Chapter 36 Gage
THIRTY-SIX
GAGE
“You want to dance?” I ask River as we step back into the ballroom.
She beams. “You’ll dance with me?”
“I’ll do anything for you.”
From the moment she walked into this party tonight, a little black dress with a slit up her thigh…
I knew I was a goner. I’m still a goner.
I’m fucking in love. And I no longer care who knows about it.
I take her out on the floor and wrap my arm around her waist. Her body fits against mine like it was made for this.
Made for me. The music shifts into something slower, and we move like we’ve done this a thousand times before.
“This is nice,” she whispers. “Almost makes me forget what we’re here for.”
“Almost,” I echo.
I dip my head to kiss her forehead and then trail my lips down to her temple. I want to devour her. I want to take her home and make her forget every terrible thing this company has done to her. But I also want to protect this moment. Just the two of us. Just us.
“I still can’t believe you’re mine,” I murmur against her skin.
“You really mean that?”
I look down at her, dead serious. “River, I’ve never meant anything more in my life.”
She exhales a shaky breath and squeezes my hand. “Then let’s dance a little longer before the world crashes in.”
But the world doesn’t wait long.
I let go of her to grab us drinks at the bar—nothing fancy, just sparkling water for her and a whiskey for me. As I turn, I hear it.
A laugh.
Then another.
And another.
I catch a group of developers—Alan, Ryan, and Benny—standing near the edge of the dance floor, snickering.
“What’s so special about her anyway?” Alan mutters just loud enough to carry.
“Didn’t you hear?” Ryan chimes in. “She’s screwing her way up the chain now.”
My jaw tics. My blood runs molten.
“You think she actually codes?” Benny says. “Bet all her commits are AI-generated fluff.”
They laugh louder, but I’m already moving.
“You want to say that again?” I snarl, stepping up to them, fists clenched.
“Whoa, man—” Alan raises his hands. “Just thought she was a fuck to you. Didn’t know you were—”
“With her?” I snap. “Yeah, I am. So maybe you want to shut your damn mouths before I shut them for you.”
Ryan rolls his eyes. “Dude, relax. We were just joking.”
“Yeah? Say another word and see if I’m laughing.”
I’m seconds from wrecking all three of them when two strong hands grab my shoulders from behind.
“Easy, Gage,” Arrow murmurs in my ear. “Not worth it.”
Knight appears on the other side. “Eyes on the mission, remember?”
I glance over my shoulder and see River watching from across the ballroom, eyes wide and uncertain. God, no. I didn’t want her to see this.
I push away from the guys and storm back toward her. “Let’s go.”
“Gage—”
“No,” I growl, louder now, turning on the room. “You know what? You’re all just jealous. Because River’s one of the smartest, fiercest, most talented devs this company has. And she’s more woman than any of you idiots could ever handle.”
Silence.
A few scattered chuckles.
But mostly... silence.
Except in the corner.
Helena and Andrew.
Watching.
And Helena... is smiling.
Not in amusement.
In satisfaction.
Like this is what she wanted all along.
Like she wanted me to lose it. To make a scene. To humiliate River.
Rage flares in me again, but I grab River’s hand and get us the hell out of there.
We don’t stop until we’re in the car and I’m peeling out of the parking lot, River’s hand still clutched in mine.
“Gage,” she says softly once we’re on the road, “I’m sorry.”
I glance over at her, shocked. “You’re sorry? River, don’t. Those guys are assholes.”
“I just—being the center of that kind of attention, even good attention—it always feels like a trap. And now... Helena saw it.”
“I know. And I saw her face. She was happy. Which means she’s playing us.”
River goes quiet. “Why would she want to humiliate me like that?”
“I don’t know. But we’re going to find out.”
I reach over and brush my knuckles down her cheek. “I meant what I said back there. About you being smart. Fierce. Amazing.”
She leans into my touch. “You really think that?”
“I know it.”
She closes her eyes. “Then take me home. I just want to be with you right now.”
“You got it, sunshine.”
And as I drive us back to Riverside, one thing is crystal clear… I don’t just want to protect her anymore.
I want to burn the world down for her.
By the time we get back to Riverside, I’m gripping the steering wheel like it insulted River.
