Page 22 of Salvaged Hearts

I couldn’t argue with that. “How deep did you get?”

“Not much farther.”

“Still too far.Howdid you get that far?”

“There are many things you don’t bother to learn about the people you view as beneath you.”

Clenching my jaw, I lifted my head to study her. There wasn’t a trace of apology across her face. “You think that’s how I see you?”

“You think you’ve given me a single sign it’s not?”

Fuck. “I deserve that.”

A wry smile curved her wide mouth, mischief sparking in her eyes. “I can keep going if you want the full tally.”

“That won’t be necessary.” I already felt like a sack of shit. But even these last twelve hours of unhinged Alessandra had me loathing the two years of wasted frustration where camaraderie should have been if she wasn’t so damnably tempting.

“Maybe I wouldn’t feel like quitting if I’d found my voice sooner,” she mused, humor tilting those pillowy lips.

“What changed?”

“I quit,” she supplied, “and found out I dedicated ninety hours a week to being your beverage girl.”

“It’s like you ran out of propriety with no notice.”

“It hadn’t gotten me where I needed, so I’ll try not giving a shit instead.”

Chuckling darkly, I shook my head. “I appreciate you digging, Alessandra, but you have to stop. You already went too far.”

“Look. I’m not going to pretend to know anything more than I do. But this isn't good, Greyson. Whatever you’ve tied yourself to with these dark web groups,” she shook her head. “Max is better than most government trolls, but?—”

“Then why doesn’t he work for them?”

Her brows winged up as shock softened her eyes. “Not all men can swear fealty to a government we all know is corrupt—to leaders that can change at the drop of a hat. Max isn’t one to kneel to anyone who hasn’t earned it, and even then, it would be a cold day in hell.”

“So, he risks prison time to do it freelance?”

“Define prison. Being indentured to a government you may or may not believe in doesn’t sound all that different.”

She had a point. “If you care for him, you’ll tell him to stop looking.”

“Even if he does, if this allegation draws government attention, the feds won’t.”

“I know,” I breathed, watching her for any hint at what was going on inside that mind of hers. “Luckily for me, my assistant is a wizard at spinning the media to eat out of her invisible palm.”

She smiled softly, evidently accepting the compliment. “You better pray—for Mattie and Beau’s sake—I can come up with something more tempting than the fall of America’s prince.”

Her words emblazonedthemselves into the flesh of my mind. Although I was no threat to her, she was too bright to allow me to give her a ride home. Insisting her big brothers would throttle her for even considering it—not that I expected her to run and tell them anything. I believed her when she said she’d keep our conversation between us and Max.

Her diligence elicited a warmth—like pride—in my chest. Even if it were misplaced, I’d have to meet these brothers of hers someday. I didn’t have a sister, though I supposed the closest thing was our cousin, Emmaline. But I could only hope to train her and Mattie just as thoroughly to look out for themselves.

ThisMaxof hers had arranged for a driver to pick her up fromDe Luca’s. I’d have to do some digging and see if I could get a full name, although if he was smart enough to hack through government-fortified defenses, prospects of his legal name being easily located weren’t encouraging.

Arthur was waiting at the curb when I stepped out of the restaurant, and I called Jax to bring him up to speed once I was safely tucked in the back. But I couldn’t slow down and process until I was home, alone on the back terrace overlooking the ocean.

IfObsidianknew who was funding our mission, it would only have been a matter of time before they came after our mercenaries. Worse yet, what we did—while known—wasn’t strictly speaking…above board. The United States government might use us like any tool in their belt, but should attention turn our way, we would receive no aid from them. It was our hides on the line if the law came knocking. We were disposable.I had no intention of being the next Wagner Group executed by an enemy militia because our government couldn’t acknowledge our existence.

If Alessandra and Max left a single trace that they knew more than they should…they’d just become throwaways, too. She’d either be ruined or have to testify against me.

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