Page 52 of Jonas

“Why are men so stupid?” Kira asked.

“No clue, but thank God they are. Makes the honey pot routine work even though they know they’re being honey potted,” Lore went on.

“I prefer the old Soviet term,” Cash remarked.

Lore’s gaze shot to Cash, a smirk firmly on her lips.

“I’d expect nothing less from the legendary Cash Phillips.”

Derrika moved closer to my side, leaned in, and quietly asked, “What’s the Soviet term?”

“They called their female agents who were sent in to seduce a man, Swallows.”

“Fitting,” she muttered, and went for the seat I had pulled out for her.

As soon as she was settled, I sat next to her.

“If we’re done talking about swallowing and honey pots, maybe we can get back to work,” Theo suggested.

Cash’s gaze traveled across the table and latched onto mine. I knew that look; he was gearing up to say something wildly inappropriate that would go beyond his normal tactless comments. I shook my head, hoping he’d keep his tongue.

To help him curb his natural inclination to cause mayhem, I asked, “What’s Lore right about?”

“You mean what does she think she’s right about?” Zane put in. “The woman’s a world-class liar. I’m not convinced we should believe anything she says.”

A quick glance at Lore stated plain she gave zero fucks what Zane said about her, and more, she was proud of the ‘world-class liar’ moniker.

Lore’s hand came off the table and swept in Derrika’s direction.

“I worked at Delcon for three months. Amy Hart conducted my exit interview. Tell them, Derrika Layne, why did I leave?”

I felt Derrika shift in the chair.

“You know my name?”

“I knew it five minutes after you hit your desk the day you started.”

More shifting from beside me.

“How did⁠—”

“Don’t worry, your cover was tight. Proof of that is it took me five minutes to uncover it.”

Derrika didn’t look convinced her cover was safe.

Nebraska must’ve sensed how uncomfortable she was when she prompted Lore, “Just tell her how you found her.”

“I had to use my contact at the Agency. If you weren’t safe, I’d tell you.”

I wasn’t sure she would. I didn’t know Lore, thus I didn’t trust a word that came out of her mouth when it came to Derrika’s safety. I shifted my stare to Kira and only relaxed when she nodded.

“Angie left Delcon when she got a six-figure offer from a tech company in Silicon Valley that Delcon couldn’t match after two rounds of negotiations.”

“Okay, back to what she thinks she’s right about,” I pushed.

“The Pentagon is hardwired to Delcon.”

Holy fuck.