“No?” He started walking toward me, slow and predatory. “Because you look the same to me. Scared. Trying to be brave but failing. Still, that little girl who needs someone else to save her.”
Each word was designed to cut, to reduce me back to the terrified woman who cowered in our apartment while he raged. But I spent weeks learning to stand up straight in Kieran’s world, learning that I was worth more than just survival.
“The files, Dex. Delete them, and I’ll listen to whatever you want to say.”
“Oh, we’re going to talk about so much more than files.” He stopped just outside arm’s reach, close enough that I could smell his cologne—the same expensive scent that used to make me feel safe and now made my skin crawl. “We’re going to talk about your boyfriend. About how he’s been playing hero with my wife.”
“Ex-wife. We’re already in the middle of a divorce.”
“Was it? Because I never signed any papers. Did you think a piece of paper could end what we have?”
My heart started beating faster. “The papers were served. You were supposed to?—”
“I was supposed to do a lot of things. Like letting you go. Like accepting that some other man could take what belonged to me.” His voice was getting harder, more dangerous. “But I’ve never been good at accepting defeat.”
Through my earpiece, Agent Morrison’s voice: “Keep him talking.”
I forced myself to focus on the mission, on getting the evidence we needed. “How did you get into Kieran’s system?”
“Does it matter? Money talks, Willa. Resentment talks even louder.” He smiled, and it was the same charming expression that once made me feel chosen. Now it just made me feel sick. “Amazing how many people harbor grudges against successful men like your precious Kieran.”
“Who was it?”
“Someone who understood that golden boys need to be brought down a peg. Someone who knew exactly how to hurt him where it mattered most.” His smile widened. “His company. His reputation. His precious merger was going to make him one of the most powerful men in the security industry.”
“Sarah Kim,” I said, the pieces began clicking into place with horrible clarity.
“Very good. She was passed over for promotion one too many times. Turns out loyalty doesn’t pay the bills when your boss is too busy playing white knight to notice the people who actually built his empire.”
I felt sick thinking about the betrayal, about how Kieran would take the news that someone he trusted sold him out. But I pushed the thought away, focusing on what we needed.
“And the threats against the clients? The federal judges, the CEOs?”
“Insurance,” he said casually, like we were discussing the weather. “To make sure you’d come. To make sure you’d understand the stakes.”
“You’re talking about innocent people’s lives.”
“I’m talking about leverage. About making sure you remembered what happens when people cross me.”
That was when I saw it—the slight bulge under his hoodie, the way his right hand kept drifting toward his hip. He was armed. Of course, he was armed. This had never been about talking.
“You’re not here to negotiate,” I said, taking a step backward.
“No, I’m not.” He reached behind his back and pulled out the gun—the same silver pistol he used to shoot me in that alley. The sight of it triggered every survival instinct I developed, every memory of pain and terror, and the belief that I was going to die. “I’m here to collect what’s mine.”
“The FBI is here. This building is surrounded.”
“I know. That’s why we were leaving through the service tunnels.” He gestured toward a dark opening in the far wall that I hadn’t noticed before. “Did you really think I met you here without an exit strategy? I planned this for months, Willa. Every detail, every contingency.”
Through my earpiece: “Willa, we see the weapon. Get down. We’re moving in.”
But before I could react, before I could drop to the floor or run for cover, Dex lunged forward and grabbed me, the gun pressed against my temple as he pulled me back against his chest.
“I wouldn’t,” he called out to the shadows, somehow knowing exactly where the agents were positioned, “unless you want to redecorate this place with her brains.”
The warehouse erupted in controlled chaos, FBI agents emerging from their hiding spots with weapons drawn, red laser sights dancing across Dex’s chest and arms, but never settling because I was in the way.
“Let her go,” Agent Morrison shouted from somewhere behind a concrete pillar. “This is over, Hartwell.”
