Page 96 of Ricochet

I roll my eyes, but I can’t suppress a grin.

They’re also both smartasses.

“It’s just one reference I use,” Lacey says. “Among many others. Most of the names I send to Stone aren’t on this list. It’s the ones who haven’t been caught and punished we’re more interested in.”

“So how do you getthosenames?”

Stone’s hand touches my lower back. I peer at him over my shoulder to see him staring at the biggest screen, his jaw ticking. He’s gravitated closer to me, like he’s afraid I’ll simply vanish at any second.

Lacey pulls up a Tor browser. I recognize it because I used it once a long time ago.

“There are a lot of websites on the dark web that are safe spaces for sexual assault and domestic violence survivors. It’s not just for criminals, you know. I created my own site after Stone came to me and said he wanted to do more, that he wanted justice for more people than just me.”

I look over at Stone again. This time, he meets my gaze with a pointed look.

So his sister doesn’t know about his baser murderous impulses.

I can live with that.

Especially if this means Stone is killing people who deserve it.

What that means for Eric’s uncle, I don’t know yet. Right now, that’s the last thing on my mind.

Because when Lacey pulls up a forum under a URL consisting of a string of random letters and numbers…I recognize that too.

“Usually, I’ll wait until these names have a couple of cases against them,” she says as she tabs through several threads. “Unless the crime is more severe or there are innocent lives at risk. I like to make sure before I send them to Stone so he can pick off the scum of the universe one by one. But then there’s…”

I’m not paying attention to what she’s saying anymore. My eyes go a little out of focus, RGB lights blinking in my periphery.

“Callum?”

Stone’s voice pulls me back into his gravity, and I turn to face him. “It was you.”

His body is rigid, his mouth in a thin line. The rise and fall of his chest is a little harsher than usual, matching the flicker of fear in his eyes.

“You killed my stepdad.” The words come out as a shaky whisper but full of conviction.

Iknow.

Stone doesn’t so much as blink as he holds me a prisoner with nothing but his eyes. They’re as captivating as ever. He’s afraid I’m going to go running at any second, but even if I tried, I think I’d just get lost in the forests that make up his soul.

“Woah.” Lacey breaks the brief silence. “Who was your stepdad?”

I don’t break the connection between me and Stone by looking away as I answer. “Lewis Gibson.”

“Lewis Gibson. Lewis Gibson.” Lacey mutters his name several times. I don’t hear the sound of keys, so I think she’strying to remember the name instead of looking him up. “Oh shit. I’m sorry, Callum.”

I don’t know what she’s apologizing for. For what he did to me? For everything I shared in that forum because, like she said, it was a safe space? For having her brother kill him?

“Lace,” Stone says, gaze still locked with mine. “Can you give us a minute please?”

“Sure.” There’s the creaking of her chair, the hum of the electric lock, the sound of her footsteps, the opening of the door. “Just please don’t fuck in my office.”

Then we’re alone.

Stone’s Adam’s apple moves with a swallow. “Callum, I—”

“You saved me.”

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