Page 216 of Anger

I clear my throat.

“Is all of this enough to convince you that none of these women are weak and manipulated?”

Luca looks across the table at me. “Manipulated? Us?”

Every single one of the women start laughing.

Kane continues his quiet perusal of the group.

When the room goes quiet again, he plants his stare on Luca. “You must be the actual owner of the flash drive.”

Luca nods and keeps a hand on Tanner’s shoulder. It’s a silent comfort between them, and the tension in Tanner’s body quickly relaxes at the contact.

“I am. My father died trying to get that information to me, so if you’ve been able to decrypt it, I’ll be forever in your debt.”

Kane watches her carefully, but then acceptance drips into his sharp features, his concern thwarted by Luca’s calm and mindful presence.

He drums his fingers on the table, much like Taylor does whenever there’s not a computer nearby for him to run his fingers over its keyboard.

“I haven’t been able to decrypt it,” he admits. “But I gave it to a friend who should be able to.”

Taylor sits back in his chair. “Ames mentioned a week or so ago that you sent a copy to Hannibal. Is that true? Do you really know her?”

Kane nods his head. “If anybody can decrypt it, it’ll be her.”

Taylor’s face lights up again like Kane just acknowledged a mythological creature … or maybe a superhero.

“Great, so when do we meet up with her?” Taylor asks.

“We don’t. I’ll give you her information, and if you can convince her to do the job, she’ll take care of it. But she won’t do it until she’s in touch with one of you.”

“So this entire charade was a waste of our time?” Tanner asks.

Kane glares at him, still unimpressed.

“Let’s just call this meeting step one. I needed to lay eyes on my sister and the rest of the women involved in this, and I also needed to hear from Luca that she wants the drive decrypted.”

“Then what the fuck is step two?”

“I give the word to Hannibal that I got Luca’s permission, and then Taylor can get in touch with her to act as liaison for the rest of the group. It’s between them at that point as to what happens.”

“So this meeting is over?”

Kane shrugs. “As far as I’m concerned.”

“Fucking great. You had nothing to give us, and instead wasted our fucking time with absurd allegations. Thanks for your time,” Tanner barks as he slams his pen onto the table, pushes to his feet then leaves the room.

One by one, the rest of the group follows Tanner out of the conference room, a few people patting Kane on the shoulder for a job well done.

Kane, Blue and me are left sitting at the table when Kane eyes me before meeting Blue’s gaze across the room.

“Was that really necessary?” Blue asks. “You could have just asked me if things were all right. I would have told you.”

He nods in response.

“Just making sure my little sister isn’t getting wrapped up in something that’s not good for her. And in order to do that, I felt the need to meet all your new friends.”

She scoffs. “I think I’m capable of making my own decisions.”

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