Page 40 of Magnum, Volume 1

Again, I was left staring at him while I absorbed that, and then slowly nodded. “Any chance I can pick your brain for this kind of thing when this is over with? I’d love to do an exposé on the latest ways we can be identified, above and beyond facial recognition.”

He shook his head. “I was under the impression you weren’t going to use what you learn while here?”

I frowned. “Nothing about the bikers, but that’s government stuff.”

“Here’s the thing, though. I can get in trouble for sharing things with a reporter, but it’s stuff I’d tell a damsel in distress without thinking twice, if it’ll keep her alive. I need your assurance I’m talking to the damsel in distress and not the reporter.”

I blew out a breath and considered what I could promise. “And if I can show that I found something out another way, so it doesn’t come back on you? Can I report on what you’ve told me then?”

“You’ll be helping criminals with your reporting. Does that bother you?”

“I’m not a criminal. Everyday people have a right to move around without being monitored. We’re heading into 1984 vibes, and that troubles me. No, I don’t want to help criminals, but I do want to help people who just want to be left alone and not tracked.”

He sighed. “Please don’t use the bit about the padding under the lip.”

I instinctively understood this was a test. If I argued, he might not tell me something I needed to know for my own safety. “Okay. I can see this is important to you, so…” I shrugged. “I won’t.”

Again, he looked like he was reading my face, and I could see him visibly relax.

“I don’t intend to leave here anytime soon,” I said, “but if for some reason I have to, it’s good information. Thanks for looking out for me. Assuming I live through this, when it’s over and I’m onto other stories, I’ll let you read through what I plan to record before I do.”

“The most important thing,” Ember said, “is honestly the bit about changing your gait. Wear uncomfortable boots on the wrong feet if you have to, or put a small pebble in your shoe.”

I hadn’t known she’d been listening — she’d been kissing Dementor, or rather, he’d seemed to be devouring her. But now he was at the back of the boat, and she was fully engaged with us again.

“I’ve actually heard rumors about that,” I told them. “Algorithms that look at the way you walk and your basic body shape.”

She nodded. “I use butt lifters when I go undercover sometimes, to alter my body shape. Your ass is already perfect, so you’d need ill-fitting Spanx to try to flatten it out. Also, on the makeup thing, contour your cheekbones and put highlighter under them, the opposite of what you’d normally do. Use highlighter under the jaw and slightly darker powder on the jawline, to try to make it merge instead of pop, right? Foundation on your upper lip and then line it so there’s just a thin little piece of color, to make the top lip look wrong. Opposite on the bottom lip, and with an appliance inside the lip, it’ll make your mouth look completely different.”

“I was under the impression the algorithms did some kind of ratio between eyes, lips, and nose,” I said. “That’s why sunglasses throw it off.”

“Yeah, and that’s what local police departments still use, but the Feds have better algorithms and… other things,” Ember said. “The ratio is still important, but be aware there’s a lot more. Making your lips another shape thwarts several of them.”

Sloan clearly didn’t like her sharing so much, but he sat back and let her talk.

I considered how she reacted to Sloan versus Dementor, and was even more certain there was a kinky power exchange between her and the absolutely huge man she was clearly in love with.

Clearly, he didn’t interfere with her career, though, and that gave me some reassurance.

Because no man was ever going to dictate any part of my career. Magnum had his dealbreakers, but that was my biggest one.

However, it felt like Magnum was setting it up for TPE during high-protocol times, but then my life was my own the rest of the time except for sex, which he could demand at any time. If he wanted more than that, I’d be okay with it while I lived here under the present circumstances, but things wouldn’t last beyond that.

But if we were on the same page there? Fuck, it was dangerous to fall for this man. First off, a biker in a one-percenter club, but second, he lived in bumfuck Alabama. From my house in Pennsylvania, I can be in DC or Manhattan within hours.

That wouldn’t be possible from here.

Chapter 18

Storm

That night, I only got one orgasm. One. Small, almost embarrassing compared to the feast of them I’d had the day before, and this one was gone before I even had a chance to enjoy it.

Later, once I was in the other cincher and in his arms, ready to drop off to sleep, he asked, “Do you know why you only got the one orgasm?”

I thought I did, but I was happy for the chance to be certain. “Because I missed a spot in the mudroom, Sir?”

“Exactly right, my needy little cunt.”