Chapter 31 River
THIRTY-ONE
RIVER
Gage crosses the street like a thunderstorm on legs.
Controlled. Deadly. Hot as sin.
He doesn’t break stride. Doesn’t blink. Doesn’t look anywhere but straight at Mason, like he’s already decided what the outcome of this conversation is going to be.
And judging by the way Mason shifts in his seat like he’s about to shit himself—I’d say he knows it too.
“Gage—” I start to say, rising to meet him, but he’s already there, already beside me, already a wall of heat and muscle and male fury wrapped in tactical calm.
“Step away from her,” Gage says, voice low and firm.
Mason raises his hands. “I’m not here to start anything.”
Gage’s jaw ticks. “Too late.”
His body brushes mine as he shifts between us, shielding me like I’m breakable. And maybe I am. But with him here, I feel anything but.
Mason stands slowly, palms still out. “I didn’t know who else to go to.”
“You had your chance,” Gage snaps. “And you chose Cathedral.”
“I didn’t choose anything,” Mason bites back. “They came to me. They threatened me. They made it clear—either I gave them access to River’s files or they’d burn my life down.”
I suck in a breath. That… that checks out.
Gage doesn’t budge. “You leaked her credentials.”
“I didn’t use them!” Mason says quickly. “I swear—I just handed over some outdated metadata from an old project. I thought—” He runs a shaky hand through his hair. “I thought if I gave them just enough, they’d leave me alone.”
“They never do,” I say quietly.
Mason’s eyes snap to mine. “I know that now. That’s why I reached out. They want something big. Something I don’t understand. But they’re watching me again. I saw someone outside my place last night.”
Gage growls under his breath. “You’re lucky we don’t leave you out here for them to find.”
“Then don’t,” Mason says, lifting his chin. “Let me help.”
Gage finally glances at me, silently asking. I nod.
“We take him in,” I say.
“You trust him?”
“No,” I say. “But I trust the team.”
And I trust Gage.
The safe house is humming with tension. Knight’s in his usual corner, arms folded, eyes locked on Mason like he’s the weakest link in a system he’s ready to debug with a bullet.
Juno’s typing furiously at her terminal, probably running every shred of Mason’s digital footprint for the last six months. Arrow stands by the whiteboard, adding Cathedral connections in red marker.
Gage sits beside me, one arm draped along the back of the couch like a protective shadow. His other hand hasn’t stopped tapping against his thigh.
Mason clears his throat. “They call him Regent.”
Everyone goes still.
“We know,” Juno says. “What do you know?”
“Not much,” Mason admits. “But I heard the name during a call. I was supposed to pass along River’s code logs from the Odin Patch, but I stalled. Told them she changed her passwords and I didn’t have access.”
Knight scoffs. “So you’re a coward and a liar. Great.”
Mason ignores him. “I overheard them talking about some internal mole. Someone they were trying to flip at NovaPlay. Said it was almost complete.”
Juno’s fingers pause. “What kind of flip?”
“Dunno. But they said if it worked, River wouldn’t matter anymore.”
The silence is immediate. Thick.
Gage speaks first. “Meaning?”
“Meaning she’s a threat… until they’ve got someone else on the inside.”
Arrow’s voice is grim. “Which means they’re not done. They’re still coming for her.”
My stomach twists.
“Do you know who they were talking to?” I ask Mason.
“No names. Just usernames. One of them was Vainglory. That’s all I got.”
Juno types fast. “I’ve seen that handle.”
I turn to her. “Where?”
“In the sandbox from the last test session. They piggybacked on a beta dev’s credentials. I flagged it but thought it was an anomaly. That’s how they’re getting in. Through the damn QA loop.”
Mason’s voice cuts in. “Look, I know I screwed up. I should’ve told you sooner. But they said if I did, they’d send River the videos. The deepfakes. The ones—” He glances at me. “The ones they just sent.”
My cheeks go cold. “You knew about those?”
He nods, ashamed. “I saw one. They’re going to ruin you.”
Gage shoots to his feet. “Not if I ruin them first.”
His fists are clenched. Shoulders tense. Every part of him radiates fury and protection and something primal that makes my breath catch.
God, he’s sexy when he’s like this. Fierce. Loyal. Unapologetically mine.
I reach out, brushing my fingers against his hand. “We’ll stop them.”
He looks down at me, eyes dark and burning. “I swear to you, River. I’ll end this.”
And I believe him.