Another file opened.Ledgers.Codes.Accounts.
“This drive ties into a bigger skeleton,” Spade said.“Jason tracked everything.”
“He always did,” Jade said.“Notebooks.Lists.Details.”
Spade studied her.“You want to see this?”
She hesitated, then nodded.“Start small.”
He opened schedules.Dates.Abbreviations.
“That’s his handwriting,” she said.“RK.I think that might be Roth.”
“Good.”Spade made a note.
Videos came next.Grainy footage.Jason’s whispered voice logged drops and names.
Jade covered her mouth.
“He thought he could trade this for a way out,” Spade said.“He underestimated how far it reached.”
“And sent it to me,” she said.“Like a grenade.”
“He trusted you,” General said.
“What now?”she asked.
“We use it,” Atilla said.“Carefully.”
Plans formed fast.Pressure points.Names.Routes.
“And me?”she asked.
“You help decode,” Atilla said.“Then you rest.”
She didn’t argue.While her brother hadn’t exactly kept her in the loop on things, she seemed to know him better than most people.If anyone could figure out his system, it was probably her.
We left the office together.Her shoulders slumped once we hit the hall.
“You okay?”I asked.
She rubbed her forehead.“Sad.Angry.Confused.”
“All valid.”
Outside, sunlight hit her face.She breathed deep.
She noticed my expression.“Did they see something at my place?”
I didn’t lie.“Yeah.Well, I don’t know ifseeis the right word.Knuckles hasn’t had a chance to talk to me yet.He did say they found something.”
Her jaw tightened.I knew she had questions and wanted answers.Hell, I did too.
She looked at me.“Stay with me.”
“Always.”
That night, we lay facing each other again.Hands linked.Breathing slow.
