Page 179 of Villainous Intent

Dread’s response came moments later.

This is ONE name. I’m losing patience. There’s still one Warden left. Where are the rest of the files?

I clenched my jaw, irritation flaring. As if I was deliberately holding back.

The decryption is still running. You’re welcome to try breaking the encryption yourself if my pace doesn’t satisfy you.

Are you stalling, Cipher? Holding out on me?

The last thing I needed was Dread showing up here while Annie was “kidnapped” or, worse, deciding I was reneging on our deal. I’d worked too hard to get this close to acquiring the Tinkerer’s Hammer to lose it now.

I’ll share a live decryption feed with you. See for yourself.

I set up a secure channel that would let him watch the decryption progress in real-time. It would prove I wasn’t keeping anything from him while keeping him off my back.

Smart choice. Don’t forget what’s at stake.

I made sure the secure channel would keep broadcasting to Dread and stood. This way, I wouldn’t even have to message him when it was done. He would see it and take care of our problem.

Dread had the location, the routines, and the identity of the first Warden. By the time the sun set, Dennis Reeves would be dead. One less variable on the board.

My focus shifted to the flashing queue on my secondary monitor. The League and Alliance were begging for a spectacle. The League needed their number one cash cow to go help with ratings. The Alliance needed a Villain to punch, a monster to parade in front of the cameras to reassure the public they were still in control.

It was time to go to work. I’d give the Villains and Heroes their streamed street clashes. I’d let them think they were winning, right up until I broke their fucking bones.

CHAPTER 36

ANNIE

Technically, Cipher had “imprisoned” me, but he had left me in my assigned quarters without a single locked door or a pair of handcuffs in sight. When I finally got bored and walked out, the two henchmen stationed in the hall hadn’t tried to stop me. They merely trailed a few paces behind, silent shadows escorting me straight to the Labyrinth’s command center.

Number Twelve had told me the Labyrinth’s security systems only permitted me to go exactly where Cipher allowed. The fact that I made it to the command center and had sat there for several hours meant I had his tacit permission to occupy this space. Not that I really cared if I had his permission or not.

I sat in the glow of the wall-to-wall monitors, watching the live feeds of Chroma Bay’s street clashes. Cipher was putting on a massacre for the fans. On screen, the Villain Entertainment Network was replaying an earlier fight. A League member, Froststrike, tried to flank him. Cipher didn’t even turn his head. He simply backhanded the man and Froststrike’s body had folded and hit the asphalt, twitching. Cipher stepped over the bleeding heap and launched into the air to find his next target.

As a Keeper, I was a little horrified at the number of clashes and the carnage they were causing across the city. As a fan, I loved it.

The doors of the command center opened and Cipher strode in. It was clear a league stylist had gotten hold of him to fix his hair a bit, but his armor was covered in spatters of blood and scorch marks. When he spotted me, he pivoted and headed my way, tossing his mask onto a nearby console.

“What is my prisoner doing outside her rooms?” he demanded, leaning down and caging me against the command chair.

All I could think about was the pressure of his thighs pressing against mine as I forced a long sigh past my lips.

“You are genuinely terrible at keeping prisoners,” I told him, keeping my tone flat. “If you wanted me locked up, the door would have been secured. You didn’t want me in that room.”

Cipher tilted his head. “Is that right?”

“Yes. You wanted me to walk down here.” I shoved a hand against his chest, though he didn’t budge. “You wanted me sitting right here in the command center, watching you destroy half the League’s roster, without you actually having to order me to do it, because you’re an attention whore, Cipher.”

A low, dark chuckle rumbled in his chest. He gripped my chin and tilted my face up to him.

“I prefer the term ‘exhibitionist,’ Sparks,” he murmured, leaning down until his mouth hovered inches from mine. “And you wanted to watch every second of it. Tell me you didn’t get off on watching me break them.”

I stared up into those luminous eyes and instead of responding, I decided to give him a taste of his own medicine. I leaned forward, closing the space between us until my lips brushed the hard line of his jaw.

“I’d rather you break me,” I whispered.

A muscle feathered in his cheek and his hand tightened on my jaw. “I plan to,” he murmured, his voice a low rasp that sent a shiver through me. “Just as soon as I finish my last appointment for the evening. Some Alliance asshole. I’m going to destroy him, smile for the cameras, and then I’m coming back here and taking my time with you, Annie.”