Ruby’s smirk fades. Katherine just waits, patient.
“I know her,” I say. “We spent summers together as kids. She’s the cousin of my best friend growing up, but I haven’t seen her since she left for college.”
Katherine folds her hands. “You’re still friends with her cousin?”
“I am,” I sigh. “We don’t see each other often, but we keep in touch.”
Katherine sits there quietly, thinking. And then she looks at me. “Did she recognize you?”
I nod once. “She knows I’m lying about my name. She didn’t call me out... but she knows.”
“And the mission?” Katherine asks. “Has it been compromised?”
My shoulders drop with the weight behind that question. We’ve all been working for the last eighteen months to get me into the inner circle of trust with Ramirez. Thousands of hours spent building my alias to entice Rook into trusting me so he’d introduce me to Ramirez as someone they could trust to help hide their money and get rich at it.
Up until last night, I’d played the role flawlessly.
“I can’t be sure,” I finally answer. “Everything happened in a matter of minutes.”
Ruby narrows her eyes. “If she talks to the wrong person, everything we’ve built goes up in smoke.”
The truth stings. I know Ruby’s angry—and she has every right to be. I should’ve said something last night, but I was still trying to wrap my head around the whole situation. This mission isn’t just about RICO charges. It’s about Danny Morales. And making Ramirez pay for what he did. I owed Ruby the truth and I can’t let her down. I can’t let any of them down.
“Pull me from the mission,” I say.
“What?” Ruby snaps, shocked.
“I’ll come up with something. Make an excuse why I can’t help Ramirez. Another client needs me, and we’ll send in Seth. He’s been walking me through this anyway—he knows the mission.”
“He’s an accountant, Ben,” Ruby answers first. “He’s not trained for undercover ops. Ramirez is already suspicious. If you pull out now, you think he’s just gonna hand over the laptop to whoever walks through the door next?”
She’s right. I know she’s right. But I don’t want to let this mission fall apart because of me. I look to Katherine for guidance.
“You stay,” she says without hesitation.
My chest tightens. “What?”
“Ruby’s right,” Katherine says, steady and unflinching. “You’re already in, and pulling you now might not just cost us the operation—it could tip off Ramirez. If he thinks he’s being investigated, he’ll disappear. New name. New face. New empire. We’ll lose him for good.”
She leans back, leveling me with a look that carries the full weight of what she’s asking. “Unless you want to call it.”
Time slows. Calling a mission is serious. It means we’re out of options. It means signing a death warrant on everything we’ve built to put Ramirez away. On everyone Ramirez might hurt next. Including Cybil.
I rake a hand down my face, the reality settling like lead in my gut. If I walk away now, there’s no reaching back for her. No way to warn her. She becomes just another casualty Ramirez leaves in his wake. I force my voice steady. “What do you want me to do?”
Katherine tilts her head slightly, eyes sharp. “You convince your childhood friend to believe your story.” Her gaze holds mine like a dare. “She’s a liability. Turn her into an asset.”
Chapter 8
Cybil
Dallas, Texas
Tuesday afternoon
“You sure you’re not just stalking your childhood boyfriend because you secretly want to marry him?”
I glare at Joy Lockhart, who’s slouched dramatically in the passenger seat of my car, one leg kicked up on the dash like we’re not parked on a busy street mid-stakeout.
