The weight of it hits me all over again. Wesley has no idea about the virus, no idea how close I came to tearingeverything apart already. If he knew, he wouldn’t be looking at me with that steady calm, wouldn’t be asking me to choose him. His world is neat and rational. Mine is cracked down the center.
I shift in my chair, pretending to focus on the screen in front of us. The code scrolls by, endless lines of white against black. My hands hover over the keys, but my mind is caught between the cold hum of the servers and the warmth of Wesley’s hand brushing mine only minutes ago. He doesn’t realize how much I’m hiding. He doesn’t realize how much guilt I’m choking on.
And I can’t let him.
He leans back, his chair creaking, as he continues drawing lines together for me. “If you and Justice end up together, that aligns TimeGem and Malice. That leaves Alexei Sokolov out in the cold. He won’t allow that to happen. He’ll take out one or both of you.”
My money’s on Justice in that fight. The thought is instant and unwelcome. Truth is, I have no idea. They’re both mob bosses. Maybe they’d kill each other. What I do know is that I don’t ever want to be on the opposite side of Rosalie.
“I don’t look at life that way,” I tell him.
He tilts his head, a small smile tugging. “I know. You’re all heart.”
“No, I’m not. I’m all brain,” I shoot back. “I’m phenomenal with computers.”
“Yeah, but I still think that’s your heart,” he murmurs.
The words sink into me, sweet and painful all at once. I draw in a long breath. “Wesley, I just think—”
He lifts a hand, cutting me off. “No. We’re not breaking up while we’re trapped in this server room.”
I fall quiet. The truth is, I’m not sure we’ve ever beenanything real. We never agreed to be exclusive. But he watches me, steady and certain, and the weight of that gaze presses on me until my chest feels tight.
He places his warm hand over mine. “I need you to think about this carefully, okay?”
“Okay,” I whisper.
The door unlocks with a heavy click, the sound sharp over the hum of the servers. Cold air rushes across the floor as Sylveria strides in, her gown sweeping behind her. Two guards shadow her, silent and alert.
I lift my chin and give her my coldest stare. “We tracked a computer virus through your system and neutralized it. But I can’t do anything about your diamonds, which were somehow infected by this virus.” Playing dumb doesn’t sit well with me.
Her gaze slides to the center of the room where the stones pulse with that sickly yellow. “A computer virus infected my diamonds?” Her lips press into a white line. “That’s unacceptable.”
Ha. If she only knew. “It’s worse than that. I’m concerned that the virus has also infected you. If so, it could spread to any diamond you use.” I’m so curious.
“That’s ludicrous. Humans can’t catch a computer virus.” She squares her shoulders, eyes locking on me. Thoughts flash across her face as she no doubt thinks it through. As someone who exchanges energy with a stone, she knows their power. I can see the acceptance when it hits her. “Did you do this?” she snaps.
“I didn’t.” The words are sharp, and for once, they’re honest. I didn’t do it this time. “This wasn’t me. I don’t know who did it, but there’s only one way to find out. Do you have another diamond you could try to charge?”
“Of course I do.” She sweeps across the room to a recessed storage panel. Her palm unlocks the seal, and she pulls out a diamond the size of a marble. It gleams faintly in her hand.
The server fans whir faster, filling the room with a low rush of air. Wesley leans forward, his chair scraping against the concrete, gaze fixed on Sylveria. My own pulse picks up, a sick twist of dread and curiosity.
She draws a breath and centers herself. Energy stirs, faint at first, then stronger, and the gem flares with a soft glow. For a second, it’s almost beautiful. Then a crack splinters across the surface, and the glow yellows, bleeding from the edges inward.
Wesley glances at me, his jaw tightening.
“It’s compromised,” I say. “You now carry the virus.”
Sylveria closes her hand around the fractured stone and opens it again. The crack remains. She frowns. “I caught a virus from a computer. Did you know this could happen?”
“Yeah,” I mutter. “I’ve seen some data that it’s possible.” Of course I know all the data, but she doesn’t need to realize that. I didn’t think it would happen like this. “At least it’s not killing you.”
“A computer virus can’t kill a person,” she says.
Oh, how wrong she is. “Who the heck knows? We’ve never truly understood how humans exchange energy with crystals.”
She stares at the damaged gem. “So now I can’t charge the diamonds.” She speaks slowly, as if testing the words.
