I work fast then, determination sharpening me into something precise. I copy everything—every ledger, every email, every name—and route it through an encrypted dump, splitting it into pieces the best I can with the lame skills I have.
But who to send it to?
The cursor hovers over the send button.
This will be my last gift to Lucian. My final send-off.
I type in one of the emails I remember from when I sent in my resume what feels like centuries ago and click send. Someone in VMR will find it and know what to do with the information.
The progress bar crawls forward.
Then it’s done.
I wipe the access logs and return the computer to exactly the way I found it. As I see the employee rounding the corner, coming back to his desk, I hurry away.
Santiago once tried to burn Lucian and me alive. But I don’t need fire to bring Sanguine down. Now he’ll have no choice but to watch everything he has turn to ash.
The elevator is too slow, so I take the stairs, counting breaths, listening for footsteps, for raised voices, for the first crack of realization to what I’ve done. Nothing yet.
Good.
By the time I step out into the early morning, my pulse is like a war drum in my ears.
I don’t have much of a plan from here, but I don’t look back at the building. I don’t need to. Whatever Sanguine was, it’ll be dead soon enough.
I slip into the flow of the city. And as much as a small dark part of me knows a war may still be coming, I’m hoping for the quieter ending.
For Sanguine to be stripped down to nothing.
For Santiago to vanish into whatever shadows he crawled out of.
And I’ll be long gone from here.
The street is mostly empty at this hour, wet pavement reflecting neon and streetlights. I make it half a block before tires shriek behind me.
An SUV skids to a violent stop at the curb.
I spin, already bracing until the windows roll down.
Andrew’s at the wheel, jaw tight, eyes locked on me with relief.
And in the back seat is the last person I expected to see. A woman with hair the color of living flame and a permanent scowl.
Vittoria.
“What the?—”
Before I can finish, Vittoria shoves the door open and leans out.
“Shut the fuck up and get in,” she snaps. “Now.”
That’s when I see she isn’t alone in the back. Kayla’s there too.
“You came for me?” I ask.
“We’ll explain it on the way,” Vittoria says. “Get in before I drag your ass inside.”
I hop into the back seat, and the moment the door slams shut, the SUV peels away from the curb and drives off. City lights streak past the windows. Kayla’s in the middle, between me and Victoria, and she tries to find my hand in the dark but I shift it away.
