“We were enforcers,” I said quietly. “Our bloodline was designed to protect. That’s why it carries resistance markers. That’s what the crest tattoo syncs with, the island. Weapons. The vaults. It’s not just ink. It’s tech.”
She stared at me. “So you weren’t given the codex by birth.”
“No. We took it. We earned our place by force.”
She looked at me for a long second, then smiled faintly. “You probably shouldn’t have told me all that.”
“Probably. But you’re not anyone to me.”
She smiled so softly. The type of smile I didn’t deserve. How had this woman got such a pull on me already.
“Can I ask something else?”
I nodded.
“Is it true what they say? About your family. That your uncles, all of them, died? That your dad had six brothers?” She kissed the side of my hand. “And that they all died in a single syndicate war, same as your grandfather’s brothers?”
I nodded slowly. “Two generations. Gone.”
“Your dad won it, didn’t he?”
“He did.”
She paused. “And how did he die?”
The question was really fucking heavy. I wanted to say it. To own it outright.
I killed him.
But I didn’t. Instead, I reached for her again and traced a slow path down her back.
She sighed and tucked herself against me. “I have another question.”
Of course she did.
Great. One impossible question already, and she was queuing up a second.
“I’m starving,” she sighed. “Can we order breakfast? I didn’t eat yesterday, and if I die of low blood sugar, I want you to know it’s your fault.”
I blinked. I wasn’t sure how I could thank her for changing the subject. She pushed up slightly, swinging a leg over to straddle me. Still topless. Still infuriatingly calm about it.
In the middle of the night, Madeline was hot and took her top off while we slept. Right now, I was being reminded.
“How do I order?” she asked, glancing around.
“Datapad on the bedside table,”
Before I could move to get it, she reached for it instead, stretching, topless, on top of me. I groaned, dropping my head back against the pillow.
“Madeline…”
She glanced down. “Yes?”
“Are you trying to break my control?” I dragged my hands up her thighs without thinking. “Because I don’t have much left.”
She smirked. “Maybe. Or maybe I’m just an angel and forgot.”
“Forgot,”
