Page 155 of Black Reign

Drew sees my face.

“What?”

I don’t move.

He leans toward the screen.

I turn it away before he gets close enough.

“Xavier?”

She knows.

Not Ghost.

Not some fragment.

My name.

My real name.

I read it again.

Xavier Blackwell.

For years, I’ve known more about Vesper than she thought I knew and still nowhere near enough.

For years, I’ve chased a woman who managed to make herself disappear every time I got remotely close.

And while I’ve been congratulating myself on protecting Xavier from Ghost⁠—

she found me.

My fingers move.

GHOST: How long have you known?

The reply comes fast.

VESPER: Long enough.

Not good enough.

GHOST: Define long enough.

VESPER: Long enough to know you look better angry than you do in photographs. Sergei was the tell.

My gaze snaps up.

She can see me.

Right now.

The thought goes through me like electricity.

I turn slowly.

No frantic scanning this time.