Page 31 of Indigo Deception
His eyes narrow in suspicion. "And why would you tell me this?"
"Because you don't deserve to die," I say, the truth burning my throat. "And the Kovacs are worse."
He studies me, searching for lies.
"If we survive this," he says finally, "whatever we had is finished. You understand that?"
I nod, ignoring the ache spreading through my chest like poison. "I understand."
"Was any of it real?" The question strikes without warning. "Or was I just a mark from the beginning?"
His security chief bursts in before I have to answer. "Sir, they're already in the building."
Angelo immediately activates building-wide security protocols and then hands me a secure tablet. "Execute this code sequence while I handle security."
As he heads for the door, I call after him, "Be careful." The words escape before I can catch them.
Angelo pauses, a smile ghosting across his face. "I've been dealing with people trying to kill me since I was sixteen. This is an ordinary Tuesday for the Bellantis."
Then he's gone, leaving me alone with his financial empire at my fingertips and his question echoing in the space between us.
Yes, it was real. All of it. That's what makes this so goddamn impossible.
—
I execute Angelo's financial countermeasures, watching in grudging admiration as his code systematically severs the Kovacs' access to Bellanti assets. It's elegant, precise—like watching a surgeon excise a tumor.
My burner phone vibrates again from the bottom of my bag. I pull it out reluctantly.
Kaif again.
The message is concise:"Tactical team 5 minutes out. Final warning. Leave now or be hostile."
I stare at the screen, something tight and painful closing around my throat.
Six months undercover.
A career-making case.
And here I am, risking it all for a man who now hates me. A man who probably, at least according to the law, belongs behind bars.
A man I can't bear to see hurt.
I turn the phone off and toss it aside.
Through the tablet, I watch building security cameras. A heat signature moves toward Angelo's position—someone they missed. My heart stutters in my chest.
I grab my gun from its ankle holster and run. The hallway stretches endlessly before me, my footsteps echoing against marble. Six months of lies, and now I might be the only thing between Angelo and a bullet.
I round the corner just as the gunman takes aim at Angelo's back. Without hesitation, I fire. The shot cracks against marble as the man crumples.
Angelo whirls around, staring at the fallen hitman, then at me, gun still raised. His eyes widen, disbelief warring with something that looks dangerously like hope.
"You just saved my life," he says quietly, searching my face for answers I'm not sure I have. "Why?"
Our eyes lock. "Because this was never about killing you. No, it was about justice against criminals like the Kovacs." I take a breath that shudders through me. "And because..." I stop. The words stick in my throat, too honest, too raw to voice.
Angelo's tablet buzzes from where I kept it under my blazer: the Kovacs' financial attack has been neutralized, their own assets frozen by his countermeasures. It's a minor victory in this chaos.
