“No. My brother survived, and you helped save him.” Justice’s voice lacks gratitude, and his tone is final. His expression remains unreadable. “It’s a protection issue,” he says. “I can’t have you doing it again.”
“What if I promise I won’t?”
“I don’t believe you.”
Fair enough. We don’t really know each other. I chew the inside of my cheek. I don’t lie often. Not because I have any moral high ground. I just prefer control, and lies unravel control. “I don’t trust you, either.”
“Let’s see if you can be truthful. Why did you hack into the Aquarius Social mainframe after the wedding?” His gaze sharpens. “You care about Alana,” he says. “She is still connected to Aquarius, even if she married Thorn.”
“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell her.” The last thing in the world I want Alana worrying about while she’s on her very deserved honeymoon is the oncoming threat for us all. Somebody else has definitely infiltrated her system. If I take care of the breach before she returns, she never needs to know about it.
Justice leans back without breaking eye contact. He’s still reading me. Still tracking every shift in my breathing.
The waitress appears beside our booth. She’s slightly out of breath and clearly overwhelmed, yet has plenty of time to run her gaze over Justice’s body. She hums. “Sorry for the wait. The five-top in the corner is keeping me busy. What can I get you?”
“Coffee,” he says. His attention never leaves me.
She reaches for my plate,herattention not leaving him. “Are you finished?”
“I am,” I say to the side of her head.
“Great.” She collects the plate and disappears again.
I don’t trust Justice. Not now. Not ever. He’ll always act in the best interest of Malice Media. If the other three media companies collapse, I’m sure he’ll treat the devastation as useful data. Yes, I’m tempted to tell him the truth about a fifth player making a move against Aquarius and probably the rest of us as well. But he might use that against my company if it serves his interest.
He taps his fingers on the worn table. “Ella? I’m not going to ask you again. Why are you hacking into Aquarius Social when your best friend is on her honeymoon?”
I love that Alana is safe and know that Thorn will destroy anybody coming for her. “I’m not going to discuss Aquarius Social or Alana with you.”
“You are,” Justice replies. His certainty moves through me with impact, and his statement sounds more like an observation than a threat.
“No, I’m not. Not right now.”
His expression doesn’t shift. His presence weighs on the space between us, and his attention drills into every breath I take. There’s no point pretending I’m unaffected.
Heat builds in my cheeks. The warmth hits before I can stop it.
He tilts his head slightly. “Why are you blushing?”
“I’m not. I’m warm.”
He rubs his shoulder, clearly annoyed. “Quit lying to me. I don’t like it.”
“I don’t like it either,” I admit. “But you and I aren’t on the same side.”
“We could be.”
I stay quiet. It’s the only move that doesn’t backfire immediately.
“What if I hired you to work at Malice?” he asks.
“You’re going to give me access to your servers?”
His eyes glitter. “No. I need a personal assistant.”
I rear back and then note the glimmer. I reallyamamusing him. “I didn’t know you had a sense of humor.”
“I’m hilarious.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls something out—my damaged heel. The one I lost when I hit the ground and didn’t look back. “I suppose you want this back.”
