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“You’re the one holding me down,” she says, with genuine threat in her voice.

The tone is intimidating. Even though she’s smaller than me. Even though, by all accounts, she’s at my mercy.

I suffer no delusions about how well-matched we are.

The only way to best her is to play to her weaknesses.

“Drop the knife and promise to stay in this bed and I’ll let go,” I say.

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why would you let me go if I’m here to kill you?” she asks.

I don’t reply. Instead, I hold her wrist against the bed. I press my knee into her thigh.

It’s not the flirty fake dominance we used to enjoy. This is a real threat.

She will stab me.

And I’ll tie her up and drag her back to Mi6.

If we don’t work together, we kill each other. It’s really that simple. I let that clarity fill my voice as I repeat myself. “Drop the knife.”

She does.

“I’ll give you three minutes to explain,” I say.

“Then what?” she asks.

“Then, hopefully, you agree to join my side.”

“Why would I do that?” She sits up straight and rubs her wrist, but she stays casual in her posture, like we’re lovers, resting between rounds.

“Because I need your help.”

She shoots me a look that says so what? “What does that have to do with me?”

“I have your and Elena’s files on a dead man’s switch,” I say. “If I don’t input a code every 48 hours, the info goes to everyone at Mi6.”

“And the laptop?” she asks.

“I wiped it.”

“So as soon as I turn off your switch, I can kill you,” she says.

“If you figure out how to turn it on off, sure,” I say. I leave you won’t as subtext. “Right now, I’m the only person who wants to keep you alive.”

She looks to the knife on the floor and raises a brow. “How do you figure?” There’s no threat in her voice. Just curiosity.

Jamie sits there, naked, completely at peace, completely in control.

I keep my voice even as I explain it. These are the facts. She chooses what to do with them. “Whatever agreement you had with your boss is off.”

I pull out the secure message app of one of Jamie’s competitors. One with jobs for freelancers daring enough to take them.

Wanted Dead, Jamie Moriarty