“Let’s start with an easy one,” I began. “Why Roman?”
She hesitated, her throat working. “He was the easiest target.”
“Easiest how?”
“He’s… the most visible,” she replied in a hoarse, raw whisper. “His reputation, his habits. He’s a known quantity. It’s easier to get close to someone when everyone is already watching them.”
“And what did you take from him?”
She shook her head again, a more frantic movement this time. “Nothing. I didn’t take anything.”
I leaned in closer, my mouth next to her ear. “Lying to me is a very bad idea, Kara.”
“I’m not lying,” she insisted, her voice regaining some strength. “I didn’t take anything. I was just… supposed to get… some information.”
“What information?”
“About AI development,” she said, the words tumbling out in a rush. “Specifically, next-gen autonomous drone systems. Firmware, targeting algorithms, blacklisted code.”
My blood ran cold. This was bigger than a simple case of corporate espionage. This was a threat to our entire operation. To the family’s future.
“Who sent you?” I demanded.
She hesitated again, her eyes darting away from mine.
“Look at me!” My voice was a whipcrack. “Who. Sent. You.”
“ARCHEON,” she whispered, the name a confession and a curse.
My jaw tightened.For once, I didn’t know what she was talking about, but I would, and soon.
“What do they want with our tech?”
She finally met my eyes, and for the first time, I saw it. Not fear, not defiance, but a deep, weary resignation.
“They’re not just a group, Lev,” she answered me quietly. “They’re a network. They don’t have a single agenda. They have a hundred. They sell stability to one side and chaos to another. They’re the kind of people who start wars just to sell the bullets.”
“And what did they want with you?”
Her gaze faltered. “I’m… a specialist.”
“A specialist in what? Drugging men and robbing them blind?”
“In getting into places I don’t belong,” she shot back, a flash of the old Kara. “In getting people to talk. In being invisible.”
“So why Roman?” I pressed. “Why not me?”
She let out a short, bitter laugh. “You’re too paranoid. Roman’s a weakness. He’s self-indulgent. An open door.”
A slow, cold smile spread across my face. “So you thought you’d use my brother’s dick as a key.”
Her chin lifted, her jaw set, a bit of defiance returning to her eyes. “It’s what he’s best known for, isn’t it?”
My hand shot out, wrapping around her throat. Not hard enough to choke, just hard enough to remind her who was in control.
“Careful, Kara.”
She didn’t flinch. She just stared at me, her eyes burning with a reckless fire. “Or what? You’ll fuck me again? You’ll spank me until I cry? You’ve already done your worst. I’m still here. I’ve already survived you.”
