8. Cayenne
Chapter 8
Cayenne
How dare he come at me with logic right now.
God, I hate when nerdy boys make sense. It scrambles all my carefully ordered thoughts, corrupts my defenses like a perfectly crafted virus. Make them hot as hell and suddenly my firewall’s compromised. At least Jinx was simple—a purely physical breach in my security. But Finn? Finn likes to talk. To understand. To connect.
And that is a dangerous kind of intimacy. Far more dangerous than giving away my body for a quick system reboot.
“What does that look like?” I question, pretending not to appreciate his hobbit home. Except I do. I really fucking do. He has bookshelves lining one wall, complete with twinkle lights that cast dancing shadows across what I’m betting is the entire Lord of the Rings series. It’s exactly the kind of sanctuary a tech nerd would build if they suddenly found themselves in Middle Earth.
Finn shrugs as he tosses another log into the wood stove. “I don’t know. I’m not the one who has a hit out on me.”
Touché.
He doesn’t say anything else. Just works the fire, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I hate thinking. Hate being left in silence where the only noise is what my brain creates. And it’s never good. More often than not, my brain lies to me—like a corrupted hard drive spitting out bad data. That’s the worst part about not having my devices. The quiet. The endless processing with no output.
Picking at a thread on the broken-in couch, I talk just to fill the silence. “I know what I would tell my friends.”
Finn looks over, those deep blue eyes focusing on me with an intensity that makes me want to check my coding for errors. “What would you tell them?”
A humorless laugh spills from my lips. “I’d tell them it was for their own damn good. That sometimes you have to put your ego aside and let the world continue running even if you’re stuck in sleep mode.”
“Is it so bad?” He dusts off his hands and rises to sit beside me on the couch. The cushion dips with his weight, and I fight the urge to lean into his warmth.
“Yes,” I snap because sitting still has never been my strong suit.
“Tell me what’s on the drive.”
I cock my head, really looking at him. They don’t know. Malachi never told them why they’re supposed to protect me. He just gave them an assignment, and they took it with blind trust.
I’ve never trusted anyone blindly. Not even my best friends. Aria, Willow, and Ginger—I’d die for them, but if our roles were reversed, I wouldn’t have left that boardroom without knowing exactly why I was risking my pack.
Well shit. That puts things in perspective.
I study Finn while I weigh my options. The glasses, the freckles, that mess of curls he clearly doesn’t know how to handle. He’s gorgeous in his own right. Not trying to be an alpha or an omega. Just perfectly, authentically Finn.
“I’ll tell you...”
“But?” He pushes his glasses up, already sensing the catch.
“No more basement prison.” I hold up a finger before he can argue. “Non-negotiable.”
“I need to clear it with Ryker.”
“Then let’s do it.” I’m on my feet before he can protest. I know he’d rather stay in his cozy hobbit hole, but I’ve never been good at waiting. Or sitting still. Or doing anything that doesn’t involve immediate action.
The universe must be feeling generous because when I wrench open the door, Ryker’s standing there with his fist raised to knock.
“Of course.” His jaw ticks as he glares down at me. “I should have known.”
“Ryker.” Finn’s voice is quiet but steady from the couch.
“She ran.” Ryker’s gaze cuts through me like he’s cataloging all my weak points.
“And now we’re negotiating,” I shoot back. “Get in here before you let all the warm air out. Unless you want your beta to freeze.”
That gets him moving, though his glare could probably melt steel. “What kind of negotiation?”
“What do you want?” The words rumble from Ryker’s chest, and I resist the urge to poke the angry alpha bear.
Mostly.
“No more basement lockdown.” I cross my arms, meeting his glare head-on. “And in exchange, I’ll tell you what’s so damn important on this drive that Sterling Labs tried to kill me for it.”
His eye twitches.
“Aw, big guy, it’s alright if Malachi didn’t give you all the details.” I can’t help the smirk. “I’m sure he had his reasons for keeping his favorite attack dogs in the dark.”
“Cayenne.” Finn’s warning comes a second too late.
“I can still gag you.” Ryker takes a step forward, all coiled alpha energy and barely contained violence.
“Kinky.” I wink, because apparently, I have a death wish. “But maybe save that for Jinx. He seems more into it.”
Finn mutters something that sounds like a prayer in what might be Gaelic.
“Tell me what’s on the drive,” Ryker demands.
“No basement.”
“No deal.”
“Then no intel.” I shrug like my heart isn’t trying to jackhammer out of my chest. “And hey, when Sterling Labs finally catches up to me, you can explain to Malachi how your alpha pride got his best hacker killed.”
“What if,” Finn stands, pushing those glasses up again, “we show you there are other ways to get that adrenaline spike you’re chasing?”
I tilt my head. “Go on.”
Ryker’s glare shifts to Finn, but our beta doesn’t back down.
His. His beta. Not mine. Not my anything .
“You have information you weren’t supposed to get,” Finn holds up a hand when I start to protest. “And you and I both know Quinn will come looking for that drive once he realizes it’s not with your things.”
My silence is apparently answer enough.
“You want to put your life in danger?” He raises a brow. “Then let us show you how to do it in a way that doesn’t end with you dead in a ditch.”
“What?” Ryker and I speak in unison, which is frankly disturbing.
