“When?”
He chuckles. “Impatient, aren’t we? Soon.” He cocks an eyebrow. “Let yourself out.”
“Yes, boss,” I say, mimicking his guards. But as I walk toward the door, I realize that it sounded pathetic.
Shit.
“Kat.”
I turn around to see him lean on the couch, swinging the cognac in his glass. “I like that. Keep it up.”
I try not to blush.
I’m not blushing.
Not smirking.
No.
But my heart beats a dozen times a second.
I can fly right now.
I am staying. For now.
I have a job. For now.
I’m in, despite the fact that I got caught.
And I made a deal with the devil.
“It’s Katura,” I say, trying to sound cold.Let’s keep it professional. For now…“Unless you are friends or family.”
As I walk out and the door closes behind me, he says, “Sounds good, Kat.”
Dick.
5
ARCHER
When Katura leaves,I exhale in relief—like when you see a spider crawl outside, and you close your window.
Except, she is on my island and will be for a while—I should be careful around her. I’ll put a tracker in her phone.
But I can’t help smiling—she just became a double spy. Tsariuk wants to be sneaky? I’ll play along.
I walk to my bedroom, shed my wet clothes, and step into the shower.
“Corlo, fifty-five degrees.”
Ironically, the AI assistant is the most loyal thing in my life. Everyone else is either a traitor, a deserter, or a spy.
The cold water soothes the pain from bruising. The cage fight the other night seems like an eternity ago and bat-shit crazy. I need to lay off the booze. The last several days after raiding the Eastside are a classic example of a psychotic breakdown.
I dry myself off, studying my body in the mirror.
My ribs feel better, though the bruises still look awful, including the one on my jaw. My nose is still swollen. There are dark circles under my eyes and a purple circle around my left one. I look like a fucking panda. A billion-dollar monstrosity.