Chapter 10 · Safehouse Is a Lie

"She's bait."

Kael said it flat, like stating the weather. Sienna's hand froze on the recorder still looping Leah's choked gasp.

"You don't know that."

"I know a trap." He was already moving, yanking open drawers in the safehouse kitchen. "They took your clerk. They told you exactly where to go. What part of that sounds clean?"

Sienna slammed the recorder down. "She's my friend."

"And they're counting on that." Kael pulled a knife from under the sink, flipped it, tested the weight. "You walk in there, you're giving them exactly what they want. You and me, same room, no witnesses."

"So what, I leave her?" Sienna's voice cracked. She hated the sound. "She helped me. She risked everything to pull those files."

"She knew the risk."

"Fuck you."

Kael turned. His eyes were cold, flat wolf-gold. "You want to die for her? Fine. But don't pretend it's justice. It's guilt."

Sienna stepped into his space. Close enough to feel the heat rolling off him, close enough to see the scar cutting through his left eyebrow. "You don't get to tell me what I feel."

"I get to keep you alive." His voice dropped, rough. "That's the deal.