50. Lilith
CHAPTER FIFTY
I frowned as Silas cut the engine. “Okay, why are we h ere? What happened to your actual office? You know, the big one with all the expensive screens and the world domination vibes?”
This? This is what I’d spent two days begging for? Two days of pleading, negotiating, wearing him down inch by inch until he finally cracked.
“It’s too messy, Lilith.”
“I don’t want you involved.”
“This isn’t some fun field trip, it’s business.”
Blah, blah, blah.
I’d pushed and pushed, and now I was here, staring at some run down, sketchy ass building, wedged between a shuttered pawn shop and a convenience store. And I was feeling a little… underwhelmed.
This was the big, off limits, top-secret black-market AI guy scheme?
“This isn’t something I want connected to the company,” Silas said.
“Ah. So this is the crime office.”
Finn snorted from the back seat. “We should get a plaque made for the door.”
Silas shot him a look but didn’t respond, just got out of the car and shut the door behind him.
I sighed and followed, stepping out onto the uneven pavement and right into the scent of warm asphalt and something fried from a food cart down the block.
The inside was just as bare as the outside. No furniture. No decor. Just empty space stretching toward a single conference table at the back of the room.
Seriously? Where was the mafia? The crime? The ominous red lights?
Maybe I did read too many books.
Finn strolled past me, completely unfazed, tossing his bag onto the table and flipping it open .
“Not very homey,” I muttered, crossing my arms as I sank down into one of the chairs.
Finn smirked, pulling out a laptop and some cables. “What, were you expecting a welcome mat?”
Silas ignored both of us as he walked the length of the room, double checking the blinds and the windows.
“So who is this guy, exactly?” I asked.
“Oh, you’re gonna love him, Lils.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Why?”
Finn waggled his brows. “Because he’s a pain in Silas’ ass.”
Twenty minutes passed, and Silas hadn’t stopped sweeping the room whilst Finn’s fingers had tapped away at the keyboard continuously.
Finn leaned back in his chair, popping his knuckles. “Alright, we’re live. Signal scramblers are running, firewalls are in place. It’s all g—”
The door knocked and he jumped up to open it.
I wasn’t sure what I’d been expecting. Maybe some twitchy, sleep-deprived guy with questionable hygiene and a Red Bull addiction.
But it certainly wasn’t this.
He was maybe an inch shorter than Silas, but carried himself like he was seven feet and untouchable.
His jet-black hair was short on the sides, slightly tousled on top, like he’d run a hand through it before walking in and somehow still looked like a damn runway model.
His cheekbones were high, his jaw defined, and his full lips looked like they were set in a permanent smirk.
Finn shut the door behind him, and the guy’s gaze drifted over us all as he walked further in, landing on Finn first, then Silas, then me.
“I didn’t know we were going to have an audience.” His almost-black eyes dragged over me, slow and shameless. “And oh, what a delicious audience it is.”
“Don’t even think about it.” Silas’ voice came sharp, edged with warning.
The AI crime supermodel laughed, slow and silky, like he was having the time of his life. “Relax, Graves. I’m just enjoying the scenery.”
I tilted my head, raising a brow. “I’m right here you know.”
His smirk deepened, eyes flashing as he dragged his teeth over his bottom lip. “Oh, I know, baby girl. I know.”
Finn shot over toward him, obviously trying to interject whatever the hell was about to happen. “You’re late, Orion.”
He tore his gaze away from me and turned toward Finn with that same lazy smirk. “No, Finn,” he said, stepping forward. “You’re early.”
The tension in the air cracked as they stepped toward each other. Orion hooked two fingers into the collar of Finn’s shirt and pulled him in for a quick, back slapping hug. As they pulled bac k, the perverted supermodel—Orion—planted a firm kiss on Finn’s cheek.
Silas sighed heavily.
Orion turned toward him. “What? You want one too?”
Silas just glared at him.
