Page 95 of Fractured Loyalties
The name flashes again.
Anton Vale.
Ex-syndicate. Mid-tier arms trafficker. Disappeared three years ago after an internal betrayal that left two field assets dead. My assets. Men I vetted myself.
This contract isn’t justice.
It’s revenge.
And Lydia knew it.
I let the screen blink once before I shut it off. No need to read more. I already know I’ll take it. Just not tonight.
Behind me, the house is quiet again. But the air doesn’t feel settled. Not anymore. Mara shifted something in me.Softened me just enough to remember what it feels like to crave more than survival.
I head back to her.
I stop in the doorway.
She is sitting up now, awake, blanket bunched around her waist, hair wild, eyes still soft from sleep but alert.
“You left,” she says quietly, not accusing, just observing.
I nod. “Didn’t go far.”
“Could feel it.”
I walk back in, sit on the edge of the bed. “You’re still getting used to being safe.”
She studies me. “You don’t look safe either.”
I laugh once. Dry. “I’m not.”
“Someone from your team?”
“Yeah. Lydia, I'm not sure I've told you about her.”
“Work?”
I nod. “Someone from before. Not connected to Caleb.”
She doesn’t relax. Not really. Just shifts the tension to a different part of her body.
I brush a strand of hair behind her ear. “You don’t have to worry about this one.”
“That doesn’t mean I won’t.”
She leans into my palm like it’s instinct. Like she doesn’t realize she’s doing it.
“What time is it?” she asks.
“Almost four.”
Her eyes flick to the window. Still dark. Still too early to be anything but haunted.
“I won’t be able to sleep now,” she says.
“Then don’t.”
