Hunter looks like he’s still in shock, his skin sallow, his gaze unblinking.
I knew better than to throw my lot in with someone else, and I did it anyway, and here I am. Every time I let my heart lead the way, this is what happens.
I let myself get pulled into their games, and now I’m going to die, while Hunter insists his precious corporation doesn’t play like this.
Hunter moves, slowly unwinding his body, trying to get to his feet. ‘We have to go,’ he says, voice husky. ‘We have to hide.’
‘Right.’ I’m used to running. I can pick it up again in a heartbeat.
He might say he wants to hide with me, but Hunter’s going to go down insisting that GravesUP Industries aren’t the assholes I know them to be, all because he can’t accept the truth about the empire his family has created. And if that’s the story he’s sticking with – if he insists on this level of denial – then he’s not on my side. He’s not on my team.
I’m on my own, like I always was.
Still, I have to stockpile every advantage I can find. Until I know if I can trade him, I’m not going to say a word.
I make myself stand, my muscles screaming a protest. I don’t make eye contact. ‘Let’s go.’
Together we slip out of the office to jog along the corridor – or shuffle, really, everything hurts – taking corners quickly as I instinctively pick a route without cameras. We need another drone – looking around corners is too dangerous.
And then Sabrina’s voice is in my ear, buzzing from my headset.
Cleo, we should talk. Come to the bridge. It’ll just be me, unarmed. There are five exits from there – you know we don’t have the people to cover them all.
My breath catches and I nearly stumble. Hunter looks back, reaching out an arm to steady me. There’s concern in his eyes, a softness that makes me want to scream. Even after the argumentwe just had, he has no idea what I hear when he defends Graves. He has no idea anything’s changed.
I make the decision in an instant, grabbing at the thought already on my mind when Sabrina dropped into my ear and twisting it into an excuse.
‘We need a drone,’ I hear myself say. ‘Something that can see them before they see us. I’ll grab one and meet you at the greenhouse. Keep following this corridor, you’ll get there.’
Hunter opens his mouth to protest, but I duck away down a hallway, turn a corner to shake him off my tail in case he’s trying to follow me, and make for the bridge. I wait until I’m half a minute away from him before I reply to Sabrina.
‘If you’re unarmed, I want your gun where I can see it, out of your hands.’
You got it, Sabrina replies.
When I reach the bridge, I stop to let my breathing slow before I walk carefully up to the entrance, every nerve on edge. I know this is stupid – I know I could be walking into danger. I know I’m letting my anger make decisions for me.
I keep moving anyway, pausing in the shadows by the doorframe, letting my gaze sweep over the space. It’s empty except for Sabrina, who stands at the center, near the commander’s desk.
Marguerite’s team left their equipment plugged into a bunch of displays, the screens glowing brightly, but the lights around the edge of the circular room are dimmed. I don’t think they were the first time I came here. I wonder why they did that.
Sabrina’s clearly on alert, turning in a slow circle to scan the exits, each of which leads to a different part of the base. Her hands are held away from her sides, and her gun lies on a desk a few feet in front of her. Technically she’s done what I asked – she’s unarmed, and her gun’s where I can see it. But it’s closer to her than to me.
I wait until her back’s turned, then dart forward on silent feet, hurrying to close the distance between me and the gun, my mouth dry.
I close my hand over it as she completes her circle, and she goes still when her gaze lands on me. She slowly raises her hands.
‘You came,’ she says with a pleased smile. ‘Let’s talk.’
‘I don’t talk to liars,’ I reply, my fingers curling around the gun’s grip. ‘You told me this job was about getting hitchers’ names entered in the registers. I know who sent you now. Like hell it’s about hitchers.’
Sabrina inclines her head in acknowledgment. ‘Okay, yes,’ she agrees. ‘It’s notjustabout the hitchers. And yes, it’s a GravesUP operation. I admit I left that out. But I wasn’t lying about the registers. I’ve got friends here I want to take care of, and associates who’ll pay, so I got them to add in some hitchers as a part of my fee. Let the corporates fight each other if they want, Cleo. It’s not our business. I’m still going to get paid, and you can be legal.’
‘Right, they’re going to just let me climb aboard, because they’re my biggest fans, after all this,’ I reply, and she goes a little more still when I gesture with my gun hand.
‘They’ll do that deal to get you to stop fucking with them,’ she replies. ‘Listen, babe, I’m not on Team Graves. I’m a merc. I’ll be off to a new hustle after this, and there’s room for you on it. You’ve done plenty here to prove you’d be worth vouching for.’
I study her, wishing desperately I could read her expression. She could be telling the truth. Or perhaps all she wants is to find a way to screw me. But then again, she didn’t try to ambush me when I got here.
