. “So maybe don’t piss her off before coffee.”
I glare. “You agreed to this?”
Arrow shrugs. “I agreed to evaluate. Big difference.”
Lark lifts her chin. “And how’s my evaluation going?”
Arrow sips whatever’s in his mug and sighs. “You broke in, tested our systems, found vulnerabilities, and didn’t hand us to the police. I’d say you’ve got potential.”
“Thank you,” she says.
“I still don’t like it,” I mutter.
Arrow looks at me. “You don’t have to like it. You just have to make sure she doesn’t die.”
I go very still.
He’s not joking.
He is absolutely, horrifyingly sincere.
Lark watches my face like she’s waiting for the verdict.
My brain catalogs the reality: she knows too much,cando too much, and has already inserted herself into our operations. Cutting her out now would be like trying to remove a virus with a hammer.
