My throat tightens. “Am I?”
“No.”
And that’s the problem. Because I believe him.
He steps closer, his voice dropping. “You don’t have to know the details.”
“Idoif it puts a target on my back.”
He doesn’t answer. Just rests a hand against my cheek. His thumb brushes under my eye, soft in a way that’s all wrong for someone with hands like his.
“There are people who want you gone,” he says. “People who don’t care about justice. Only power. They’ve bought leverage. They’ve buried records. They think they can make you disappear without a ripple.”
“And what are you doing about it?”
His jaw flexes. “The only thing I know how.”
I want to ask what that means. I want to demand answers.
But instead, I lean into his touch. Just for a second.
Because right now, I’m more afraid of the truth than the silence.
CHAPTER 10
ROJA
It’s the little things that crack first.
An outdated file marker in a Coalition database. A log entry timestamped just wrong enough to mean something was scrubbed. And Kelsea’s name—her real one, buried under alias strings and compartmentalized access chains—surfacing in a clearance log two weeks ago.
I don’t breathe for a full ten seconds when I see it.
Jark admin flag, passed down through a security channel I thought was mothballed after the purge. Too clean. Too direct. Someone wants her gone. Quietly, efficiently, without a public ripple.
They’ve hidden the request behind three dummy IDs, but I know how to smell a bribe. This isn’t routine protocol. This isn’t justice.
It’s a hit job wrapped in bureaucratic silk.
And I don’t like it.
I start carrying again. Blade sheath under my coat. Pulse emitter tucked inside my tool satchel. The weight doesn’t comfort me. It just reminds me how long I’ve gone without needing it.
I track down the bartender, Luth, mid-shift. The Coil is slow—early enough that the first round of gamblers haven’t crawled in from their bunk halls yet. The light’s harsh on the bar. Grease on every surface. Music low.
He sees me and his mouth goes tight.
“Off duty?” he asks.
“Not exactly.”
I wait until the other server slips into the back before I lean across the counter.
“You gave me bad info.”
Luth blinks. “What?”
“Kelsea. You said she was clean.”
