Page 9 of Sink With Me

“Thanks.” I mumble because it’s all I can muster. Don’t give yourself up, Sharkie. I could just end this all here and now, but that would defeat everything. Patience. Right now, it’s running so thin I think I’m starting to see spots.

I throw, a balloon pops. I should tell Karma that he’s right here on our land. It’d be so easy. Pop. But if I tell her, she’ll run to Dutton. Pop. I’m so close to wiping Depth out. Pop. No one is going to ruin that.

I won’t ruin that.

“Got a name?” That damn fake voice makes my hand tremble, and I miss a balloon. I never miss these things. I thought I’d kill him quickly and get it over with, but now when I do get my hands on him, he’ll suffer since I didn’t win my damn stuffed animal.

“Cordelia?” Karma chirps behind me, noticing the way my lips are parted, but nothing is coming out. I try to calm my racing heart and ignore the way my shirt is sticking to the beads of sweat on my back. My skin tingles like a thousand ants are crawling my flesh while he looks over my body.

She said my name. Now he knows my name. If he does recognize me, I’m fucking screwed.

Everything in me screams run, but my feet are glued to the concrete below. I thoroughly scan his features, starting at the bit of hair peeking from below the hood, the dark flares now looking more peppered than the last time I saw him, the sharp chisel of his jaw, the white scar just across the right side of his throat barely visible below the collar. I linger on the bubbled imprint longer than I should, sinking my teeth into the side of my cheek to keep from grinning.

You’re welcome, asshole.

He studies me just as intently. The small smirk on his lips almost looks forced as he extends his arm. My vision blurs when i clasp my hand into his. A sharp sting radiates through my palm up to my wrist. My fingers loosen around his knuckles, but he tightens his grasp, so I take a deep inhale to suppress a wince. He’s digging a blade into my skin.

“You’re looking at me as if I’m in trouble. She’s the good cop and you’re the bad one, right?”

My nose crinkles to suppress the pain inching along my flesh. Karma does another one of her giddy laughs, causing him to drop his hold.

I need to get us out of here.

“Right.” I answer with a small grin curling my lips to keep appearances, my fist balling at my side. I’ve never been good at flirting, so my behavior isn’t unusual. It’s better for Karma to think this is just an embarrassing moment than to focus on who the man is. I brush my wound against my dark jeans, drawing his focus to the movement. I can’t take my eyes off him.

“Well, it was nice to meet you, Cordelia,” he draws my name out, committing it to memory, “and?” He looks at my red-headed companion. Don’t reply, don’t reply. She bats her lashes and twirls a bit of her hair.

“Karma.”

God fucking damn it.

He nods, his lips pushing into a smirk. And just like that, he turns away. Like a shark to blood, I nearly choke on the saliva that pools in my mouth from the scent that wafts off his clothes. Exactly the same as before, sweet cigar and sea salt.

“Wow.” Karma practically whistles. If my body grows any stiffer, it won’t be long before I turn into a stone.

He’s gotten onto my land and stepped foot on my shores.

I’m going to kill him.

Date: 4-24-2024

Time: 1236

I had one plan: Come over here, get a peek into what’s happening, and leave.

As usual, our idiot prisoner didn’t give the answers I wanted, and he had to be… disposed of. Unlike usual, there were no Bay members near our base—typically you can find one or two lurking beyond the walls, so I needed to take matters into my own hands. I would’ve sent Sam to do this, but I thought it’d be a nice, brief, holiday. Two birds, one stone and all that.

I pull the cigar from my pocket, flicking at the flint of my lighter as I take off down the pavement of the bustling place she calls home. It reminds me of Manchester; out-of-place skyscrapers and the most idiotic drivers.

My nerves are on edge, not from being in enemy territory, but from the idea of her walking in the same area as I am. As I take a drag, I search my jeans for my wallet—I couldn’t just leave her picture at the base. With the office getting cleaned regularly, the chance of it being thrown away or being found… no. It wouldn’t do. I need my team to trust that I was, that I am, making logical decisions. If any of them got hold of it, my motives would be questioned.

I tilt my head up at the eyesore, slowing my steps to a stop. The shoulders of impatient men and women push past mine. It really is even worse than the pictures—iron-gray and overbearing the cozy shops on either side of it. Three big bold letters line the front, yelling ‘I’m here and you can’t touch me.’ Bay.

It’s as tempting as my target. But she’s not here. I’ve waited for her all pissin’ day to stick out of the crowd like a sore thumb. Everything about this place screams money, money, money. She sang a different tune coated in my subordinate’s blood in that run-down equipment facility. I am going to find her.

Another drag. I should be more focused on getting the answers that literally lie in front of me, but the sound of that little shark bumping around my skull is so loud. It’s not like I could infiltrate this place anyway. I have no backup and I’m already testing my luck just being on their land. I let out an exhausted sigh, flicking my half-finished cigar to the ground. Yet, I do need answers. Without them, I can’t formulate a plan and without a plan, I can’t capture her. So, my body moves without my logical mind as it starts its journey towards the revolving glass doors.

I change my pace, turning casually in the opposite direction as some soldiers dressed in navy blue fatigues exit the building.

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