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I swallow the yelp, but I can't suppress a flinch. Stepping to the side, I gesture for him to try the door. It's a subtle sarcastic move I can get away with. Anything else will result in a punishment I just don't have the energy to combat. Grant's lip curls, indecision swirling in his eyes—open the door or retaliate against me.
Just as his eyes turn hard, I'm saved by the door popping open. Dante frames the doorway, glaring at Grant. He turns to me, silently asking me a question.
"Jenkins requests your presence," I murmur, bowing my head.
Grant grabs my elbow as if he'll direct my movements. Dante's arm comes down on his, breaking his hold on me, then slides between us.
"Honestly, Grant, I would have thought you'd learned your lesson by now," Dante says, pushing me ahead of him.
I tip my chin up, marching past a guard turning the corner. Worry worms its way through my chest at leaving the room unprotected. Jag is probably sleeping, dreaming of whatever ridiculously massive men who never talk about themselves dream of.
"Jenkins is done with you, Cruz. I'm going to have so much fun breaking her while you watch."
I press my lips together, keeping in the snort. If he wasn't worried, he wouldn't have said his threat so quietly. Dante doesn't bother to respond.
"What exactly does Jenkins want?" Dante grumbles.
"He didn't say," I murmur, opening the office door and stepping to the side.
Grant hovers by my shoulder as Dante sweeps inside, then slides in front of me, blocking my way. His grin turns manic as his eyes rake down my body, stripping me bare. He leans forward, then suddenly he's sprawled on the floor at my feet. Ten seconds have passed. I didn't even have a chance to move, much less react. Dante grabs my waist, swinging me through the door.
"What the fuck is going on out there?" Jenkins grunts, still squinting at his computer and jabbing at his keyboard.
"Nothing. However, you'll need a new handler for her," Dante says, shoving me into my chair.
He's not rough, but he's perfected the art of seeming like he's throwing me around when in reality it's mostly me fish flopping for dramatics. As he drops into the seat across from Jenkins, I note the tension in his shoulders. Focusing on my computer, I input more numbers.
"Anders is refusing to continue until he's allowed to kill you. He's convinced you had something to do with Merrick disappearing. And he’s back on his push to take over Synd," Jenkins says, jumping straight in as if he hasn't been waiting for Dante to break first and come crawling back to him.
"I doubt he'll be able to focus appropriately on the Auction with his attention diverted to Synd. Why did he go there this time?"
"Merrick. Apparently, they were a lot closer than I assumed. Merrick has dropped off the face of the planet. His stepdaughter as well. Anders wants us to track her down. I'm loath to get involved."
Dante spreads his hands in supplication. "Then don't. Cut him loose or use him to your advantage."
Jenkins nods, eyes focused on the opposite wall. "We need access to someone who's good with computers. Someone discrete and without traditional morals."
"A hacker?" Dante's sharp voice pulls my eyes to them. I glance away quickly when Jenkins leans back in his chair.
"We had one who set up our systems many years ago, but they dropped off the face of the planet, just like Merrick."
Dante snorts, shaking his head. "Not surprising, since they pride themselves on being able to become ghosts."
"No one else has been able to breach our programs. I'm sure that will be expensive," Jenkins mutters. His implications aren't very subtle.
"I'll see what I can do. Anything else?" Dante says, pushing from his chair.
"Council meeting in two weeks with the satellite sites. I expect you to be there."
Dante nods, then makes his way to the door. I save the document and close out of the program. Since Jenkins has blocked most of my access, I have nothing else to work on. I don't know how the bills are actually getting paid, since I'm not doing it.
"I'm taking her," Dante growls, flipping his hand toward me as he stalks through the door.
I pop up and my chair rolls back, smacking into the wall. I freeze, eyes darting to Jenkins, but he doesn't pay me any mind. Scrambling after Dante, I don't dare glance behind. Jenkins will pull me back in and give me more mindless work.
Grant pushes off the wall when he sees me, scowling when he spots Dante, and takes off down the hallway in the opposite direction. I follow Dante, just wanting to slide into bed and fall asleep. Nothing else is as important as that to me. When he passes the turn off to the room, I let out a heavy sigh.
"This won't take long," he murmurs.
