Page 53 of Shadowed Hearts: Frost
"That makes sense," Alina responds, leaning forward. "Several victims we recovered mentioned modeling contracts before being pushed into escort work. They were promised photoshoots in Milan, Paris, Tokyo—but ended up in hotel rooms with clients instead."
My throat tightens. Data becoming real people with real suffering.
"We need to put eyes on their Sacramento location." Kade's mind is already shifting to action. "I'll get teams moving on this immediately."
Every muscle in my body goes rigid beneath Asher's palm. They're talking about Vertex. About walking into the lion's den, like it's just another day at the office.
Asher's fingers press harder against my back, the subtle pressure simultaneously a warning and reassurance. I force myself to breathe again.
"We need to know who runs Vertex Models," Kade concludes. "This connection between Paradise Elite and Vertex could lead us to whoever was above Steele in the organization."
Kade and Alina disappear from the screen with promises to coordinate the surveillance. My legs finally give out from underneath me, and I collapse onto Asher's pristine white couch. The tension I've been holding suddenly rushes out like air from a popped balloon.
"Holy shit, they knew Jenny." I cover my face with my hands, leg bouncing wildly against the floor. "This whole time I've been working completely blind, and Alina actually knew her."
Asher moves to his kitchen while I process this revelation. The quiet clink of glass against marble barely registers as my mind races, trying to make sense of the new connections.
"Here."
I peek through my fingers to see a glass of water extended toward me. Asher stands over me, his expression unreadable as always, but there's something almost gentle in the gesture.
"Thanks." I take the water, our fingers brushing momentarily. "Sorry about commandeering your wall for my presentation. And your smart home system. And your laptop."
My external drives form a small city around his laptop, and I've used at least twenty sheets of his expensive stationery for quick calculations.
"It served its purpose." His response is clipped, but not angry. He reaches into a drawer and pulls out a protein bar, unwrapping it before handing it to me. "Eat something."
I take the bar, examining its plain blue wrapper. "Different flavors for different mission parameters?"
A shadow of a smile crosses his face. "The blue ones have higher protein content. Red for more carbs. Black for extended surveillance missions."
I take a bite and immediately regret it, my face scrunching involuntarily. "This tastes like cardboard soaked in artificial sweetener."
"It's nutritionally balanced." He unwraps one for himself, taking a bite without any visible reaction. "When you're in a sniper nest for thirty-six hours, taste becomes irrelevant."
"Ever heard of trail mix? Jerky? Literally anything that resembles actual food?" I take another reluctant bite, my leg bouncing rhythmically against the floor.
He watches my bouncing leg for a moment. "The blue ones help with focus."
I laugh despite myself. "Are you seriously prescribing me protein bars for my ADHD? Because I've tried medication, and if this works better, my psychiatrist is going to be pissed."
"It's not a prescription. It's fuel." He finishes his bar in three efficient bites.
I rise from the couch, unable to sit still with the nervous energy coursing through me. "We need to transfer everything to your secure server. I have more backups to restore, and we should cross-reference the financial data with what your team already has on Steele."
I move over to the desk to initiate the file transfers. Each face that appears on-screen sends a fresh wave of urgency through me. These aren't just data points, they're women who disappeared after signing with Vertex.
"Jenny was right all along. They killed her because she found the connection to Vertex." My voice cracks, fingers trembling over the unfamiliar keyboard.
Without warning, Asher's hands cover mine, stilling their frantic movements. His palms are warm and calloused, dwarfing my smaller hands beneath them. The unexpected contact freezes me in place.
He turns me to face him, effectively trapping me between his body and the desk. His expression has changed. The perpetual ice in his eyes has melted into something warmer, more human, but no less intense.
"You did what she couldn't. You found the proof."
His words send an unexpected flush of pride through me, followed immediately by guilt for feeling anything positive when Jenny died for this. I try to look away, but his proximity makes it impossible to focus on anything else. My lungs can't seem to get enough air.
"But when the team moves on investigating Vertex, you need to understand something." His hands lift to frame my face, fingers curling possessively against my skin as he forces me to meet his gaze. "You're not going anywhere near that building or whoever runs it."
