My stomach tightens. If Edmond’s that close to the edge, that means Cybil’s standing in the middle of his crumbling empire, and she doesn’t even realize how fast it could fall on top of her.
Katherine nods. “That brings us to Italy.” She pulls out a travel packet and slides it across the desk to me. “US Attorney General Fritz personally signed off on a limited travel directive. The FBI director fast-tracked your clearance. You leave tomorrow.”
I glance through the documents. Passport, flight details—private jet. Another part of Craig Miller’s financial fairy tale.
“Fritz believes we’re close,” Katherine says. “Close enough that a controlled risk is worth it. If this trip gets us the kind of evidence that ties Ramirez to extortion, wire fraud, obstruction—”
“Murder,” Ruby adds, her tone flat. “Danny Morales didn’t get shot for fun.”
“—then we’ll have what we need for a RICO indictment,” Katherine finishes. “Do you anticipate any issues?”
Ruby opens another folder. “We pulled the flight manifest. Sammy Pawson’s on it.”
My pulse spikes. Ramirez’s muscle. His fixer. His silent threat. He doesn’t leave the country unless Ramirez expects trouble... or plans to handle it. If he’s going, this trip isn’t just business—it’s enforcement. But for whom?
“Ramirez is hosting the trip. I received the details on the villa—where we’ll be staying. He wants me positioned as his point of contactfor all financial transactions during the negotiation. I’ve done a cursory check on the banker he’s introducing me to, Alessandro Moretti—he’s old money, operates several offshore institutions in Switzerland and Malta. Seth’s prepared me with all the documents I’ll need and Ruby’s taken care of the tech.”
Ruby meets my eyes with a nod. “Your laptop’s been embedded with a network packet analyzer. It’s passive surveillance and less risky than direct access. Looks and acts like standard accounting software and will sniff for unsecured connections whenever Ramriez or anyone else logs onto the villa’s Wi-Fi. If his laptop syncs with any financial accounts or opens unprotected files, the sniffer will mirror the data, and we’ll grab it in real time from our end.”
I nod. “And if Ramirez uses a secure VPN?”
“You’ll have to get close enough to plug in or air-drop a decoy file,” Ruby says. “We’ve baked a few document bugs into your USBs—if one gets opened, we’ll get a full path to the host machine.”
“Just get close enough without setting off his suspicion.” I tap the edge of the folder. “No problem.”
“And Ms. Langford.” Katherine watches me carefully. “Is she going to be an issue?”
I shift in my seat, thinking about the restroom incident yesterday—her eyes, cautious but curious, like she couldn’t decide whether to trust me or report me. “I can manage her.”
Ruby whistles. “Top ten things to never say to a woman.”
“I don’t mean it like that,” I add quickly, annoyed at Ruby’s insinuation that I’m that kind of man. “If she’s the same girl I remember, she’d punch me for even trying.”
Ruby grins. “I respect her already.”
Honestly, the idea of Ruby and Cybil becoming friends sounds... weirdly good. Like something that shouldn’t matter but does.
Katherine presses again. “Is she a risk? To your cover? The mission?”
I hesitate. “I don’t know.”
I think of Cybil at the museum—how quickly she switched from recognition to indifference. The way she saidCraiglike she was chokingon the word. When I chose the name, it wasn’t like I did it to hurt her. I never imagined our paths would cross, and now that they have...
“It’s been twelve years,” I say finally. “I think I can trust her.”
“People change in less time.” Katherine raises an eyebrow. “Some for better. Some... not.”
I know what she’s implying. We don’t get to assume the best—not in this job. But when I think of Cybil, I don’t see a threat. I see the girl in the torn jean shorts and her uncle’s flannel shirt, chasing after me and Rex with murder in her eyes after we dumped chicken feed in her purse.
Except now she’s a woman. And that memory has been hijacked by the way she looked at me yesterday, her mouth set in that stubborn line, her eyes calculating. Unaware that her presence was messing with my pulse in a way that was entirely unhelpful.
And she’s walking a line she doesn’t even know exists, and I can’t shake the feeling that if she slips—just once—she’ll land right in the crosshairs. I won’t let that happen.
“I need you to keep your head in the game,” Katherine says. “There’s a lot riding on this mission.”
I nod, my thoughts shifting to Danny Morales. His family. The cold precision of Ramirez’s operation. And now Cybil, tangled in the middle of it. This mission was already high risk. But now? It’s personal.
“Understood,” I say, the word thick on my tongue.
