My throat tightens, his thumb brushing my cheekbone, slow and loving.
In that moment—close enough to feel his breath on my lips, close enough to remember everything we used to be— I realize how dangerous this is.
Because part of me wants to lean in. But the other part is not ready to open myself up to the possibility of being hurt by him again.
“I still thinkif we make him think there's something he can't afford to ignore, he'll go for it,” Noahsays.
“We'd have to make it really good, because he'll see right through any half-assed attempt,” Jace points out.
“What's something we think he can't resist?” Luca asks
The room is silent as our minds seem to collectively think.
“He's desperate,” Jace starts, “We've cut off all his resources… but if I know my father, his plans have plans. We need to make sure whatever we do is foolproof. “
“Do you think he'll be desperate for money?” Noah asks.
Jace stares off in thought, “No, I mean yes, but no. I think he'll be chasing some sort of power. He doesn't think anyone is worth anything unless they have power. We've stripped away a lot, so he'll be looking to replace it.
Silence falls between us all as we think again.
“We can use me as bait? I'm sure he's furious about me.” I throw out the idea again.
“No,” the guys say in unison.
“How can you even keep suggesting that?” Luca looks exasperated.
“Because I trust you guys to keep me safe.” I look at Luca and Noah, well at least some of them, but I will not start that fight again.
Jace and I seem to be in a place of quiet understanding. Since that night in his bedroom a week ago, we've been in a polite orbit.
He doesn't push. I don't give. We're just working together towards a common goal.
“I've been thinking maybe we could use an actual prototype.” Noah taps on his tablet, pulling up schematics for the prototype.
“The Guild’s been working on a digital skeleton key. Theoretically, as long as it's electronic, you put this device near it, and you're in.” Noah turns the tablet around to show us the current prototype pictures.
“So, we need to leak it through the old compromised channels from six months ago.” Jace nods thoughtfully, “He already tapped that line; we just make it look like a careless slip.”
“Does it work? The prototype?” I swipe through the photos.
“Not fully. It's still going through tweaks, but if we say it’s ready andwe're looking to start manufacturing more, that'll definitely get Gideon's attention.” Noah takes the tablet back from me.
Lucian walks into the dining room at that moment.
“You guys come up with anything?” He stands behind me, placing his hand on my shoulders. I look at him, giving him a small smile. I know he's still worried, and ever since I've been back, he checks in with me more.
I let the guys relay what we've discussed, and Lucian nods as he listens.
“I think you guys are right. This prototype would be too tempting to pass up. This is the exact type of item he would want to get his hands on.” He looks around at each of the guys. “So, what's our next move?”
“If you can give me access, I can forge the comms and movement logs.” Noah says, “I can sync them with the Guild's location tracking and make it look like we've got this thing under heavy escort.”
“Don't forget to beef up the lab files, too. He'll be looking for proof that this thing now works and functions completely.” Jace adds.
“I can do that. What kind of timeline do we think is realistic?” Lucian faces Jace.
“I feel like three or four days seems realistic. If we had this breakthrough, we wouldn't be waiting on it. We'd be transporting it to get it manufactured.”