Finn clapped his hands together. “Right. Let’s see it.”
Orion took his time making his way to the table, maintaining eye contact with Silas the entire time, even as the three of them all sank down into chairs.
Male hormones really were something else.
“Payment first,” Orion said.
Silas exhaled sharply through his nose, jaw ticking as he planted both hands flat on the table. “You’ll get paid when we know how this works.”
Orion lifted a brow as he tapped a single finger against the wood. “That’s not how I do business.”
“It is now.”
“Silas, come on. We both know you wouldn’t be here if you had any other option. And that means I’m the one holding all the cards.”
“You don’t hold shit.”
“No?” Orion said, grinning. “I hold the program. I hold the access. You need me, not the other way around.”
Silas leaned in, voice dropping. “You think so?”
Orion’s smirk twitched. “I know so.”
Silas’ eyes flicked to Finn, who had stayed silent the entire time. “Pull the logs.”
Finn’s fingers moved fast over the keyboard. I couldn’t see the screen, but from the way Orion’s face dropped, I knew it wasn’t anything good.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” he said. “Let’s not be hasty.”
Silas didn’t blink. Didn’t flinch. Didn’t move a single fucking muscle. “You’ve been running access points to AIFG for what? Two years?”
“What’s your point?”
“My point is that I know exactly how many back doors you’ve opened.
And if I know… how long before someone else does?
” He exhaled slowly, then sat back, rolling his shoulders.
“You’re sloppy, Orion. Too many leaks, too many fingerprints.
You think you’re untouchable?” His head tilted slightly, eyes sharp, voice dipped in something cold and final. “You’re not.”
I’d seen Silas pissed before. Brooding. Overprotective. Maybe a little unhinged at work. I knew what he was capable of to some capacity.
But this? This was something different—something lethal .
Something terrifyingly attractive. Like watching a predator toying with its prey.
I swallowed hard, shifting in my seat.
Orion let out a low chuckle, dragging a hand through his hair. “You’re such a hard-ass, Graves.”
Silas didn’t so much as twitch as the silence stretched between them.
Finally, Orion huffed. “Fine.” He rolled his wrist lazily. “Let’s get started.”
He reached into his pocket, pulling out a small USB, spinning it between his fingers like it was a chip in a poker game.
Silas exhaled, easy and unbothered, then—as if he hadn’t just spent the last few minutes threatening to ruin Orion’s entire existence—he shot me a wink.
I spontaneously combusted.
My stomach flipped.
My heart fumbled the beat. And I clenched my thighs together so fast I was surprised no one heard it.
“I assume you’re not dumb enough to just plug this into any system?” Orion’s voice cut through my lust-drunk haze.
“Yeah, yeah. We have a sandbox set up,” Finn cut in.
Orion let out a low hum of approval as he slotted the USB into the laptop. “Good. Means I don’t have to waste time babysitting your firewalls.”
His fingers moved fast over the keyboard.
I wanted to know what they were doing. I wouldn’t understand it, but I still wanted to see. So I got up, moving around to where they were watching, stepping in close just behind Silas’ chair, leaning slightly to see over his shoulder.
Orion’s fingers didn’t slow, but his focus? Definitely not on his screen anymore.
His smirk curled, black eyes dragging over me before flicking to Silas, then back again.
“You know, baby girl,” he murmured. “If you wanted a front row seat, you could’ve just asked. Come sit on my lap so I can show you how a real man works.”
One second, I was standing. The next, Silas’ hands were on my waist, pulling me down onto his lap with zero effort.
“Possessive.” Orion tutted, shaking his head slightly. “Can’t say I blame you.”
Silas’ arm wrapped tight around my waist, his grip firm and steady. Fuck, I liked this side to him. The quiet dominance, the unspoken claim. I was here for something very, very, important. But shit—if this man wasn’t the sexiest man alive.
