Page 91 of Villainous Intent

I swallowed hard. He didn’t know the real reason I had crawled into my old bed at the Tower at one in the morning. He didn’t know I had fled Cipher wearing his clothes. Sleeping in my old room to work early was just the perfect, pathetic alibi.

“That’s not necessary,” I insisted, my voice pitching up. “I’m fine. I can handle the workload.”

“You look fucking exhausted, Annie.” Havoc leaned forward and the chaotic energy he usually kept tightly leashed pressed against my skin. “This didn’t just start. You’ve been running yourself into the ground for months. Now I finally have enough reason to force the issue.”

“You can’t just bench me.”

“I can and I am. The Aegis and the Syndicate drafted you into this godforsaken joint contract to find the rogue. That’s your priority now. You need the time and the energy to do that.”

“No. Havoc, please. I⁠—”

“You’re burning the candle at both ends,” he fired back, his tone leaving zero room for negotiation. “I refuse to sit here and watch what happens when you finally burn out. You won’t survive it, and I won’t allow it.”

I opened my mouth, but the desperate urge to argue died under the weight of his stare. He was right about the exhaustion, even if he was wrong about the cause.

“Go home, Bishop,” Havoc ordered, softer this time but no less absolute. “I’ll pull whatever Keepers I require from the bullpen. Focus on the rogue. Keep yourself safe.”

“I’m not burning out,” I tried again, even knowing it was useless. “Havoc, please. The routine is what keeps me sane. If I’m just sitting around waiting for the next League event, I’ll lose my mind.”

Havoc didn’t soften. “When you’re at League events, you’re walking into a room full of predators, on the arm of one of the worst of them, trying to sniff out a rogue Trueborn. You need to be firing on all cylinders to deal with Cipher and you can’t do that if you’re obsessing over my schedule.”

“I can handle Cipher just fine,” I lied. I couldn’t even handle my own body around him.

“I know you think you can.” Havoc sighed. “But Cipher isn’t someone to be trusted. Right now, he’s on his best behavior because the Syndicate and the Aegis are watching.”

Best behavior. Tell that to the bruises on my throat that throbbed with each beat of my heart.

“He’s playing the obsessed Villain for the cameras,” Havoc continued, his blue eyes darkening with concern. “But I’m worried about what that bastard will do when the cameras aren’t on you.”

I locked down every muscle in my face and forced it into a blank mask. It took everything I had not to let my gaze dart away.

I didn’t want to think about what would happen if Havoc knew about the deal Cipher and I had struck on our own, what he’d do if he knew that I’d given myself willingly to him. Havoc would probably tear him apart at the molecular level thinking that he had manipulated me into a sexual relationship.

“He’s just playing a part.” I managed to keep my voice steady. “I’ll be fine.”

Havoc stared at me for a long moment. He didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t press it. “Go home, Annie. Get some rest. Prep for tonight. That’s an order.”

The command filled me with dread, twisting my stomach into a hard knot. Home. I wanted to stay here at the Tower. I wanted to hide in my old bedroom on the ninety-first floor and lock the only door I thought Cipher might not be able to get through. While I wanted to know what Cipher would do to me for running, I was also afraid of how much I might like it.

But there was no way to tell Havoc I wanted to stay at the Tower without raising suspicion. If I admitted I didn’t want to go back to my own apartment, he would demand to know why. I wasn’t ready for that conversation. I would never be ready for that conversation.

On the drive home, my stomach twisted tighter at every stoplight. When I unlocked my front door, I braced myself, half-expecting Cipher to be standing there.

But the apartment was empty and that was worse.

I jumped at the sound of the ice maker dropping cubes and the climate control kicking on. I woke my phone screen. Nothing. Not a single threat. Not a single command.

I stared at his contact name, Tech Support. I could draw him out. I could send something biting, something defiant to force his hand and get the confrontation over with. The anxiety was rotting my nerves, but I couldn’t stomach giving him the satisfaction. If I texted him, he’d know I was obsessing.

I dropped my bag on the floor and reached for the top button of my blouse. My fingers felt stiff, fumbling with the small plastic disc. I managed two buttons before the dull ache at the base of my skull demanded my attention. I’d twisted my hair too tight this morning when I’d put it up.

I abandoned the shirt and reached up to pry the first bobby pin free.

A shadow shifted in the corner of the room.

Before my brain really processed the movement, a hand clamped over my mouth, smothering my scream. An arm went around my waist and slammed me back into a wall of armor.

“Easy,” Cipher murmured.