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Talon nods slowly, processing this information with that tactical mind of his. I brace for the explosion, the righteous anger, maybe even a fist to my face. I deserve it. But Talon just sighs. “You're a creep, you know that?”

“I'm aware,” I mutter, reaching over to shut down the camera's live view. The screens go blank, leaving only the glow of my coding programs running in the background. If there were fucked up boy scout badges, I’d have them all. I’d be the poster child for fucked in the head.

“So what happens now?” I ask, tension coiling in my muscles. “You going to tell them?”

Talon studies me for a long moment, his expression unreadable. “I should. It's the right thing to do.”

I nod, accepting my fate. Maybe Vesper will insist on a nice place for my body. View of the water or the server room of The Federal Reserve. Either would be nice. “I know.”

“But I'm not going to,” he says finally. “Not yet, anyway.”

My head snaps up. “Why the hell not?”

“Because we need you focused on finding The Collector and getting to Vesper's brother. This—” he gestures to my screens, “—would be a distraction we can't afford right now.”

I exhale slowly. “That's...surprisingly pragmatic of you.”

“Don't mistake practicality for forgiveness,” Talon says, his voice hardening. “What you did crosses a line. But we've all crossed lines for her already, haven't we?”

The truth of his words hits me like a physical blow. We have. All of us. Since the moment Vesper Rossi walked into our lives, we've been redrawing boundaries.

“The bedroom cameras come down,” Talon says. It’s not a suggestion, but a demand.

“First thing in the morning,” I agree.

Talon nods towards Ricky's phone, still connected to my computer. “Any luck with that?”

“Nothing,” I admit, grateful for the subject change. “When I tried to force it, it activated some kind of kill switch.”

"Someone went to a lot of trouble to protect him," Talon muses.

“Or to protect what he knew.”

Talon shifts, and for the first time, I notice he's holding something. “That's actually why I came to find you. I woke up from a dead sleep. Guessing because I was being watched,” he side eyes me. “An idea popped in my head as I was going back to sleep, and it panned out. I logged into the e-mail account you made for my alter ego for Vesper’s auction and found this.”

He tosses an iPad onto my desk, narrowly missing my keyboard. I grab it before it slides off the edge, noticing an email already pulled up on the screen. The subject line reads:Exclusive Private Auction: Invitation Only.

“Holy shit.”

“Turns out we didn't need Ricky after all," Talon says with a grim smile. "He's coming to us. Or, well, my alter ego. They're having another auction. Online this time.”

I look up sharply. “How'd you get this?”

“Apparently, once you're a customer, you stay on the mailing list.”

I scroll through the email, taking in the details. The auction is scheduled for three days from now. A private, encrypted livestream event featuring ‘rare and exclusive merchandise.’ The euphemism makes my stomach turn.

“Keep reading,” he orders.

My blood runs cold when I read the item descriptions like it’s a menu at a Michelin Star restaurant.

“Prime acquisition. Male, 27, exceptional resilience, trained resistance. Warning, requires experienced handler. “

Too old to be Luca.

I scroll to the next listing. “Legacy package. Matched pair, superior genetics, limited availability.” I try to swallow my disgust. “They're selling siblings, Talon. Actual human siblings.”

“And this one,” Talon taps the screen, indicating the third listing. “Rare male specimen, early twenties, untouched condition,“ I read aloud, bile rising in my throat. “Exceptional bloodline. Jesus fucking Christ.”