Page 91 of Only the Devil

“What would you put in the presentation?” Hudson asks.

“I have some ideas,” Daisy answers.

“If we do this, do you have resources you can send?”

“I’ll send Noah and Brie.”

“Hey, Jake, this is Quinn.”

“Hey Quinn. You volunteering to come up here?” I glance at Daisy, who’s stopped twisting her ring to listen.

“No, she’s not.” Hudson’s voice cuts through before Quinn can answer.

“That’s not my scene, Jake. But did you see my update on the portal?”

“No, I haven’t logged in today.”

“Roger Thompson’s background report came in — he’s got two felonies: one assault, one theft.” My hand freezes over the keyboard. I exchange a look with Daisy; her eyebrows shoot up. “Did you interview him for that position?”

“No. He started one day after me. I’m not privy to hiring details.” I scratch at my jaw, where stubble sprouted overnight, mind racing through every interaction I’ve had with Thompson. “Quinn, run that by me again.”

“I’d say he may not have revealed his history, but these aren’t juvie records. They’d come up in any basic background report.”

“Which means they know about his record.” I tug at my chin, thinking the implications through.

“What’s your take on Thompson?” Hudson asks.

“You mean, does assault and theft square with what I know of him? The answer’s no. Am I shocked? Also no.” He’s not good, not bad — he just is. “I haven’t shared anything with him, and I won’t.”

“Why?” Daisy asks. “What do you think he’s… could he be?—”

“He’s a new hire. There’s no reason to think he was working for Sterling before he joined the security detail here,” I say, both to calm her and to process what I’m hearing.

“I’ll check his financials,” Quinn says. “I didn’t dig that deep yet.”

“Alright,” Hudson says. “Expect a team to arrive tomorrow. It’ll give you forty-eight hours to plan and prepare.”

Daisy stays quiet, but I can see her unraveling. Her ring-twisting has escalated to pulling at her jacket sleeves; a muscle jumps in her jaw that tells me she’s grinding her teeth.

Movement on monitor three catches my eye — Sterling and the two investors stepping into the elevator. My pulse kicks up a notch. I tap Daisy’s shoulder and point at the screen. Her face goes pale as she recognizes the investors from earlier, and she practically launches out of her chair.

“I’m heading out, guys,” she says, already halfway to the door. She slips from the room, and I wait until the door closes.

“Sterling’s on his way down with investors. Daisy’s heading back up to her office.” I switch to the lobby camera, tracking her across the marble floor.

“Do you think he suspects anything?” Hudson asks.

“Well, as we all know, he’s connected Daisy’s past with Alvin Reed. But he sees her as valuable and he thinks he owns her. He didn’t want that class-action suit, but she’s given him no reason to think she’s stirring that pot, so?—”

“What’s your assessment? I’m going to need to report back to Rhodes.”

“My assessment is I’ll keep her safe.” Hearing myself, I sound angry, but that’s not exactly it.

“You need additional security backup? Not for the plan this weekend, but for Daisy?”

I watch Sterling and his guests disappear around the corner on camera four. “Sterling has big plans for Daisy. He’s counting on her to create an AI system that can forecast market fluctuations and help him peg winners. The meme coins he’s chasing are volatile — but if he can time the ups and downs, he’ll make a mint. As long as he thinks she’s not a danger, he won’t hurt her.”

And besides, I won’t let him.