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CY

I propped my feet up on the conference table, swiping through files on my Vysor while Maddox updated Tex on what the analysis team had finally managed to piece together.

Every once in a while, Tex would give me that strained look I knew meant he was suspicious of what I was doing.

As far as he could tell, I was reviewing the case files Maddox had up on the screen.

Instead, I was flipping through everything I had on Eon.

I rewatched the interrogation vid, watching the way her eyes burned as I leaned in close, running my hands along her scar.

I shifted in my seat, adjusting my pants, and flicked the vid away again.

This meeting was going to go on too long for me to be getting this turned on.

Maddox continued his droning. “In conclusion, the massive explosion in the Green District released an EMP that disabled much of the area for the remainder of the night and completely wiped all the sensors in Renard’s apartment. We have almost no surveillance.”

“Almost?” Tex asked, raising an eyebrow.

Maddox gestured to me, and I sighed, getting out of my chair. I swiped my Vysor, pulling a data set up on the shared display.

“Everything within 2.7 miles of the server got completely wiped by the EMP at 2:34 a.m. Everything from 2.7 to 3.9 miles shut down but we retained partial data from before the blast.” I pulled up a map showing overlapping circles of the EMP impact.

Renard’s apartment sat well within the circle of complete destruction.

Tex frowned. “Unlikely to have anything useful from over a mile away.”

“Ah, that’s where you’re wrong, boss.” Tex gave me an annoyed look but said nothing. I flicked my hand again, and another overlay popped up.

“There were five field towers in the outer radius. Look at the data from them.” Each data stream pulled up in turn. Before 2:34 a.m., there was nothing but the usual noise you’d expect from a quiet city night, but at 2:34 a.m., each tower caught a massive spike.”

“The explosion. Not surprising they recorded that. This tells us what, Cyanos?” Tex asked.

“Look closer, boss.” I zoomed in on the graphs. “The explosion occurred at exactly 2:34:58, but all of these towers catch something 14.79 seconds earlier.”

Tex tapped his fingers on the table and stood. “What does analysis have to say about this unique signal?”

Maddox and I exchanged a glance. “So far, nothing, boss.”

Tex’s forehead creased, and he brought his index fingers to his lips. “This is Priority 0. Get more resources on this—even if they are outside resources.” His dark eyes lingered on me as he said it.

“Boss?” He couldn’t mean…

“A recent acquaintance had a strong background in data reconstruction, if I recall. Top of her class at Elysium. Locate her and make a deal.” His eyes swept over me in that way that made my skin crawl. “Unless, of course, you’ve already made contact with this person…against my orders.”

Maddox coughed at that. I shot him a look.

“Of course not, boss. We’ll find her.”

“Figure something out. Time is of the essence.” Tex turned to leave just as the conference room screen flickered—and the bossman himself loomed over us, larger than life.

“Excellent analysis. I’m happy to see this is progressing, but not as fast as I would like,” Levi said, his fingers steepled in front of his face.

Fuck me. Had he been watching the entire meeting?

“Who is this outside contractor?” he asked.

“An anarchist cyberrunner, sir,” Maddox chimed in.

Levi’s oversized face raised an eyebrow. “And this is who you think will be the best resource?”

I opened my mouth to speak, but Tex cut me off. “Apologies, sir, but I was made to believe that speed was the top priority on this case. If she has the skills, I see no other issues.”

To my surprise, Levi nodded.

I never could keep quiet.

“She’s not exactly friendly to the cause,” I said. “It might be difficult to persuade her to help.”

Levi leaned into his steepled fingers. “Everyone has a price, Cyanos. Especially those who are desperate. Find hers.”

The screen flashed to black, and Tex took a step toward the door before turning back. “Maddox, you are needed again at the Green data center. Use the opportunity to gather more intel.”

Maddox raised an eyebrow. “I thought this case was Priority 0?”

“Cyanos can handle contacting the contractor on his own, I’m sure. I have a feeling it won’t take long.” Tex gave me a hard look. “Can’t you?”

“Of course, boss.”

Maddox let out a sharp breath between his teeth, but Tex thankfully ignored him.

“You have your assignments. I would not linger here.”

The floor of the elevator shook gently beneath us, and Maddox stood with his arms crossed, tapping his fingers compulsively against his sleeve.

“You nervous?” I asked him.

“About you going alone to meet with Eon? Yeah. I want that payout too. Can’t get it if we can’t understand this signal, and it looks like we need her to do that.”

“What? I can handle one girl.”

He raised an eyebrow at me. “That’s what I’m worried about.”

“So little faith, partner. You think I’m going to, what? Fuck her into compliance?”

His mouth pulled into a frown. “That’s exactly what I think.”

“Please, I’m a professional. I won’t lay a finger on her.”

Maddox did not look convinced in the slightest. “Yeah? What would’ve happened if I hadn’t stopped you a few hours ago?”

She still hadn’t answered my question, but I knew the truth.

More than that, I’d felt how her Flux resonated with mine like nothing I’d ever felt before.

I wanted to explore that—wanted to hear her scream as I pumped her full of my current and my cock.

I let out a sigh. It wasn’t ideal to have her working with us, but if I was careful, I still might get to do one of those things. Tex hadn’t given me a choice, anyway.

“She’s a consultant now. Gotta get her to sign up for the gig. Gonna give her the full corporate onboarding.”

Maddox let out a grunt. “After all you did, you think you can convince her?”

“Everyone’s got a price, just like bossman said. She’s soft—it won’t be hard to find hers.”

Maddox gave me a skeptical look. “You think she’s soft? After all of that?”

“Don’t you?”

He didn’t respond, and I knew the answer. Sure, she acted tough, like nothing touched her—but deep down, she had that bleeding heart every one of these rebel do-gooders had.

It was going to get her killed. Preferably by me.