Page 106 of Emperor of Corruption

“Lots of people,” Tommy says defensively. “It’s one of my dreams. As for how I knew, I tracked your location.”

I scowl at my phone. “Are you fucking kidding me, Tommy? Youtracked my location?”

“Ruh-roh, someone sounds angry.” Tommy pauses. “In my defense, you’re doing stuff dangerous enough to necessitate the best encryption in the world—putting your ass andmyass on the line. Of course, I’m keeping an eye on you.”

“On the tech you gave me, too?”

“Don’t tempt me,” Tommy replies. “No, lucky for you, even I haven’t figured out how to break through the layers of firewalls on my newest protection systems. Anyway, what brings you to Casa Thomas?”

“You’re an IT genius, not a gigolo,” I remind him with an eye-roll.

“For you, Babygirl, I’d happily be both—”

“Tommy,” I sigh.

“Lyra,” he moans erotically.

I can’t help myself; I laugh. It feels nice. I can’t remember the last time I laughed. “I need your help.”

His voice turns from playful to serious in a millisecond. “What’s up?” he asks. “Talk to me.”

“The thing I needed the tech to work on… it’s ready.”

Tommy doesn’t speak for a long time. When he does, he drawls, “Explain.”

“Killian King has something on me,” I say vaguely. “Something career-ending, not to mentionlife-ending. Now I’ve got something on him, too.” I explain the exposé without gettingtooexplicit, telling Tommy about what I’ve discovered and what I’ve written as a byproduct of my discoveries, vaguely brushing over the reason I’ve done all of this.

Once I’m done, he’s silent for several achingly-long moments. Finally, he says, “You realize you hold the equivalent of the red button that sets off nukes, right?”

“I’m pretty sure nuclear launch systems are far more advanced than a single red button.”

“You know what I mean.” Tommy swears under his breath. “Lyra, this is dangerous.Extremelydangerous. If it leaks, it wouldn’tkillKillian, but it’d heavily impact his business and personal life. He’ll be bleeding money while recovering. Not enough money to leave him destitute—in the unlikely case that this totally tanks Helixon Biopharma, he has eight figures stashed away in off-shore accounts and close to triple-digits millions in investments—but it would bebad.” He pauses for emphasis. “If anyone knows what you know, they’ll kill you.”

“Trust me, I ammorethan well aware of that fact. What I need from you is to work your magic and ensure that, should I ever disappear, the exposé goes live. I have two versions—one implicating only Killian, and the other casting a shadow on Silas Cornell and Carter Black.”

“Carter Black?” Tommy hisses. “CarterfuckingBlack? Lyra, are you fucking insane? He’smafia.”

I suspected as much. “Can you help me or not?”

He sighs. “Fuck. Yes, I can, but you’ll owe me.”

“I got you your job and kept your secrets.”

“And I got you technology worth a million dollars,” he deadpans. “If the world’s governments knew that the tech you have on your laptop or phone exists, they’d kill to get their hands on it. No, if I do this for you, you’ll owe me a favor. To be called in at any time, with any stipulations.”

I swallow. My hand automatically drops down to my stomach, and a dagger twists in my chest.

Goddamnit, I’m getting attached. I’m getting attached to the soon-to-be-baby, which puts a wrench ineverything. Maybe I can use the exposé as leverage to not only get Killian to destroy the sex tape, but to also ensure that he never claims the child as his own while discreetly paying child support?

I want my baby to have the best, and I can’tgivethem the best on my own. I also can’t, in good conscience, be with their father.

It’s amazing how a single pregnancy test and twenty-four hours could reshape all of my plans and opinions.

A cramp pangs in the side of my stomach—my brows furrow, but it’s mild, so it’s probably just gas. Nonetheless, my heart speeds a bit.

“Do you agree?” Tommy asks.

“You can’t pull a Rumplestiltskin,” I warn. “I’m not giving you my firstborn, all the money in my account, the right to kill me—”