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Conor gently pushed his bowl away, leaned his elbows on the table, and started playing with his hands as he reasoned, “It must be a massive task if your idea of remuneration is bringing down the Sparrows.”
Kuznetsov angled the glass at Conor. “The task is not gargantuan but it is specialized.”
“If you think only Conor and I can do it, that’s an understatement.”
“It requires more than just the two of you.”
I frowned. “You need a team of hackers?”
“You can use thePauksfor assistance—”
“They work for you,” I clipped. “If you think I’d trust them—”
“You can use BDSec if you prefer,” Kuznetsov slipped in quickly. “I don’t care so long as the job is done.”
As my brow furrowed, Conor rasped, “BDSec? Why would we work with them? We’re not affiliated—”
“I was one of the founding members,” I admitted, cringing.
His nostrils flared. “You didn’t think to share that with me?”
“I’m not a member anymore,” I retorted. “I stepped back—” Before I could give Kuznetsov insight into why I’d done that, I broke off, muttering, “I’ll tell you later if you really want to know.”
“BDSec is one of Europe’s biggest hacktivist groups,” he snapped. “Of course, I want to know the backstory of how you came to be one of its founding members.”
“It was years ago!”
“Are you still friends with them?”
I glowered at Kuznetsov’s interruption. “Yes.”
“They would be amenable to helping you?”
Minerva and Ovianarwouldhelp if I went crawling on my knees to them.
I didn’t say that though. “If the justificationandthe payment are big enough.”
Slowly, he nodded. “Good.”
“What is the job?”
“It’s actually twofold.” Kuznetsov paused to take another sip of his drink.
From how heavy his eyelids were, I got the feeling he shouldn’t be mixing his pain meds with alcohol.
“Start at the beginning,” I prompted.
“I have another granddaughter. Her name is Lyra.”
“I have a sister?” I shrieked, jerking to my feet so quickly that my chair toppled back and onto the floor.
Conor immediately snatched at my fingers and held me in place. The feel of his hand around mine was surprisingly calming and, in this situation, I needed all the help I could get.
Behind me, he dragged my chair upright, then he ordered, “Sit down, Star. Let’s not make this situation even worse.”
My calm disintegrated into dust. “He’s saying I have a sister and I didn’t know about her—”
“I did not say that, child,” Kuznetsov growled. “I said that I have a granddaughter. She is your cousin.”
