Page 87 of The Twilight Theft

“Jayce!” Drew called. Was he really the one running into the door over and over?

“Yet he’s acting like a worried boyfriend.” Wyatt stroked my injured leg, along the shin. His lips tightened. “And with all the things that jackass said about you.”

Did I want to know?

“Drew’s good at what he does. You can always count on him to follow through on the job.” He pulled the chip out of his pocket, turning it over to glint in the moonlight. “He was afraid you’d ruin everything.”

A lump lodged in my throat, and I swallowed hard. It was from the pain. Not from the sting of Drew’s words.

“Said you can’t trust a thief, especially one as reckless as you.”

Reckless? Drew was the one who made the stupid, short-sighted decisions.

Wyatt’s hand paused on my leg. “I tried telling him how talented you are. That’s why he broke us up for tonight. Thought I’d go too easy on you.”

I wouldn’t have called trying to break my leggoing easy.

“He said he needed to keep you in line. Keep you on a short leash.” He looked over his shoulder as the door rattled again. “That son of a bitch thinks you’re the weak link on the Reynolds team. The targeting package he prepared on you was a joke—‘not as pretty or clever as Scarlett,’ it said.”

Not like that was news. Iwasn’tas pretty or clever as her. Not as strong or competent as Rav. Not as smooth as Emmett. Or as smart as Brie and Will.

“Never listens, can’t stick to a plan, more concerned with food than—”

“I get it, Wyatt.” I may have been the weak link on my team, but so was Wyatt on his. At leastwehad something in common.

“My ride’s on the way.” He looked into the distance, toward the water. “I could use someone with your talents.”

Talents? Right. I squeezed my eyes shut, holding back a fresh wave of tears. Even for the guy who’d stolen the chip out from under us—who’d just given up his entire life—I was only worth what I could do for him.

Focus, Jayce. Breathe through the pain. Get information from him.“Who’s coming for you?”

“The people who… hired me for this job.” Regret tinged his voice. ‘Hired’ didn’t seem like the right word.

“We can help you. Just give the chip back.”

Wyatt stood, locking his arm under mine to help me up. “I’m afraid it’s not that easy.”

I leaned most of my weight on him. I’d competed with worse injuries than this, but without my leg brace, the pain washed over me in waves. Bile climbed up my throat. “Itcanbe that easy.”

We inched our way toward the southern wall. What was taking Marc so long? How many delay tactics did I have in me?

“Jayce, I know you’ve made decisions in your life that you’re not proud of. Drew documented all of it for us. Giving up on your gymnastics career, turning to a life of crime, abandoning your family...”

I didn’t give up on anything.

Other people gave up on me.

I feigned my leg giving out from underneath me, and Wyatt reacted, easing me to the ground.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize the leg was that bad. How did you scale the wall with an injury like that?”

Because if I gave into it, no one would need me anymore. “Someone’s got something on you, don’t they?”

“You don’t spend a career in the CIA, even a short one, without making enemies.” He crouched next to me. “They’ve been sending me texts, threatening to expose something I did a few years back. Told me about a linchpin holding the dragonfly’s head on. All I had to do was pull it and run for the rendezvous point when the lights went out, and no one would ever find out.”

“Tell me who.”

“Well now, if I told you that, I’d—”

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