“I think it’s time I give him a personal call and something to react to,” Savvy said.
Patch’s eyes snapped to hers. “Savvy?—”
She held up a hand. “I’m not reaching out to surrender. I’m calling him to let him know the game’s changed. He wanted me erased, but I’m still here. And I know who he is, what he’s done. I can burn it all down.”
“You want to provoke him,” McGuire said, voice even. “That’ll bring him here. But he won’t come alone.”
“No, he won’t,” Patch muttered. “But we’ll be ready.”
Cross exhaled, the sound heavy. “And what are you offering him, Savvy? You need a carrot to go with that stick. Something so sweet that it will reach that narcissistic brain so deep he can’t possibly refuse.”
She glanced at Patch. His jaw ticked once, but he nodded like they’d already had this conversation without speaking a word.
“Myself,” she said, quiet but firm. “And Patch.”
“What the hell?” McGuire shoved off the table, pacing. “Absolutely not?—”
“Let her finish,” Patch said calmly.
Savvy met her brother’s stormy gaze. “He wants a payoff. I offer him a deal. I’ll give him his freedom. I’ll cover up his crimes with Black Ledger. I’ve got enough power with the 73 to make that happen, and he knows that’s true. But the bounty on me ends. And he has to release Patch to prove he means it.”
“Won’t work,” Cross said. “Gunner doesn’t trust anyone. He’ll smell a trap.”
“He already thinks this is a trap,” Patch added. “Let’s just make sure it becomes one.”
McGuire’s shoulders dropped a fraction, but his voice was still tight. “You’re playing with fire.”
“I’ve been living in the flames,” she said. “It’s time to burn the monster down.”
Patch stepped forward and reached for the comms device. “Let’s make the call.”
Savvy picked it up instead. “No. I’ll do it.”
Her fingers hovered over the encrypted channel they’d uncovered in Mendoza’s SATphone. “Time to end this,” she whispered, working out the message. “In the meantime, I think we need Riven to meet up with Remy. Get them in place for backup.”
“Agreed,” McGuire said. “I’ll make those arrangements.”
Savvy stared at the message, then hit send. The encrypted message disappeared into the dark ether of cyberspace, bounced off satellites and routers she could no longer trace, and aimed straight for the man who’d once been considered a brother.
Gunner.
The silence that followed was oppressive, thick with anticipation and the hum of a storm gathering outside. A ceiling fan clicked overhead, off-balance and useless. She stared at the comms device like it might hiss back at her.
Behind her, Patch hadn’t moved. Neither had her brother.
“I sent a simple message,” she said without turning. “No tricks. Just truth.”
Patch’s voice was low. “What’d you say?”
She turned then, her throat dry but her spine unshaking. “I told him I know who he is. That the people he trusted are gone or have flipped. Locke and Mendoza are in custody. I told him it’s over. And that I’m willing to trade. His freedom—for calling off the bounty. No more ghosts. No more knives in the dark. Butthe deal hinges on him releasing his claim on you, Patch. And leaving McGuire out of it.”
Silence followed. Then McGuire let out a long, low whistle. “You do realize that if he’s close enough, he could be watching this place already.”
“I’m counting on it.” She arched a brow. “Which is why I’m glad you contacted Remy, but that’s got to be quiet as hell.”
Patch stepped forward, hand settling gently at the small of her back. His eyes weren’t angry. Just steady. “And if he wants confirmation? If he asks to meet?”
“Then I give him a place,” she said. “And we control the terms. We make sure our backup is close enough they can come in, but far enough away they won’t spook him.”