I can’t stop replaying what we just saw.
Helena. Andrew. Sneaking off like horny teenagers. Hands on each other. Lips locked.
Not just an affair. This was practiced. Comfortable. Like it’s been going on for a long, long time.
And it’s not the affair that makes me see red.
It’s the timing. It’s the gleam in Helena’s eyes when I lost it at the party. Like everything went exactly the way she wanted.
She wanted me to blow up.
She wanted River humiliated.
She’s been planning this.
“I’m going to kill them both,” I mutter as I kill the ignition and shove the door open.
“Gage,” River says behind me, but I’m already out, pacing the driveway like a caged animal.
I hear her footsteps on the gravel. She touches my arm.
“They were watching,” I tell her. “Smiling. Like it was a game.”
“It is a game,” she says softly. “And we just gave them a new move.”
I stop. Turn. She’s standing there under the porch light, still in that killer black dress that makes my chest ache, and her eyes are sad but steady.
She’s always stronger than she lets on.
“They got to humiliate you,” I grit out. “And I let them.”
“No, you protected me. I’ve never felt safer than when you stood up for me.”
I pull her close, burying my face in her hair. “I wanted to break every bone in those guys’ bodies.”
“I know.”
I exhale through my nose. “We need to tell the team.”
She nods. “You do that. I’ll make tea.”
She heads inside, and I pull out my phone and text the group chat.
ME: Confirmed. Helena + Andrew. Affair. Long-term.
ME: Saw them leave together at party. Caught on follow.
ME: Eyes open—this changes everything.
ARROW: On it. Helena’s file just became priority #1.
KNIGHT: I’ll cross-ref her travel with company deaths.
RENDER: Pulling her comms now.
JUNO: Tell River she’s a badass.
ME: I concur.
When I step inside, the lights are dimmed and soft music plays on the speaker. River’s in the kitchen, barefoot now, her dress slightly unzipped in the back. She’s boiling water and lining up mugs. It’s so domestic I forget for a second that we’re in the middle of a cyber-espionage nightmare.
“We need to talk about what we do next,” I say, stepping into the kitchen.
She nods, passing me a mug. “Do we bait Tasha?”
“That’s the question.” I lean on the counter. “She works closely with Helena. She was weird at the office. Something was off.”
“She’s scared,” River says. “But I don’t think it’s of me.”
I study her. “You think she’s being controlled?”
“I think Helena has something on her.”
“Or she is something for Helena,” I say. “A puppet. Or a shield.”
River swallows hard. “Gage… what if this all traces back to her?”
“Helena?”
She nods. “What if she is Regent?”
That makes me stop.
It’s wild. But suddenly... it’s not.
“She’s got motive. Power. And she hates me,” River says. “Always has.”
My phone buzzes again.
RENDER: Alert. New video leak. Deep fake. River + Gage. Intimate.
“Shit.”
I pull it up.
And there we are.
Or what looks like us.
Naked. Tangled in a bed. Obscene. Fabricated.
I can see every tell. The lighting is wrong. My shoulder scar is missing. River’s freckles are smoothed out.
But damn if it isn’t realistic.
River covers her mouth with her hand.
“This is... This is from my bedroom, Gage.”
“We’ve swept your place. There are no cams. It’s a reconstruction.”
“But how—?”
I turn the phone toward her. “This is personal. This isn’t just an attack. It’s a message.”
She stares at the screen, then up at me.
“You think it’s Tasha?”
“She’s the only one who’s ever suggested there was something between us. And she had access to your employee file. Your image database.”
River breathes out. “Then she’s the leak.”
“Or she’s being used. Or manipulated. But someone is trying to destroy you.”
“Trying to break me down until I resign,” she says quietly. “Until I vanish.”
I grip her shoulders. “That’s not happening. Ever.”
Her eyes meet mine, shining. “I’m so tired of being scared.”
“Then let’s burn them first.”
She nods, fierce. “What’s the plan?”
“We flip it,” I say. “We bait them next. Let them think the deep fake worked. And then we bring everything to the surface.”
I pull her close again, my voice low in her ear. “But not tonight. Tonight, I just want to hold you.”
“I want that too,” she whispers.