Page 278 of Operation: Defiance

Phil starts. He always starts. “Where is she?”

I don’t give them anything. I’m definitely not going to answer this one. Ever. And they should know that by now.

Jay’s fist slams into my right side. The pain is nothing but background noise now. Predictable, constant background noise.

“How many people have copies of what she released?” Phil asks. His voice has lost all illusion of calm. I try to shift my weight. The resulting calf cramp feels like someone’s ripping the muscle in two.

“How. Many,” Jay growls, a sudden spike of pressure hitting the gash in my side.

“Enough.” Every word—every syllable—is rougher. Harder. My throat doesn’t want to work anymore.

“What is she holding back?” Phil again.

The concrete is cool under my cheek. I can’t tell if I’m hot or cold anymore. “The thing…that…” I have to breathe. To focus. “That ends you.”

Jay’s elbow finds my ribs. I lose several seconds. I know because it doesn’t hurt anymore when I come back.

“He’s talking,” Jay says, confused.

Phil snorts. “He’s out of options. We’re not stopping.” The chair scrapes. Closer now. “What does the redaction mean?”

Raine redacted something? Something significant. Something that has Phil riled⁠—

I lose the thread.

When I find it again, I’m on my knees. Wrists locked to the hasp in the floor. How did I get⁠—?

“What does the redaction mean?” Jay grits out.

“It means…” I try to work it out. Raine. Her logic. What she’d do. “She’s giving you…a choice.” The rest surfaces slowly. “You’re too…arrogant…to take it.”

Phil goes quiet. I can’t tell if I got it right. It doesn’t matter. She had a reason. She always has a reason.

“What was the last thing she said to you?” he asks.

I reach for it. Not to tell them. Because I need it. I need to hear her voice in my head. The words…I’ve lost the words⁠—

Jay hits me. A punch that snaps my head to the side. My body follows, shoulder slamming into concrete.

He yanks me back to my knees.

The room tilts. Then steadies.

Jay’s waiting for me to go down again.

Not yet.

Phil turns his chair toward me. Leans forward, elbows on his knees. “What is she prepared to sacrifice to finish this?”

I close my eyes. Try to see Raine’s smile. The very first one. Fading now. Everything’s…fading.

Fuck. I want that future we talked about. I want—her.

Jay’s footsteps get closer. Can’t let him hit me again. Can’t.

“More…than you think,” I manage. Have to breathe to get the rest out. Make my lungs work. They don’t want to. “Less than you’re hoping for.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Jay grabs a fistful of my hair and hauls my head up until I have no choice but to meet his gaze.