Page 97 of Villainous Rise

The car slowed as we approached a red light and Cipher turned to look at me fully.

“I’ll offer you more as soon as you want it,” he added.

My heart stuttered in my chest. “And if I never want more?”

The light turned green, but Cipher didn’t immediately accelerate.

“Then I’ll keep giving you exactly what you ask for,” he said simply. “For as long as you keep asking.”

The car moved forward again and I turned to look out the window, watching the Tower grow larger on the horizon. It was a physical manifestation of all my responsibilities, all the reasons why whatever was happening between Cipher and me was doomed before it could even be defined.

“And if I stop asking?”

Cipher took my hand, his fingers curling around mine, warm and solid.

“You won’t,” he said, the certainty in his voice both infuriating and oddly comforting.

Cipher pulled up to the plaza outside the Tower. Through the windows, I could see Keepers and Heroes going about their morning business, oblivious to the League member in their midst.

My fingers fidgeted with the seatbelt clasp, reluctant to break the strange bubble we’d created. Once I stepped out of this car, reality would come crashing back.

“Cipher, are you really okay with this? With just what you’re offering? Just me asking when I need you, nothing more?”

He studied me. The morning light caught the angles of his face, highlighting the sharp line of his jaw, the fullness of his lips that had been all over my body just an hour ago.

“Annie, I’ve spent my entire life calculating odds, predicting outcomes and manipulating the variables to get exactly what I want.” He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “I know exactly what I’m offering, and I know exactly what it will cost me.”

“And you’re still offering it?”

“Yes.” No hesitation, no uncertainty.

“Why?”

“Because every time you come to me, every time you let yourself fall apart in my arms, you’re one step closer to admitting what we both already know.”

“Which is?”

He leaned across the console, his lips brushing against mine in a kiss that was barely there. “That you’re mine, Annie Bishop. Whether you hate me or not.”

His thumb traced my lower lip, silencing any protest I might have made. “Now go, before I decide to kidnap you again.”

I unbuckled my seatbelt with shaking hands and reached for the door handle.

“Annie.” His voice stopped me. “Message me when you need me.”

I nodded once, not trusting myself to speak, and stepped out into the morning light.

CHAPTER 17

CIPHER

I stood alone in the prep area, savoring the moment I’d worked toward for years.

Beyond these walls, the Descent hummed with the energy of tens of thousands. They were all here to witness my first official match as Havoc’s Nemesis, the culmination of my ambition, the recognition I’d craved since I was that lonely boy watching Villains on TV.

My reflection stared back from the polished metal wall, mask in hand.

Not bad for a guy who spent his childhood being medicated for the crime of thinking too hard.