Chapter 12 #4
“I don’t want your doctor. And I don’t want your access. I want to know what your problem was last night.”
Cipher looked at me for a long moment.
“You,” he said finally.
“Me?” I stared at him, incredulous. “I was the only one trying to keep the situation from exploding.”
“And that is exactly why you were the problem.” He ran a hand through his hair. “You walked into a pit of vipers acting like a Keeper. You saw a conflict and you tried to de-escalate. You tried to apply rules where there were no rules.”
“I was trying to help.”
“You were trying to get yourself killed. You don’t understand what you are dealing with, Annie. You think because you work with Havoc, that you’re exposed to the League on occasion, that you know us. You don’t.”
The dismissal in his tone cut deep. It hit every insecurity I harbored about my place in this world.
“Right. I’m just a pathetic Keeper.”
Cipher stepped between my legs and dropped to his knees right in front of me. The shift in height put his face level with mine and I had nowhere to look but directly into his eyes.
“When you try to apply Alliance logic to the League? Yes, it’s pathetic.
” He reached up, brushing his fingers against my temple.
When he pulled them away, they were covered in blood.
“But you fucking headbutt a Super to protect your secrets, Annie. That woman isn’t pathetic.
Stupid, maybe,” the corner of his mouth ticked up when I scowled at him. “But not pathetic.”
He gestured to the tablet abandoned on the bed, the screen still glowing with the Alliance’s login portal.
“Do you think you can rely on the Alliance’s sanitized reports? All they do is protect you from the truth, and that protection is going to get you killed. I’m offering you the jagged edges.”
I stared at the tablet, then back at his face. I hated him. I hated his arrogance and his casual cruelty.
And I hated that he was right.
I was hunting a rogue Trueborn in the dark.
The Alliance databases were locked to me, and even if they weren’t, they only contained what the League allowed them to see.
If I wanted to find the monster who stole the Tinkerer’s Hammer, I needed to see the violent, unfiltered reality, not the polished PR spin.
I weighed my pride against my need to know and the need to know won.
“Fine,” I sighed. “Your doctor. But I want full access to whatever you have. Unrestricted. You said I don’t know the League, well help me get to know them.”
“Done.” His gaze flicked over me. “Though you’ll need to change first.”
I glanced down at my tank top and the crimson stain spreading over my chest. “Why are you doing this? The doctor, the access. Why be helpful now?”
“Don’t mistake investment for kindness, Annie,” he said smoothly. “If you don’t have the data you need, you’ll make mistakes.”
He paused, his gaze flicked to my lips before returning to my eyes.
“Besides,” he added, his voice dropping to a silky tone that did wonderful and terrifying things to me. “I figure if I’m nice to you now, you might be in a more receptive mood when I’m supposed to fuck you tonight.”
I gaped at him. “What?”
“Dawn’s words, not mine,” he said, raising his hands innocently. “Though I can’t say I object to the plan. Years is a long time, Bishop.”
Heat crept up my neck until it settled around my ears, pounding. “You can’t be serious.”
“I am always serious about pleasure. Years isn’t a dry spell, Annie. That’s neglect.”
“It hasn’t been years,” I argued, though my voice lacked its usual bite. A year and a half wasn’t technically years. “And it’s none of your business.”
“Still. Too long. You’re walking around tight and stressed when you should be sore and satisfied. I could fix that,” he whispered. “I could fuck you until you can’t stand up without your legs shaking.”
I could hear the promise in his voice. The absolute certainty that he could ruin me. I needed to break the tension before I did something stupid. Like agree with him.
I forced a scoff, rolling my eyes. “Let’s see. You’ve stalked me and broken into my bedroom. Now you’re giving me access to your systems and offering to fuck me.” I ticked off the points on my fingers. “What’s next in the standard Villain seduction playbook? Are you going to send me black roses?”
He tilted his head. “Is that what you’d like?”
“No, actually. I prefer purple. Black roses are cliche and trying too hard. Purple roses have the decency to dial it back a little.”
“Duly noted.” His eyes gleamed with amusement, but the amusement vanished from his face as quickly as it had appeared.
“Enough talk, Annie.” He pulled me up from the bed and steered me firmly toward the bathroom.
“Wash the blood off. Change your shirt.”
I stumbled into the bathroom and shut the door, reaching for the lock.
“Don’t,” Cipher’s voice came through the wood. “Lock that door, Bishop, and I’ll take it off the hinges.”
My hand dropped. I stripped off my bloody shirt, acutely aware that the only thing separating me from Cipher was a thin piece of wood and his restraint.
And his restraint was wearing thin.