“What?”
Jamie glanced down at Lyric, then back at us. “Every time Lyric thought he was covering his tracks, it wasn’t Kessler upping the bounties or tracking him down. It’s Kessler’s AI that is always two steps ahead—found him every time in some sick, twisted game to test a system that shouldn’t even exist. He’s a walking target. He didn’t just piss off a few bad guys. He tripped an entire network.”
I blinked at Jamie. Some of the words made sense, but the shock in Jamie’s tone spoke volumes.
“He’s not one of the bad guys?” I asked with caution.
Jamie’s gaze locked on me. “This isn’t about whether he’s a good guy or not. He wasn’t here to hurt Robbie; he had nothing to do with what happened to Robbie or any of the other shit we’ve uncovered.” He took a deep breath. “The contract on him is now at fifty million. Kessler’s AI is out of control. It wants him, knows what he’s doing, could well find out he’s here. He’s the fuse on a powder keg. And now we’ve all got front-row seats to the explosion.”
NINE
Lyric
I blinked awake,brain fuzzy at first, the world swimming in slow, syrupy waves before it settled. I was wrapped tighter than a burrito, a rough blanket cocooning me from shoulders to toes. Weirdly… I felt clearer. Not great, not even good—but clearer.
The room was quiet, soft shadows stretching across the walls. There was no sign of Rio.
But next to the bed, perched on a battered chair with his knees drawn up, sat Robbie. His nose was buried in a thick, battered paperback titledClinical Neurology and Neurotherapy. He chewed the edge of his thumb, eyes scanning the page as if he actually understood it. Maybe he did? Maybe he was a doctor?
I blinked again. “Hey?”
Robbie startled, fumbling the book so hard italmost hit the floor. He caught it at the last second, cheeks flushing red. Shoving it onto the chair, he stood quickly and crossed over to me.
“Hi,” he said with a cautious smile. “How are you feeling?”
I considered the question as he helped me scoot up a little, careful hands adjusting the pillow behind my back. Then, he offered me a cup, a straw sticking out of the top.
I swallowed a mouthful of water. “Not dead, I guess.”
“Thank goodness.”
I tried for a smirk. “Gold star for surviving…” I muttered, or joked, or whatever.
Robbie didn’t smile. He met my eyes instead, his voice quiet. “We didn’t know if you’d make it.”
That hit harder than I expected. The lightness I’d been aiming for shriveled in my chest, and I stared at my hands, swallowing again—this time around a knot that had nothing to do with being ill.
And where was Enzo? Wasn’t he supposed to be Robbie’s shadow—his personal guard dog? The man hadn’t been more than a step away the last time I’d seen them together. So why wasn’t he here now?
And Jamie? Rio? Where the hell were they?
I dug through the fog in my head, searching forthe last clear memory… but all I got was a mess of heat, voices, flashes of pain. The harder I tried to piece it together, the more it slipped away.
Why couldn’t I remember what happened?
“Enzo’s not worried about you right now.” Robbie’s voice broke the silence, and I realized I must’ve said that out loud.
I glanced at him, frowning.
He gave a small shrug. “You gave all your access codes to Jamie?—”
“Fuck!” Panic surged as I recalled the hazy begging as I tried to get Jamie to listen to me, but had I made the worst mistake of my life? Handing over everything—my code, my intel, my last shreds of leverage. Was I insane?
“Are you okay?” Robbie said, sounding as panicked as me, his gaze darting to the door as if he wanted to call for help.
I groaned and hid my face. How could I doubt what I had to do when it had been the only move I had left? I had to trust the group of men who’d made it very clear they were ready to kill me if things went sideways. Had to hope they could help and not hand me over for the money. Who else did I have?
“I gave access to Jamie,” I finally murmured,attempting to quell the instant panic that the secrets I’d had for so long were now in someone else’s hands.
