Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 77051 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77051 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
“That lasted a week,” I mutter.
“This isn’t that,” Arrow says. “This is real.”
It is. God help me, it is.
Later that night, I walk River through the plan. We’re sitting on the couch, laptop open, comms gear laid out like a spy movie. She’s biting her thumbnail, something she does when she’s overwhelmed and trying not to show it.
“Hey,” I say, brushing her hand from her mouth. “We’ve got you. You’re safe.”
Her eyes search mine. “What if he doesn’t show?”
“Then we regroup. But if he does… we might finally get closer to the source.”
Her voice drops. “You really think Regent’s pulling the strings?”
“I know it,” I whisper. “They’re coordinating too well. The leaks, the videos, the timing.”
She shudders slightly and leans into me. I pull her close, heart twisting. I want to keep her here forever, wrapped in my arms, far from the bullshit of fake boyfriends, traitorous HR, and anonymous usernames poisoning her life.
Instead, I press a kiss to her hair and whisper, “We get him. Together.”
The next day we’re in position. River’s wearing a navy blouse, her hair loose around her shoulders. She’s seated at the café, sipping coffee like it’s just another afternoon. But I can see the way her fingers twitch. She’s nervous. She’s strong. She’s mine.
My comm crackles. “Target approaching,” Knight says from his perch. “Gray hoodie. Baseball cap. It’s him.”
I freeze.
“Mason’s here,” I murmur. “Eyes sharp.”
River looks up.
Their gazes lock.
He looks older. More haggard than when he was fired. His mouth moves, and River nods. They start talking.
I can’t hear the words yet, but Arrow’s got a mic trained on them.
Mason leans in. River stiffens slightly.
“What is he saying?” I hiss.
Juno’s voice filters through. “Something about a ‘deal gone wrong.’ He’s scared, Gage. Real scared.”
“Turn up the gain.”
We listen.
“…I didn’t know who they were at first. Cathedral just… messaged me. They had photos of me, River. Stuff no one should have. They said if I didn’t help them get to you, they’d ruin me.”
River’s voice: “So you just let them?”
“I didn’t know what else to do!”
I slam my fist into the steering wheel.
“I’m going over there,” I growl.
“No,” Arrow snaps. “Not yet. Let it play.”
“I need to talk to Gage,” Mason’s saying now. “Please. I’ll tell you everything. Just—don’t let them find me again. It’s getting real now.”
I stare at the scene like it’s on fire.
And maybe it is.
My phone buzzes. A new alert.
I open it—and my breath stops.
Another video.
Another fucking deepfake.
Me. River. Kissing. Tangled in sheets. Her moan, my voice, the bed, the fucking watermark of her old apartment in the background.
Son of a bitch.
Juno gasps. “Gage…”
“I see it,” I grind out. “It’s fake.”
River’s phone buzzes a second later. She blinks down at it mid-conversation, goes pale, and shoots me a panicked look across the café.
I’m already out of the car.
Already storming toward her.
THIRTY-ONE
RIVER
Gage crosses the street like a thunderstorm on legs.
Controlled. Deadly. Hot as sin.
He doesn’t break stride. Doesn’t blink. Doesn’t look anywhere but straight at Mason, like he’s already decided what the outcome of this conversation is going to be.
And judging by the way Mason shifts in his seat like he’s about to shit himself—I’d say he knows it too.
“Gage—” I start to say, rising to meet him, but he’s already there, already beside me, already a wall of heat and muscle and male fury wrapped in tactical calm.
“Step away from her,” Gage says, voice low and firm.
Mason raises his hands. “I’m not here to start anything.”
Gage’s jaw ticks. “Too late.”
His body brushes mine as he shifts between us, shielding me like I’m breakable. And maybe I am. But with him here, I feel anything but.
Mason stands slowly, palms still out. “I didn’t know who else to go to.”
“You had your chance,” Gage snaps. “And you chose Cathedral.”
“I didn’t choose anything,” Mason bites back. “They came to me. They threatened me. They made it clear—either I gave them access to River’s files or they’d burn my life down.”
I suck in a breath. That… that checks out.
Gage doesn’t budge. “You leaked her credentials.”
“I didn’t use them!” Mason says quickly. “I swear—I just handed over some outdated metadata from an old project. I thought—” He runs a shaky hand through his hair. “I thought if I gave them just enough, they’d leave me alone.”
“They never do,” I say quietly.
Mason’s eyes snap to mine. “I know that now. That’s why I reached out. They want something big. Something I don’t understand. But they’re watching me again. I saw someone outside my place last night.”
Gage growls under his breath. “You’re lucky we don’t leave you out here for them to find.”
“Then don’t,” Mason says, lifting his chin. “Let me help.”
Gage finally glances at me, silently asking. I nod.
“We take him in,” I say.
“You trust him?”
“No,” I say. “But I trust the team.”
And I trust Gage.
The safe house is humming with tension. Knight’s in his usual corner, arms folded, eyes locked on Mason like he’s the weakest link in a system he’s ready to debug with a bullet.