The hold on both my arms loosens, and I wrench free immediately, stumbling forward a couple steps before catching myself. My head is still spinning, my body still trying to catch up to being conscious again. I don’t look at Malcolm. I don’t look at Reese. I scowl down at the floor instead because I’m fucking pissed at them both, and I don’t trust myself not to make this worse than it already is.
Hands grab my arms again, looser this time, less force, like I’m not worth the effort anymore. Again, I jerk out of their grip, and they don’t fight me on it. They just guide—or ratherherd—Reese and me toward the door. I don’t look back. Not at Malcolm, not his office, not at whatever the hell I left unfinisheddown in that server room. Every step out of the building feels like swallowing glass.
Elevator, lobby, doors. Then air. And the second we’re outside, Reese grabs my arm.
“Hey!”
“You’re coming with me.”
It’s not aggressive or loud, but it’s firm and final, like I never had a choice otherwise.
I rip my arm back on instinct because I’m tired of people fucking grabbing me, Reese included right now. “What about my car?”
“Sebastian will have someone bring it to the safehouse.”
My jaw clenches, but I don’t argue. I follow him to his SUV and silently hop into the passenger seat when he opens the door for me. I remain silent until about thirty seconds into the drive. That’s how long I last.
“Are you fucking serious right now?” I snap, turning in my seat to face him fully as he pulls onto the highway. “You weren’t even supposed to be there, Reese!”
He doesn’t look at me. His hands stay locked on the wheel, knuckles white. “I told you—”
“No, you fucking lied! You said you’d let me come here alone.”
“You knew I didn’t want to. You should’ve known I wasn’t going to let you walk into that place by yourself. I was only meant to be a distraction for you.”
“Yeah? And how’d that work out for us?”
His jaw ticks.
“For all we know, you showing up is what tipped them off. That wasn’t exactly subtle.” I drag a hand through my hair and face forward again, crossing my arms over my chest and slumping in my seat with a huff. “I didn’t even get to finish the job before I was knocked the fuck out. I gotsomeof it. Icorrupted files and wiped what I could, but it wasn’t enough. Not even close. And then…fuck! And then I was fucking leverage again!”
I thinkthatis what I’m pissed about the most. I fucking got myself killed so I could finally be able to stick up for myself, and I couldn’t even do that when I needed to.
“Cason, that’s not—”
“If you hadn’t been there,” I say, interrupting him again, “Malcolm wouldn’t have had anything to bargain with. He wouldn’t have been able to use me to get to you.”
“He would’ve killed you either way.”
“No, he wouldn’t have!”
Reese finally takes his eyes off the road to glance at me, and there’s something in his expression that makes my stomach twist. “Cason…”
“He’s my uncle. He wouldn’t have—”
“He killed your father.”
The world comes to a screeching halt.
The car keeps moving, but everything else just slows and stops. I can feel my body traveling, but I can’t see the world passing us by. It’s all just dark and frozen and…impossible.
“No.” My voice doesn’t sound like my own. “That’s not…No. That’s not true.”
“He told me himself.” Reese is looking out at the road again, his expression unreadable. “Right before you woke up.”
The truth crashes into the car and right into me. It’s heavy and suffocating. I turn my head to stare outside the passenger window, trying to focus on the trees rushing past. My hands curl into fists. My throat burns.
For the rest of the drive, there’s nothing but silence. Just the sound of the engine, the road, and that nasty new revelation that doesn’t go away. It just sits there, festering.
