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“Encrypted?” I snap, standing in the basement apartment of our most recent buy. It’s a decent place, modernized, none of that slum-lord crap. I’m burning through my personal cash, but it will be worth it. It has to be.

Anton shrugs. “This is for you and Maksim. Not my world.”

Owen Price looks at me sheepishly. “I didn’t know what was going to happen. I didn’t know if the Feds were going to help me or leave me out to dry. I’m with you now, okay? You know my story. You know I’m in. But yes, I encrypted the drive, and it’s going to take me some time to decrypt it.”

“I thought I left this shit behind,” I grunt. “I’m assuming you run some program that makes it crackable, but labor-intensive? So, you know you can get into it, but you need to chip away at the wall of code.”

Owen nods, seeming impressed. “That’s it exactly. If I had a passcode, they could just torture it out of me.”

“How long?”

“I don’t know,” Owen replies. “A few days. A week.”

“We need this leverage,” I say. “Do it. Tell us what you need. A decent computer, obviously.”

“Yes, and a decent setup too. An ergonomic chair.”

“We saved your life,” Anton grunts. “You’re lucky you’re not on the floor. And remember, we know you now. You go? We find you.”

“He’s the bad cop, as you can tell,” I say. “I’ll get you what you need.”

My cell phone goes off. It’s Celeste. “Yeah?”

“Rafael wants another private party for next week. He’s offering even more cash than last time. It’s a tough one to turn down.”

We can’t turn him down. He can’t suspect Vanta in any way, not until we’re ready.

“Tell him he’s welcome. We’ll be happy to have him.”

“Okay, excellent. I’ll ask for the same staff as last time. Best to use people he’s familiar with.”

Which means Iris. And Serena. I purposefully didn’t pay too much attention that night, but I know there were other women there. Catalia was one. I can’t think of anybody else except for Serena.

But I still like Iris as a friend, if they’re not the same person. She delivered good intel, and I don’t want her putting herself in unnecessary danger.

I text Iris.

X: Another Cordero party next week. Be careful. You did well, but don’t get overconfident.

I text Serena next:

Nikolai: Another Cordero party next week. Say no to the shift if you’re even a tiny bit uncomfortable. I don’t want that asshole creeping on you.

Iris replies just minutes later.

Iris: I’m not sure I’ll be working that shift. If I am, I know how to handle myself.

Serena texts back a few hours later, when I’m at the gym.

Serena: It’s not that easy to turn down work, Nikolai. And I’m not scared of him.

The distance between the replies implies they’re not the same person, right? I sigh and put my phone away. There’s no point obsessing over this.

Serena’s saying she’s not scared of him. But she should be.

CHAPTER 13

SERENA