Page 155 of Vicious Temptation

They exchange another glance before Aunt Leni answers.

“The organization has picked up chatter about a covert, government-sanctioned agency that’s been quietly gathering intelligence. They’re searching for databases, servers, and encrypted files linked to The Six.”

A chill works its way through me. “Encrypted files...” I lower my voice. “The Ledger?”

Aunt Leni nods.

“Do they know we have one?”

“If they had,” Aunt Eva says calmly, “we probably wouldn’t be standing here having this conversation.”

That does little to make me feel better. The Ledger isn’t just information. It’s leverage.

Four years ago, Aunt Leni revealed she had one of the encrypted drives in her possession, and there hasn’t been so much as a whisper about it since. No one outside this family should know we have any connection to the Ledger, let alone that we have one of its drives.

As far as I know, the only person who might have suspected the truth is dead, which leaves me with one very important question.

I look between them. “What does any of this have to do with me?”

“We don’t know. Maybe nothing,” Aunt Leni says. “But this is what your parents were trying to warn you about. They wanted you to be careful because there are things happening that we don’t fully understand yet, not because they don’t trust you.”

She slings an arm around my shoulders and gives me a squeeze. “You know we don’t think that, right?”

Sometimes, I’m not sure I believe it myself, but I nod anyway. From the corner of my eye, I catch Aunt Eva’s expression soften.

“Good.”

For a moment, neither of them says anything, and I start to think the conversation might be over. Then Aunt Leni tilts her head.

“So why were you really upset?”

I narrow my eyes. “Sneaky,” I say with a grin. “But respectfully, that’s mine.”

“Fair.” Aunt Leni arches an eyebrow and taps her chin with a dark-red fingernail. “How about we spar for some information about a certain man you clearly don’t want anyone to know about?”

“Spar?”

She may be decades removed from the contract killer she once was, but she’ll always be one of the most badass women I’ve had the pleasure of knowing and loving.

I spent years training under her alongside Val. I still remember walking into rooms like this one and watching my aunt transform the moment she stepped onto a mat, picked up a weapon, or pulled on gloves.

The loving, doting aunt disappeared, and in her place stood a skilled assassin.

She never coddled us or treated us differently because we were girls. She adjusted for size and technique when necessary, but there was no sympathy, extra breaks, or lowered expectations. She drilled into us that knowing how to throw a perfect throat punch could mean the difference between life and death, and that drawing a weapon a fraction of a second faster than your opponent could mean the difference between walking away and staining the ground red.

Those lessons stayed with me, and so did the bruises.

“I’m not sure this is a fair trade,” I tell her.

Aunt Leni’s smile widens. “Neither am I.”

I consider it for a moment before deciding I could use the distraction. “Fine.” I roll my shoulders. “But if you break a hip, don’t blame me.”

Aunt Leni laughs as she kicks off her shoes and pulls on gloves. “That’s adorable.”

I barely have time to register the challenge before she moves.

One second, I’m standing in front of her, and the next, my back slams against the mat so hard it rattles my teeth.