Page 67 of Neon Flux

“But you do know something about the group who attacked it?”

The device started to heat again as I hesitated. “Yes.”

Maddox looked ready to ask another when Cy stepped in. “What were you doing at The Blackout that night?”

“I’d been hired to distract you.”

A triumphant grin grew on Cy’s face, and he smacked Maddox on the arm—a clearI told you so.Maddox didn’t react.

“Oldest trick in the book, the classic honeypot.” Cy’s grin twisted. “Guess your time down at Hellfire served you well?” He still had that stupid, merciless grin.

My chest tightened, and it had nothing to do with the device. So, he knew who I was, had looked into my past.

“It sure did. You were easier to snare than an exec on a bender.”

Cy’s grin dropped, and I couldn’t help but preen as I watched it get replaced with anger. There was nothing I loved more than the look on an idiot’s face when they realized I’d tricked them, and seeing it on Cy twisted something horrible and lascivious inside me. He lurched toward me but, Maddox grabbed his shoulder.

“How did you know we would be there?” In this little game, Maddox was clearly the good cop, his voice as monotone as ever.

I smirked at him. “Because you went exactly where I told you to go.”

They looked at each other, another indecipherable exchange.

Cy’s gaze locked with mine again, his face hard. “How did you get inside POM’s internal network?”

“What, like it’s hard?”

His eyes flashed at me. There was anger, but maybe below that, something else.

“So what are you?” Maddox asked. “A whore and a hacker?”

I rolled my eyes. “Whores make the best hackers, dumbass. Most of hacking is social engineering, you should know that. And no one has more access—gets more overlooked—than awhore.”I slurred the word, and I swore he flinched.

Not Cy. In fact, he was grinning again.

“That was a damn good lure. Why’d you do it?”

“Friend asked me to.” No lie there.

Cy rolled his eyes. “Yeah? Who is this friend?”

“An old one. We go way back.”

“All the way back to the Tech District data center?”

I didn’t answer, and I felt needles in my chest. “At least that far.”

He chuckled, not letting me dance around answers anymore. “Tell me the name of who hired you.”

The pain started again, shooting straight to the base of my skull like a knife driven beneath my vertebrae. I clenched my teeth, but as the pain built, I couldn’t hold in my scream. I’d never felt anything like this—so inescapable, so all-consuming. My vision went white and all I heard was a dull ringing as my brain started to shut down.

Then it all came back in a flash.

Maddox’s lips were pulled tight, beads of sweat clinging to his temples. They were nothing compared to me. My clothes were soaked, and I felt my hair clinging to my neck. I felt cold and hot, like my body was trying to expel an invader that was nothing more than a ghost. My throat ached. I must have been screaming. The pain had felt like an eternity, but it was obvious it had only been a few minutes.

Cy’s face no longer looked amused. “This would be a lot easier if you just cooperated.”

“I don’t want to cooperate.”