“Booting the interface now,” Orion’s tone shifted as he hit enter, the screen flickering before rows of numbers spilled across it. “Cracking the initial layer… okay, she’s opening up.”
The screen flashed, line after line of symbols and numbers moving too fast for me to process.
Orion let out a small hum, tilting his head. “Well, well. Looks like someone’s been reinforcing their walls.”
“Problem?” Silas asked, his fingers pressing into me just a little tighter.
“Not for me.”
Finn leaned forward, his focus locked. “How long?”
“I’m in.”
Well, that was quick.
Orion leaned back slightly. “Alright, what did you say his name was, Finn? Pretty sure you just called him a—what was it? Arrogant, spineless, thumb-headed motherfucker?”
I snorted. “Close. His name’s Clark Elias Thorn. He’s a news anchor… Was a news anchor on SVN. You should be able to find his picture online.”
“Mhm.” He didn’t look up, already keying it in.
Images shifted onto the screen—blurry figures in crowds, city streets, stores. All scanning. Searching.
My stomach twisted. “When will it find him?”
“I don’t know, princess.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?”
He sighed, resting his chin on one hand. “It could take minutes, could take weeks. If he’s moving around like normal? We’ll have him in no time. But if he’s holed up somewhere, nowhere near security cams?” He clicked his tongue. “That’s when it gets tricky.”
“It may just be a case of waiting for him to reappear,” Finn said, running a hand through his hair.
“Waiting?” Orion tapped the screen. “This is state-of-the-art tech. Not some half-assed amateur shit pulled off the dark web. This is military grade tracking.”
I narrowed my eyes. “So?”
“So, we’ll get him. One way or another. They all slip up eventually.”
Silas said nothing.
Orion gestured toward the screen. “Here.”
I recognised it instantly. Sonnets and Spines. The timestamp in the corner burned into my retinas.
The night it happened.
The footage was grainy. But it was him. He’d been lurking on the street all damn day. Pacing. Waiting. Watching.
My chest tightened as Orion scrolled through more flagged footage.
Gas stations. Convenience stores. Random streets.
Silas pointed at one box on the screen. “There.” It was a blurred image from a motel security camera. “That’s where his WiFi pinged.”
But then there was nothing. No more hits. Nothing but a big, digital void.
Silas exhaled sharply, his grip tightening on me.
“Look. She’ s your girl,” Orion said to Silas, tipping his chin at me. “And I know you’re pissed at me, but back in the day—”
“Keep it running in the background at all times,” Silas cut in. “I want a continuous process scraping through every available feed. The second he’s spotted, I want location data, timestamps—everything.”
“Yeah, yeah. I got it. But Silas—”
“Just get it done.”
“Look, I didn’t have to do this. I could’ve said no.”
“You’re not doing this out of the goodness of your heart,” Silas shot back. “You’re just here to cash a check. So get it done.”
Orion nodded, inhaling slowly through his nose, eyes darting to the ceiling briefly before his fingers flew over the keyboard.
“Setting up persistent background execution,” he murmured.
“Live querying all public and private surveillance grids, optimising for multi-threaded recognition. This asshole won’t even be able to take a piss in public without us knowing about it. ”
Finn leaned in, eyes tracking the screen. “You’re streamlining the response time?”
“Better. Running predictive modelling, cross referencing historical location data and movement patterns.”
“And if he’s changed his appearance?” Finn asked.
“AI’s smarter than people think—it maps bone structure, movement patterns, even how someone walks. If he tries to switch up his look, the system will flag anomalies.”
My stomach turned. Fantastic. The exact kind of power that made me want to throw my phone into the nearest ocean.
“Good,” Silas said. “Keep refining it. I want immediate alerts pushed to us the second there’s a hit.”
Orion grumbled. “Yes, sir, Mr. Big Boss Man, sir.”
I could feel the fire radiating from Silas’ skin.
“Now,” Orion drawled. “Let’s talk about cashing that cheque, huh?”