Page 53 of Knight

A soft thud draws my attention. Glitch has curled her legs beneath her. The position can’t be comfortable, but she’s clearly trying to stay awake. Trying to keep me in her sight line while pretending that’s not what she’s doing. She fails to hide another yawn behind her hand.

This is ridiculous.

Standing, I cross to where she’s perched. She tenses as I approach but she’s too exhausted to do more than blink up at me. Without giving her time to protest, I slide one arm under her knees and the other behind her back.

She makes a small sound of surprise as I lift her.

“What are you?—”

“Putting you to bed.” I carry her around the side of the mattress. “Your stubbornness isn’t helping either of us.”

She’s lighter than I expected, days of stress and not eating properly won’t have helped. The bandages on her wrists stand out stark against her skin as I set her down.

“I need to work,” I tell her, stepping back. “Youneed to sleep.”

She settles against the pillows, already losing the battle with exhaustion. Her eyes flutter closed, then snap open again as she forces herself to stay alert.

I return to the tablet, but my attention keeps getting pulled to the way she’s fighting against sleep. Every time her eyes close, she jerks herself awake, like she’s afraid of what might happen if she lets her guard down.

The logs reveal more of Victor’s methods with each passing minute, but the tablet’s limitations make detailed analysis almost impossible. He planned this too—forcing me to work with inadequate tools while trying to understand his game.

The television drones on, now discussing the proper temperature for cooking steak. Glitch’s breathing finally evens out as exhaustion wins. In sleep, the fear smooths from her face, making her look younger. More vulnerable.

I force my attention back to the data in front of me. Somewhere out there, my mentor is waiting to see if I’ll solve his puzzle before his next move shifts the game again.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Evangeline

When I wake up,the room is in darkness. My heart races, and I’m disoriented for a second until my mind reminds me where I am. The television is off, but there’s a faint stream of moonlight leaking through the curtains, which casts flickering shadows across unfamiliar walls.

I don’t spot Knight straight away. He blends into the shadows too well, but eventually my eyes adjust and I make out his shape. He’s slumped in the chair by the table, tablet resting precariously on his lap. I’ve never seen him so still. He’s been a constant force of motion and tightly controlled energy since the first moment he pressed a gun to my head.

Even in sleep, he isn’t fully relaxed. His position gives him clear views of both the door and window. One hand rests near his hip, where his gun sits in its holster. The other keeps contact with the tablet, like he can’t completely let go of whatever answers he’s searching for.

The moonlight catches the angles of his face, softening them slightly. Without the sharp intensity in his eyes, or the rigid control in his jaw, he looks less dangerous. More human.

My attempt to sit up causes the bed to creak, and his eyes snap open, hand tightening on the tablet before it can slipand fall. The movement is pure reflex, like his body has been trained to respond to potential threats before his mind even fully engages.

“Sorry,” I whisper, although I’m not sure why I’m apologizing. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

He blinks, and for a second there’s confusion in his eyes. It disappears fast, replaced by his usual alertness. But I saw it, that split second where his walls weren’t quite erected.

“Go back to sleep, Glitch.” His voice is rough with exhaustion.

The nickname makes me blink.Glitch? What?

“What did you just call me?”

He shifts, rolling his neck to ease what must be awful stiffness from sleeping in that chair.

“Glitch. Because you’re an anomaly in my system.” The corner of his mouth lifts slightly. “An unexpected variable.”

Heat rises in my cheeks. “You don’t get to give me cute nicknames like we’re friends.” Embarrassment makes my voice sharp. “Like you didn’t chain me to a radiator.”

He frowns, setting the tablet aside, and stretching. “Cute? I’m not trying to be cute. Just accurate. And you’re the one who broke into my apartment, remember?”

“I have a name! It’s Eva. Or Evangeline, if you want to be formal about holding me hostage.”

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