"Does he have proof?" she asked quietly.
Notthat's insane. Nothow could he think that.
Does he have proof.
The same question a guilty person would ask. The same question an innocent person with a dangerous secret would ask. And I couldn't tell which one she was anymore.
"You told me it was for yourself." My voice came out strangled. "That it was just insurance. Power. A loaded gun you'd never fire. That's what you said."
"Because that's what it is."
"Then why does Viktor think it's you?"
Her hand found my chest. I grabbed her wrist before she could settle it over my heart and held it between us.
"Milo." My name in her mouth, low and urgent. "I'm not feeding anything to the Feds. I told you. I don't have contacts. I've never spoken to law enforcement. The information stays in my head. That's it."
"Are you writing it down or recording it or something? Storing it somewhere?"
The pause was too long.
"I started to," she said finally. "Just recently, But it's just for me. To keep things straight. I don't?—"
"Jesus Christ, Raven." I released her wrist. Stepped back. "You have physical evidence. Records of Bratva operations. And you didn't think to mention that?"
"Because I knew you'd react like this." Her chin lifted. Defiant even now. "You'd panic. You'd tell me to destroy it. And I—" Her jaw set. "It'smine, Milo."
The words were almost identical to what she'd said in the courtyard. Same speech. Same fire.
But now I heard it differently.
Not as trust. As a script.
"Viktor gave me a week." The words came out flat. Dead. "One week to prove you're not the leak. If I can't..." I grabbed her wrist again. Held it. "He'll kill you. And he'll make me watch."
She went pale in the yellow security light.
"Then we have a week," she said.
"To do what?"
"To find who's really talking." Her jaw set. "Because it's not me. And if Viktor's this paranoid, that means the real leak is still out there. Still feeding information. Which means?—"
"Which means if we don't find them, you die anyway."
I searched her face. Looked for the lie. The tell. Some crack in her composure that would confirm what Viktor suspected or put my fears to rest.
All I found was fear. Real fear. The kind that thinned her lips and made her pulse hammer against my fingers where I held her wrist.
She was either innocent or the best liar I'd ever met.
And I'd met a lot of fucking liars.
Unable to stand the distance between us anymore, I pulled her against me and crushed my mouth to hers. She kissed me back hard, desperate, and I could taste her fear and defiance in equal measure.
When I pulled back, we were both shaking.
"Come home with me," I said.
