Page 129 of Tempted By Poison

I dull my eyes at her with a head shake.

“Actually.” Anita fluffs her bangs from her face. “I’ll be staying there.” She eyes Mal strangely with a few eye blinks.

Mal nods, doing the same strange gesture. “Oh! You two are together?” She gasps, clutching her chest. “I did. Not. Know. That.” Her face says it all, although her voice sounds convincing.

“I hope you’re never taken for interrogation, or we’re all fucked,” Anita grumbles.

“No, I thinkthey’llbe fucked. Mal style.” She grins and there it is. That eerie fucking smile that matches her eyes. And the shitty pun.

Anita's face twists, confused. I can feel the debate unfolding, so I hop in.

“Alright, let's get down to business.” The conversations stop and they all look at me. “The meeting is at 8:00 p.m., so I say we get there right on time. Go in guns on fire and kill whoever comes at you. I have a strong feeling they know we are coming.”

Anita crosses her legs, while shaking her head. “I don't like this.”

“For once, I agree with Cinderella,” Mal says, crossing her arms.

I graze the scar on my lip. “I don't either, but there's no other way. And Bedford has found nothing else connected to the chip in the mayor's head, and no other news besides the ones we know who are already involved in the cult.”

“Cult?” Jax hops in, confused.

Mal shrugs, waving her hand. “Yeah, the mayor is dead.”

“What?”

“Long story,” I add dryly.

“They're calling him wonderful,” Bedford says, swinging his seat back to his desk.

“Wonderful enough to be involved in human trafficking. Great.” Fucking bastard.

“What!?” Jax voices louder. I look at him and his eyes are wider. The most emotion I have seen him give.

“We’ll catch you up to speed. For now, this is what's happening. We know some members of this group may be there. That means it's time for those fuckers to get exposed.”

“But I don’t understand. Why would this all date back to you and Carter? Why would traffickers want blueprints? It's like we’re missing something,” Anita says, looking off into the distance.

The coded message pops in to my mind, and I'm tempted to speak about it until the last words come up.Or else.I’m not one to hide valuable information, but this seems too risky to say. My gaze travels to the data room. It can be anyone playing games with me. I need to alert Bedford, but it's not just me on the line, it's everyone I care for. So, I push it away and pretend I didn't think of it.

I shake my head, leaning my chin on my knuckles. “I don't know, but I have a feeling we’ll find out tonight.”

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