“Listen. You’re an adrenaline junkie,” Finn’s voice gains confidence with each word. “Only instead of extreme sports, you get your fix from digital break-ins and system breaches. Let us show you other ways. Let us show you what protection could look like if it wasn’t a cage.”
“Finn.” Ryker’s warning holds enough alpha command to make the air heavy.
“No, I’m onto something.” Finn starts to pace, that beautiful brain of his clearly firing on all cylinders. “We should know what’s on that drive. But Cayenne needs protection. This is about trust. Us trusting her not to get herself killed, and her trusting us to have her back.”
“And how exactly do you build that kind of trust?” Ryker’s tone suggests he already hates whatever answer is coming.
“We get to know each other.” Finn’s eyes light up behind his glasses. “Not as guards and prisoner, but as potential packmates.”
“This isn’t speed dating.” Ryker’s scowl could probably curdle milk.
“Isn’t it though?” The smile that breaks across Finn’s face is damn near criminal. “It’s about learning someone’s limits, their strengths, what makes them tick. For example,” his voice rises with excitement, “we need to figure out what protecting Cayenne looks like. And it’s obviously not going to look like protection detail for some pampered omega. No, we need to treat her like what she is—a force of nature who needs room to run.”
Before Ryker can growl, I pat his chest. “Easy, big guy.”
“A traditional charge needs a protective alpha to stand guard,” Finn shakes his head. “Cayenne would rather be the guard.”
“Damn straight.”
“So we let her.” He stops, turning to face us both. “Ryker, you can take her riding. Jinx loves parkour and cliff jumping. And Theo has?—”
“Enough.” Ryker’s hand slices through the air.
I tap my chin, considering. “So you want to put me in high-stakes environments for what amounts to a trust fall on steroids?”
“Well, when you put it that way.” Finn’s eyes sparkle. “Yes.”
“Fucking hell.” Ryker tilts his head back, but all he gets is a view of the hobbit hole’s ceiling. “A high-stakes trust fall.”
“Honestly?” I grin, already imagining the possibilities. “I want to see where this goes.”
“That’s what will keep you from running?” Ryker pins me with those steel-grey eyes before turning to Finn. “I want no part of this.”
“It doesn’t work that way,” Finn stammers, some of his confidence slipping.
And that? That pisses me off. Because this beautiful nerd just threw me a lifeline that doesn’t feel like a cage, and his alpha is shutting him down.
Time to play dirty.
“You know what your problem is?” I poke Ryker’s chest, ignoring every survival instinct screaming at me to back off. “You’re so busy trying to control everything that you can’t see the perfect solution Finn just handed you.”
His nostrils flare. “Enlighten me.”
“You want your pack back on active duty. I want my freedom. And somewhere in the middle is a solution that doesn’t end with me escaping or you having an aneurysm.” I take a step closer, tilting my head back to meet his glare. “Unless you like being benched?”
“Careful.” The word carries enough alpha warning to make Finn shift nervously.
But I’ve never been good at careful.
“What’s scarier, Ryker? Letting me have a little freedom under your supervision, or explaining to Malachi how you lost me because you were too stubborn to adapt?”
Something dangerous flashes in his eyes. “You think you can manipulate me?”
“No.” I smile, sweet as cyanide. “I think I can challenge you. Big difference.”
“Is it?”
“Ryker,” Finn steps between us, all gentle reason and steady logic. “She’s right. We’ve been doing this wrong. Treating her like a standard protection detail when she’s anything but standard.”
I should probably be offended, but he’s not wrong.
“The drive,” Ryker growls, clearly realizing he’s losing this battle. “What’s on it?”
But maybe it’s time to stop running from more than just assassins.
“The only thing you need to know right now,” I cross my arms, the USB drive burning against my skin like a brand, “is that Sterling Labs isn’t what they seem. They’re involved in something that’s getting betas killed. And they’ll keep coming for me until they get what they want.”
The temperature in the hobbit hole drops about ten degrees.
“That’s not enough.” Finn’s voice is quiet but firm.
“It’s all you get until you earn more.” I meet Ryker’s gaze. “So what’s it going to be, Alpha? Want to play it safe, or want to try it my way?”
His jaw works like he’s chewing on glass. “One chance.”
“That’s all I need.”
“If you run?—”
“You’ll hunt me down and lock me in the basement forever?” I bat my eyelashes. “Kinky.”
“If you run,” he continues like I haven’t spoken, “we can’t protect you. And whatever’s on that drive will get people killed.”
Well, shit. Way to kill the mood.
“Then I guess we better make sure your pack can keep up with me.” I head for the door, pausing with my hand on the handle. “For what it’s worth? The longer you keep me locked up, the more betas die. Including ones like Finn.”
That hits home. I watch the muscle in Ryker’s jaw tick as he glances at his beta.
“Fine.” Ryker’s voice could strip paint. “We do this your way. But you better be worth the risk.”
“Oh sweetheart,” I flash him my sharpest smile, “I’m always worth the risk. The question is—are you and your pack worth my trust?”
The look Ryker and Finn exchange makes me wish I had my phone just to capture the moment an immovable object meets an unstoppable force.
Something shifts in Ryker’s eyes—not quite trust, but maybe understanding. “We start tomorrow. Dawn.”
“With what?”
His smile is all predator. “You wanted adrenaline? Let’s see if you can handle a real rush.”