Page 74 of Villainous Rise

I shifted my weight, suddenly aware of how close Cipher was standing.

“I should probably go.”

“I can give you a ride.”

I swallowed hard, my eyes darting to his mouth before I could stop myself. “I’ve already intruded enough. On your morning. And your space. And your everything.”

“You’re never intruding, Annie.” He took a step closer, and I fought the urge to back away from the magnetic pull I felt toward him. “Not on my space. Not on my time.”

“Still. I’ll just call a ride and wait downstairs.”

“If you call a ride, it’ll be one of my men driving you anyway,” Cipher said, his voice matter-of-fact.

I froze, my finger hovering over my phone screen. “Excuse me?”

“Every cab and rideshare you’ve taken in the last three months has been one of my men.” He delivered this bombshell like it wasn’t a big deal. “Your apartment building security too.”

My jaw actually dropped. Like, physically fell open.

“You’ve been—“ I sputtered, searching for the appropriate level of outrage. For three months, I had walked through the city believing I was free, making my own choices, maintaining my distance. I had actually been living inside a massive cage built by Cipher. Every step I took had been monitored and controlled by him. “That’s completely inappropriate and invasive and⁠—“

“Did you think I’d just leave you unprotected?” Cipher cut through my protest, his eyes darkening. “After everything that happened?”

“Havoc has systems in place to protect me.”

“Havoc’s systems didn’t stop Dread from getting to you before.” His voice hardened.

I struggled to process this new information. Cipher had been watching me. Following me. Protecting me? For three months. While I’d been actively avoiding him. While I’d been pretending he didn’t exist.

A dark warmth spread through my veins. Some deeply buried part of me was actually flattered that he’d gone to such lengths.

What is wrong with you, Bishop? I was completely unhinged to find safety in the shadow of a monster.

“That’s...” I struggled to find words that weren’t ‘sweet’ or ‘touching’ because those were wrong answers. “That’s extremely invasive of my privacy.”

Cipher’s lips quirked up slightly. “Yes.”

No apology. No justification. And damn it all to hell, I found that honesty more appealing than if he’d tried to explain it away.

Cipher motioned toward the entryway where the elevator awaited. “Shall we?”

I pressed my lips together, tempted to tell him that one of his men could drive me instead. But my watch already read 7:58, and I hadn’t exactly penciled “Dawn’s League boyfriend revelation crisis” into my calendar between “morning coffee” and “review Havoc’s schedule.”

“Fine.”

The elevator ride down was exquisite torture. Cipher stood close enough that I could feel the heat from his body, but not quite touching me.

When the doors opened, he led me to a black sports car because of course he drove something that screamed “I have more money than God and excellent taste in automotive engineering.”

Cipher opened the passenger door for me, the perfect gentleman. If you ignored the stalking. And the kidnapping. And the killing two people in front of me last night.

I slid into the seat without making eye contact.

Just a normal Thursday morning. Getting a ride from the man who’s been secretly monitoring my every move for three months. The man I almost slept with last night. The man whose bare chest I definitely wasn’t thinking about two seconds ago.

Cipher slipped into the driver’s seat and the engine purred to life. I stared resolutely out the window as we pulled out of the garage, determined to maintain my dignity through silence and indifference.

My dignity lasted approximately forty-three seconds.