Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 110550 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 553(@200wpm)___ 442(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110550 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 553(@200wpm)___ 442(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
I expected a slick response, and didn’t get one.
“You are perceptive,” she said, turning from the window to face me. “That’s why I know you can find him, Kenzie, but I don’t know that it’ll be quick enough. I need to be in my borough. I can’t wait weeks or months. I gave you till the end of this month, and I meant it. Least I can do is help you meet the deadline.”
I quieted. That was the most even, reasonable reply Genny had ever given me. “I don’t know how to deal with you when you’re like this.”
“You don’t know how to deal with me period.”
“True.”
“If you’ve got a better idea, let’s hear it. Someone has to watch your back, and I need to be finding these guys. Sitting on my ass isn’t an option.”
I slouched against the cheap upholstery, sighing. “I don’t have a better idea, but it doesn’t mean this is a good one. It was one thing putting me in there. Won’t the guy we’re searching for get spooked now that you’re hobbling through the halls? They won’t make a move while you’re around.”
“What would you do if you found a machine that gives you twice as much money as you put in?”
“What?”
“Answer the question.” Genny propped her bad leg on my lap like I was a footrest. “What would you do?”
“I’d... put money in it, obviously.”
“You’d put every last cent you had in it, then you’d do it again and again until all the banks in the world ran dry.”
I stared at her, waiting for the point. Genny chuckled at my expression.
“When you stumble on something that gives you everything you want, you don’t just walk away. This little tracker-in-the-clothes idea was genius. Even I can admit it. For decades—decades—our enemies have tried to crack our security and take us out. One bastard in Caddell House finally gave the Brotherhood the key.”
What she was saying burrowed in, convincing me with its truth. “They can’t go back because they know nothing else is going to work. If you want wealth, you don’t walk away from a machine that prints money. And if you want your enemies dead, you don’t give up the only method that’s gotten you close.”
Genny flicked my nose. “Exactly. We’ll get you thinking like a crime boss yet.”
“It’s still a big risk. With you hanging around CH, they’ll be wary. Smarter.”
“So will we.” She nudged my shoulder. “You getting a vibe off that Jace guy? He was tossing me weird looks all morning, and he shouldn’t know who I am.”
“I get a fashion-snob vibe from him. Wearing the wrong shoes will turn you into their lifelong enemy. It’ll be hard to separate his distaste from an actual hatred of the Merchants. That’s why I was thinking the only way we’ll know for sure is to catch them in the act. The how escapes me though.”
“Hidden cameras?”
I shook my head. “CH is surprisingly light on the cameras. If they weren’t, HR would’ve picked up on Lyla’s constant harassment. That said, there are always people around day and night. We couldn’t put in any cameras without being seen.”
“This guy is sabotaging our clothes unseen. There has to be low-traffic spots where he does that in peace.” She snapped her fingers. “Did you ever bring your work home with you?”
“Me? No way. If I was caught, I’d lose my job on the spot,” I said. “CH is fanatical about preventing our designs from leaking out early.”
“But...” she prompted.
I laughed. “But there were a few braver interns than I who snuck a few things home to work on. Missing Talia’s deadlines also got you fired. Sometimes you’ve got no good options.”
“You see where I’m going with this, right?”
“Anyone sneaking your clothes out of the building is who we’re looking for. I’m with you, but could it really be that easy?”
Genny and I debated through the ride, going over every possible method our culprit could use. Every obvious method was hard to accept because you had to think they would’ve been caught much sooner. All the clever, devious methods made me feel the mounting pressure of the deadline.
I trudged into the elevator, wiped out and it had nothing to do with work. Everyone depended on me to figure this out. I knew I could, but would I do it on time with Lyla breathing down my neck?
That woman was planning something. I felt it in the dark pit of resentment I held for her. Lyla’s hatred for me consumed her—that fact was written all over her face that morning. She would not leave me in peace, so I better be prepared for her opening strike.
The doors slid open, and I saw her.
Striding down the hall calm and casual, a strange woman headed for the only other door on Sunny’s floor, with my baby snoozing on her chest. My heart shot into my throat, strangling my cry. “H-hey! Hey!” I screamed. “What are you doing with her?!”