“No rush,” I say—because I mean it. I shouldn’t. But I do.
She disappears through the archway, and I catch myself watching her go. Truth is, I like seeing her in my shirt. More than I should. But leaning into that now? That’s a one-way ticket to disaster.
Because Cybil’s not the only one working the wrong job in the wrong place at the worst possible time.
I let that sobering thought follow me into town to meet Alessandro Moretti. Lagoverde is already buzzing, prepping for the Festival of Masks. Stalls are going up along the piazza, their striped awnings unfurling like sails. Paper lanterns hang from the second-story balconies, strung between buildings like garland.
My burner buzzes in my pocket.
I duck into a narrow alley between two pastel buildings—shuttered windows overhead, drying laundry swaying like flags. Quiet enough to take the call.
“Miller.”
“I’ve got Seth on the line,” Ruby says.
“Hey, man,” Seth adds, voice rough around the edges.
I check my watch, do the math. “It’s not even four in Dallas. Please tell me you didn’t get up just for me.”
“Nah, it’s fine,” Seth says. “Jess caught whatever the girls had, so I’ve been up all night on dad duty. It’s fine. I’m dead inside.”
“Sorry, man.”
Ruby cuts in. “Focus, boys. I think I’ve got a way around the YubiKey.”
I relax against the concrete wall. “Tell me.”
“First, you’re lucky we didn’t try anything at the museum,” she says. “If you’d used the device on Ramirez’s laptop without knowing about that key, it would’ve flagged an intrusion attempt instantly. He would’ve burned you on the spot.”
My guts twists. Sammy Pawson had been at the museum. I don’t want to think about what he would’ve done if I’d been caught. But... now he’s here. In Italy.
Last night, seeing him in the same hallway as Cybil—I nearly reached for her. Instinct. One I had to bury fast. I don’t want her anywhere near that man, but I can’t react without blowing my cover. And that kills me. There has to be a better way to keep her safe.
The memory of Edmond questioning Ramirez returns and a new fear wriggles its way into my brain. “Do you think Ramirez suspects something?”
Ruby’s quiet for a beat. “We haven’t picked up on any chatter. Nothing on our end indicates you’ve been made. But that doesn’t mean you’re in the clear. He’s suspicious of everyone—assume yourself included.”
“Noted.”
I scan the street. Tourists wander past with shopping bags, ducking into cafés and boutiques. A woman in a linen dress laughs with her friend. It’s all so normal. But I half expect to see Sammy’s face in the crowd, staring back from some shadow.
“You remember that air-drop decoy I loaded on the drive?” Ruby asks.
“Yeah.”
“It’ll work if Ramirez opens it. Doesn’t matter if he’s got a YubiKey—if he’s already logged in, the file will piggyback off the session.”
“But you’ve got to be close when it happens,” Seth adds. “Bluetoothrange. The decoy doesn’t transmit over Wi-Fi, so you’re the receiver. You miss the window, you miss the data.”
“So I just need him to open up a file while I’m in range,” I mutter. “Sounds easy.”
“It’s not,” Ruby agrees.
“Ramirez isn’t exactly my email buddy,” I say. “Everything goes through Rook.”
“You’re meeting with the banker, right?” Seth asks.
“Yeah, in about ten minutes.”
