Page 26

But we were fighting a hydra. Either we needed to strike at its core or cut off enough heads that it couldn’t regenerate as quickly.

Cutting off the Russian money would sever a lot of its heads at once. But not enough. The Order had hundreds of men willing to pay millions to fuck or kill a Forgotten.

Some even rented girls for years, buying them as their own personal sex slaves.

Blackwood must have forked out millions to rent me for a year—a small fortune. I was a highly sought-after Forgotten.

So while taking out one money source wouldn’t ruin them, disrupting its funding would weaken them because they had massive bills to pay.

“You mean you are looking for the other mole.” Kaz laughed, sat forward, and grabbed his glass, taking a sip of vodka. “Because I’m right here in front of you.”

I placed my elbows on the table and rubbed my face, letting out an exasperated sigh. “For being my mole, you are very useless.”

“What do you mean? I’m so useful.” He smiled and wiggled his eyebrows. “I saved your little boyfriend’s life the other day.”

“Not willingly, and after you helped me plan how to light the warehouse on fire.”

“See, I’m very useful. So much more useful than them.”

Kaz motioned to my actual employees and Neeve, who hovered over one of them, pointing things out for him to look at. She was searching for something, and I was too busy to ask what.

Probably something to do with the Embroiderer. She refused to drop it, but she was an adult and could make her own decisions.

I had seven people working for me, each with a different role. Three hackers, one forensic scientist, a psychologist—Dr. Emma Hayes—and two private detectives.

Those numbers didn’t include me, any of the Irish, or Katya, whom Kaz had brought along. It took me three years to trust Kaz enough to bring him in, and another year before I let him read his sister in.

Two Russians knowing my true identity and goals were two too many. But I trusted Kaz, even though he might have been the most annoying man I’d ever met.

“Andrew, can you take over looking into the financials for me?” When Andrew grunted his reply, I turned back to Kazimir. “I can see that you’re not going to give up on whatever it is that brought you here today.”

I closed my computer and glared at Kaz, and he rubbed his chin and glowered back.

Wonderful. We were in a competition to see who’d break first. Neither of us was particularly willing to surrender, so the contest didn’t end until Neeve came over and sat next to us.

“Well, this is fascinating. What the hell are you two doing?” she asked.

“Having a staring contest.” Kaz finally broke eye contact with me and flashed Neeve a wicked smile.

“Ah, I see.” She cocked her head, poured herself a drink, and took a long sip. “Is there a reason?” She glanced between us. “I ask because if you’re involved, Kaz, it could very well be because you’re in a silly mood.”

“Well, I am in a silly mood, but also I was testing to see if she would break first.”

“You do know who you’re talking about, right?” Neeve asked. “Xeniya is possibly the most stubborn person I’ve ever met.”

“Hilarious.” I crossed my arms.

“And the most resilient.” Neeve smiled at me. “She will always win. She was built to win.”

“One could say reborn to win.” Kaz dipped his head in agreement.

I tucked a strand of my white hair behind my ear. “Why are you here, Kaz?”

“I wanted to check on you,” he said seriously, his expression darkening as he focused on me again.

Neeve’s attention shifted to me as well. It was like they coordinated their attack.

But Kaz’s sudden seriousness caught me off guard. He rarely spoke to me without some ridiculous joke ready to escape his mouth.