Page 43 of Sadist

“Theo, no—please.” She looked at me with pleading eyes.

“Unless you want the Chair of the company who ordered your abduction to know you are alive and well—get in the fucking vault, Octavia,” I snapped, urgency making my tone sharp. My phone vibrated in my pocket as Erryn requested access to the lift, and I pulled my phone out, letting her through.

“Now!” I snapped.

She was silent as she pulled the shirt over her head, not looking at me. The phone vibrated again, and I let Erryn through the first doors, barely waiting for Octavia to step into the vault before closing it and clicking the lock into place. I strode back out of the room, letting Erryn through the final doors as I glanced around the living area. Octavia had nothing of hers here, yet it felt like her presence was everywhere. I could even smell her here, on me…her sweet, sun-warmed scent clinging to my skin.

“Fuck,”I breathed, heading to the keypad and punching in the code. I opened the door as Erryn arrived, her impeccable attire looking as out of place in the harsh lights of the undecorated concrete hallway as it always did. I should have expected her to turn up today. She never announced her intentions, knowing that if I weren’t on a job, I would be here. And she handled everything related to my work schedule.

Erryn’s icy grey gaze leveled on me as she stepped through the door, unbuttoning her long coat so it hung open to reveal the crisp white shirt and black dress pants she was wearing beneath, a stark contrast to my gym pants and singlet.

“You look tired,” was all she said in greeting.

“Late night getting myself up to date,” I said, gesturing for her to enter.

She hummed quietly, her eyes narrowing as she swept her gaze down me, and then around the room as she took everything in, her eyes lingering on the mess of blankets on the couch.

“Gin?” I asked, and she inclined her head slightly before walking toward my office. I poured her drink and then a whiskey for myself, handing it to her and leaning against the edge of my desk as she reclined in the office chair.

“You are recovered?” she asked. Her eyes dropped to my thigh. “You’re not favoring that leg at least.”

“You replayed the footage then?” I asked, running my hand over the spot where Zichen had stabbed me. Octavia had done an incredible job stitching it. The stitches were so small and uniform that it looked like it had been done by a surgeon, and aside from a lot of bruising around it, the wound was healing cleanly.

“More than once to reassure myself you had not bled out in here,” she retorted, her face stiffening. “Have you entered an override code into your file yet?”

I shook my head, taking a sip of my whiskey to give myself a moment to formulate a response.

“After Zichen’s stunt and the number of agents who have gone dark, I’m not comfortable having that information accessible in a system that is riddled with flaws at the moment,” I said carefully.

Erryn’s brow rose.

“You are well aware that it is a separate system that only the Chairs have access to.”

I gave her a long look.

She let out an exasperated sigh. “Then put it in my personal phone, Theodora.”

“I can’t justput it in your phone,Erryn,” I said, mirroring her mannerisms. “It’s all coded to my prints. I can do it, but it will take me a day or so.”

She nodded in satisfaction, and I couldn’t help but bristle over her confidence that I would do exactly as she was demanding, and of course, she noticed my change in demeanor, the edge of her lips kicking up in the hint of a smile. Nothing turned her on more than gaining the upper hand.

“Tell me how bad it is,” I said, nursing my drink.

The tip of her ears went red. Or at least, the one I could see with her pale hair tucked behind it. It was the only tell she had. Where my temper was volatile and wild, Erryn’s was a cold fire that silently destroyed.

“We currently have access to everything in The Triarchy database. We can access it. See it. We cannot move, delete, copy, or anything else until we agree to the terms Vanguard has put in place,” she said after a long moment.

I knew how much it was hurting her to admit that. The mistake she had made would be tearing her up.

“And what are his terms?” I asked. “How much is he asking?”

Cool grey eyes raised to mine, and I could see the fury simmering quietly in their icy depths.

“Not money. William fucking Vanguard wants my Chair.”

I hissed through my teeth, slowly swirling the golden liquid in my glass.

“He would steer this corporation into hell,” Erryn said. “Vanguard Technology has given him the knowledge of which ears he needs to be whispering in. A Triarchy Chair would effectively place him at the helm of an army. Everything we have fought so hard to rid the world of, he wants to control.” She slammed her glass down. “He would have a finger in every black-market operation, manipulating it to strengthen his own empire.” She shook her head, laughing ruefully. “I would killhim myself at the funeral, but the slippery fuck has safeguarded against that too.”

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