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When he didn’t elaborate, she narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. “Well, if all your research only came from the web, you don’t know the half of it, Cipher.”
“Enlighten me.”
“Ha! You wish.”
Fuming in silence, Inda stared out the windshield, grinding her teeth together. She needed to get ahold of her temper, yet she hadn’t felt this betrayed since The Agency flipped on her team and killed Tanner.
Glaring at Lucas’ stupidly handsome profile, she dug her nails into her arms, cursing him and his dimples to hell. Of all the men in all the world, somehow Lucas had turned out to be Cipher.Fuck me.She didn’t know if she was more mad at him for lying to her or herself for falling for his deceit.
At one point, she’d been curious about where he lived. Now she didn’t care. Not at all. But as they drove into a neighborhood that wasn’t very nice, she was thrown yet again. It wasn’t completely awful, but more rundown than she would’ve expected. He must’ve noticed the distasteful look on her face because a muscle flexed in his angular jaw.
“Maybe you should ask your boss for a raise,” she commented dryly. “I’ve heard he has billions.”
“It’s not the greatest neighborhood, but I wanted to be as close to my mom as possible,” he practically growled.
After Lucas parallel parked the car, Inda immediately got out. Okay, she could admit that last comment was snarky, but he deserved it. The man worked for the most evil group of peopleshe’d ever encountered. And she’d definitely run across some real assholes.
Halfway to the door to his apartment, she paused, realizing it might be a really bad idea to go inside, especially if he had a gun. She had her Glock and a knife tucked in her boot, though.
As though reading her mind, his piercing eyes cut over to her. “I’m not going to hurt you,” he said quietly. “You’re the assassin, not me.”
And even though they were true, his words sliced her to the quick.
Chapter Eight
Lucas’ first-floor apartment consisted of the barest essentials. A worn-looking couch, scarred coffee table and a ratty armchair took up most of the living room. No artwork hung on the walls. There wasn’t even a TV. Inda got a glimpse of the cracked and yellowed linoleum floor in the attached kitchen and frowned. It was the kind of floor that you could scrub all day, but it still would never look clean. The place was depressing.
“How did you find out? Does your whole team know?”
Inda looked over at Lucas, and he was studying her intently. It was time for him to lay it all out on the table. “I think it’s time to come clean.”
“You first.”
The corner of her mouth lifted in a smirk. “No,Cipher. Assholes first. I want to know what you found out about my team and what you’ve already reported back to The Agency.”
His face screwed up in a frown. “What the hell is The Agency?”
“Don’t play games with me!” she snapped. Fuming, Inda stomped up to him. Suppressing the urge to punch him in his pretty face, she settled for a glare potent enough to shrivel his balls. “Tell me everything or, I swear to God, I will spreadyourlegs and it won’t be pleasant when I cut your dick off with the knife in my boot.”
His face paled at the threat. With a shake of his head, he sat down on the edge of the couch and motioned for her to do the same. She ignored the invite and stubbornly crossed her arms instead. If he thought she was going to make this easy, he had another thing coming.
“Chadwick Carlisle hired me to keep tabs on Ex Nihilo.” His voice sounded almost weary, but she refused to show any sign of empathy. “He offered me a ridiculous amount of money to gather as much intel as I could and…”
Suddenly, he clammed up. Was he second guessing telling her? Thought he’d said too much already? Or, was he about to say something she wouldn’t want to hear? “And what?” she pressed.
“He wanted me close, so he set me up in C.C. Towers under the guise of an HR manager. Even before you walked through the door, I knew exactly who you were, and it wasn’t Leoa Cardosa. Although, I’m not sure why facial recognition cams didn’t pick you up.”
“Because my team is very, very good. Especially Banshee. Even if you did manage to hack him twice.”
Not having meant to inadvertently compliment him, Inda ignored the dimples that information conjured up on his smugly satisfied face, refocusing her attention on his blue eyes. So many secrets swirled in their icy depths and she wanted to know them all. The ones about his work for The Agency and Carlisle, as well as the undisclosed secrets locked in his heart.
Even though she mentally berated herself for wanting to get personal, she couldn’t help it. Something about this man made her want things. Dangerous things she’d never allowed herself to have before. Her past and her lifestyle were always insurmountable obstacles to a real relationship, and she’d refused to make promises of “someday” with those looming over her.
“I’m not going to lie. Hacking Zane Hawkins was a lot of fun.” She rolled her eyes. “But once he was on to me, it became significantly more challenging.”
“That’s because River came into the picture. She’s the one who kept your ass out of the network and tracked you down today.”
“Who?”
