Page 93 of Blood in the Water

She wanted Wynn. It was obvious there was an electric spark between her and Ryuji, too, though maybe that had died with the way the asshole reacted to her.

Despite that, she had cast a spell on all of us. There was no point in trying to deny it.

“I didn’t know it was him,” she finally replied as her fingers tapped away on the keyboard beside me. She learned fast. She had picked up the proper ways to comb through footage, look for patterns, and bookmark suspicious finds. And she had the patience for it. Most hacking was hours of paying attention and being patient, something neither Wynn nor Ryu could ever understand. But Leona was a natural. We were waiting for my facial recognition software to return a result on the hours and hours of footage we’d taken from the new cameras.

“It just happened so fast,” she murmured with a sigh.

I nodded, being careful not to look in her direction. I was positive my interest was plastered across my face, but a potential rejection from her would flay me open. It was safer to keep to myself.

“Ryu tends to have that effect on women. From what I hear, at least.”

She snorted a laugh. “He’s a man-whore, isn’t he?”

I struggled to hold back my smile. “Absolutely. Though he’s never brought women back here. None of us have.”

She swiveled in her chair. “So then, Ciel, why me?”

I couldn’t look at her, so I pulled up a terminal to run some code instead. I typed purposeless, nonsense garbage, but it made me look busy, which gave me an excuse to avoid her gaze. “You need help. We can help. Simple.”

“Okay. Well, what about you then? You’ve never brought girls back here?”

“Leona, I really need to emphasize that we don’t do relationships. We’re assassins, we travel all over the world, andwe’re constantly getting shot at or shooting people. Not exactly boyfriend material.”

“You’ve never had a relationship?”

“I didn’t say that.” I’d had one girlfriend andmaybea boyfriend back in Colombia, before the Shadows. But I’d been way too focused on work since then. I didn’t care for the stress of trying to explain why I was the way I was.

“Well, then.” She leaned forward, resting her chin in her palm and elbow on the desk. “Tell me about yourself.”

I waited for my throat to threaten to close up and snatch the sounds I wanted to make. I knew computers. I didn’t know how to navigate the complicated pieces of my past. I didn’t know how to explain that every time I took on a job, I used it to validate my existence because I’d constantly be told I would never amount to anything. I’d fought my way here through blood and tears, and I’d do anything to be able to stay a Shadow. It was the only place I belonged.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me,” she said softly, searching my face.

“It’s alright.” I swallowed. “It’s just… difficult. To talk sometimes.”

“You struggle with speech.”

It was more a statement of fact than an accusation, and that fact alone put me at ease.

I expected to repeat myself so much more by now, but talking with Leona didn’t feel like stress. I sighed and sat back in my chair. “I was born with it. When I was a child, I had a speech disorder. My brain sends the signals to my mouth, but my mouth struggles to form the sounds it needs to create words. I had therapy and everything, but I still have to speak slowly sometimes if I’m stressed or nervous.”

I watched her expression, expecting some level of judgment or rejection. That was what I was used to. But all I saw was anopen curiosity. Like she was justlisteningrather than waiting for me to fuck up so she could taunt me.

“You can go as slow as you need to. Or repeat yourself. Whatever makes you the most comfortable,” she said as she tilted her head. “Are you nervous now?”

I exhaled. It wasn’t that I was nervous aroundher. It was that my life had taught me the only thing that kept me safe was my ability to prove I was good at my job. Interacting with people outside of hacking or contracts usually meant ridicule at best and attempted murder at worst.

“I kill people for a living. I am not nervous around you.”

“Okay,” she said with a soft smile. “I’m glad. I like spending time with you. You make me feel calm. And you’re patient with me.”

Her words cut straight through to my heart. I glanced back at the computer to hide the color in my cheeks. Blushing like a fucking teenager.

“Where did you grow up?” She swiveled in the chair. “Tell me about the mysterious Ciel and how he became the greatest hacker in the world.”

“It’s not that exciting. I was born in Colombia. My father was in a cartel; my mother was a French tourist. They fell in love, and here I am.”

“Wow. Okay, that’s a good place to start. How did you get so good at computers?”