Kailasits on the edge of the desk.Myleather cut swallows her frame, blending my usual scents of gun oil and cold mountain air with her sweet citrus and the sharp, metallic tang of drying sweat.
Bluelight from my monitors casts long shadows across her face.Herchest rises and falls in a rapid, jagged rhythm.
Stayingbetween her legs,Ikeep my hands resting on her thighs.Mythumbs trace the soft skin just above her knees, anchoring me to the physical data.Sheis here.Sheis mine.
"Youokay?"
Thewords scrape my throat.Softnessescapes my programming.Protectionand extraction are my defaults.Lookingat her messy hair and swollen lips forces a tightness into my chest, a system glitch resisting every patch.
Herchin dips in a lie.Ispot deception easily, being fluent in it myself.
"Kaila."
Hereyes snap to mine, her pupils swallowed by the black of her irises.Theadrenaline of the hack and the sex fades, leaving her completely exposed as the high crashes.
"I’mfine,Daniel.Ijust..."Shetrails off.Herhand drops to the pocket of her jeans.Sheretrieves a cheap plastic burner phone.
Myinstincts flare. "Whatis that?"
"Deadman’s switch," she whispers.Herthumb hovers over the screen. "IfIdon't check in every twelve hours, or ifIsend the wrong code, they hurt him."
Herbrother.Kevin.
Myjaw locks.Theviolence inside me wakes up and stretches its claws.Ipull the phone directly from her fingers.
"Showme."
Shetypes in a passcode.Thedevice rattles against her trembling fingers.Thescreen lights up with a grainy image sent via an encrypted message.
Ilook at the display.Icefloods my veins.
Akid fills the frame, maybe eighteen but looking far younger, tied to a chair in a concrete room.Hisface bears heavy bruises.Oneeye is swollen shut.Anewspaper from yesterday is taped to his chest, confirming both life and pain.
Kailamakes a choked, broken noise that hits me harder than a bullet to the vest.
Sheslides off the desk.Herknees buckle.Icatch her, pulling her solid against my chest and wrapping my arms around the oversized leather of myCut.Sheburies her face in my neck.Thedam breaks.
Shecries like a wounded animal.Deep, gut-wrenching sobs shake her entire frame.Hottears soak my shirt.
"Theysent it three hours ago," she gasps against my skin. "WhileIwas hacking.Ididn't want to look.IfImessed up the code... ifImissed a line..."
"Youdidn't."Igrip the back of her head, tangling my fingers in her hair. "Youdidn't miss anything.You'rethe bestI'veever seen."
"He'shurt.Lookat him."Shepulls back and shoves the phone at my chest. "They'rehurting him because of me.BecauseIwouldn't give them the backdoor to your accounts."
Igrab the device and toss it onto the desk.Itslides across the surface, hitting the keyboard with a loud clatter.
"He'salive,"Isay, dropping my voice to a lethal pitch. "That'sthe only data point that matters right now.Heis functioning and breathing."
"Forhow long?"Sheshoves out of my arms, pacing the small space of the loft.Theleather of my cut swings around her knees.Herposture turns completely feral. "DominicCostadrops leverage once it stops being useful.Nowthat we hacked their node... now that they knowI'mwith you... he's a liability."
Shestops at the window overlooking the compound below.Snowfalls harder now, painting white streaks against the black night.
"Ihave to go back," she says.
Istep forward. "Excuseme?"
Sheturns to face me. "Ihave to trade myself.It'sthe only way.Iwalk in,Ioffer to unlock everything, and they letKevingo."