Miya didn't care about being polite. She ripped that shirt down before he changed his mind.
No crest.
Only scars.
Maybe he told the truth. He wanted to destroy the Phaedra.
“You swear you'll protect Lance?” Miya asked, releasing his collar.
“I swear.”
“Then tell me what you want from me. You need something too.”
A different look came over his face, one she didn't know how to discern, because he hid his emotions so well. “Tell Becka Rogers there's a plan to free her daughter and she can't give up the location of the Followers.”
Miya watched him for several more seconds, piecing together what she heard during that meeting with the captain. “You don't want me to thwart the channel to her?”
“No. Any more mistakes, and the Phaedra will send my brother. If he meets you, you're dead. He'll know you're working Christopher and report it.”
Great. Fear rekindled the panic she managed to shove down. “Okay. That's easy.”
“Tell her the only way to save her daughter is to keep quiet. If she talks, I'll kill her.”
“Is that true?”
“Then let my partner know how Becka reacted. You're the only hope to save hundreds of people.”
Miya didn't appreciate his habit of ducking questions, but this did reveal more to her. Zayne avoided discussion of Kira. Did he feel guilty because he planned to kill her if necessary, or because of a more personal reason? “I asked you a question. Answer me. I want to know what kind of man you are.”
“I won't kill her.”
Miya eased closer, testing the waters of his temper again. “Is she the one who told you what a piece of shit you are?”
He should have bristled or angered, but didn't alter his demeanor in any way. Zayne allowed Miya to see his frustration earlier. Not this time. He definitely wanted to hide Kira.
“Yes,” he said, a good enough liar to sound indifferent.
Miya didn't push him further about Kira. She didn't want to corner a man like this unless she had no other choice. Especially not about a woman who Miya suspected he went to such great lengths to protect. “We have a deal.”
“My friend Ashantae will be in touch. Establish an emergency plan with them.” A pause, and then he added in an unconvincing, “Please.”
She smirked.
He retrieved his gun and disconnected the silencer. “Christopher has never been to war. One of his golden scars is from an appendectomy. He doesn't know pain. That's his weakness.”
Miya nodded at the confirmation of her suspicions. “Thank you.”
When Zayne started for the door to the adjoining room, he hesitated. “I couldn't delete your file entirely, so you're searchable in the restricted database. But I did remove what I could. The Phaedra will have little intel to use against you if he ever finds you.”
All she worked so hard to run from climbed up her throat in a throb of pain. “What did it say?”
“Rumors from intelligence sources. They were considered unfounded after investigation.” When Zayne didn't speak further, Miya knew the details of the rumors, but hated anyone else knowing her deepest secrets without admitting it to her face.
“Say it.”
“The sources claimed you weren't dead and one of your father's advisors paid a large sum of money to create a new identity for you in the database.”
His voice sounded like it came from the next room. So did hers. “Accurate.”
