Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 60768 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60768 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
He heads for the door, then pauses and looks back at me, his expression serious but not unkind.
“Now we just need to tell Orchid.”
The door clicks shut behind him, leaving me alone in the quiet room with my racing thoughts and the faint, fragile hope that maybe we’re finally turning the tide. I sit there, staring at the blank wall, my mind still spinning with everything I’ve just told Dean and everything I still feel for the woman who’s probably sitting in a room just like this one right now.
THIRTY-TWO
ORCHID
The interrogation room feels smaller with every passing second, the gray concrete walls pressing in like they’re slowly squeezing the air out of my lungs. The single overhead light is harsh and unforgiving, casting sharp shadows that make the metal table look even colder and more clinical. My wrists are still raw from the zip-ties, faint red lines circling my skin like accusations I can’t escape. I sit with my back straight and my chin lifted, clinging to the last fragments of the enforcer mask I’ve worn for so long. But inside, I’m unraveling thread by thread.
Marlo’s betrayal sits like a stone in my stomach, heavy and sharp. All those months of careful trust, the late-night calls where she sounded like an ally, the shared secrets, the promises that we were doing the right thing by taking Serafina down. I had believed her. I had risked everything for her. And now I’m the one in cuffs while she spins whatever story keeps her looking clean. The humiliation burns hot behind my eyes. The anger simmers just beneath my skin. But underneath it all is a deeper fear: what happens to Poe now? What happens to us?
The door opens with a soft electronic beep. Dean Maddox steps in first, tall and composed in his dark suit, his presence filling the small space without effort. Behind him is Poe. My heart stutters at the sight of him. He looks tired, a bruise forming on his cheek from the fight at the warehouse, but his eyes find mine immediately, warm and steady and full of something that makes my chest ache. He’s okay. He’s here. The relief I feel is almost overwhelming.
Dean closes the door and sits across from me. Poe remains standing for a moment, then takes the chair beside him. The two men exchange a quick glance before Dean speaks, his voice calm and measured.
“Orchid,” he says. “Poe told us everything. We believe you. And Marlo’s about to endure her own personal hell.”
I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. My shoulders sag slightly, the tension easing just a fraction. Poe’s eyes are still on me, soft with something that looks a lot like care. It makes my chest tighten in the best and worst ways.
Dean continues, laying out the plan in clear, strategic detail. Serafina doesn’t know we’ve been taken. As far as she’s concerned, both Poe and I are still missing. That gives us an opening. We will return to the safehouse tonight. I’ll call Serafina and tell her Poe is almost finished with the hack but needs a few more specialized supplies to complete the final layer. She’ll send them. When the delivery arrives, we’ll use the opportunity to feed her exactly what we want her to hear. Misinformation. Traps. Enough to draw her out into the open where Maddox can finish this once and for all.
I listen carefully, nodding at the right moments. The plan is solid. It gives us control again. It gives us a chance to end this nightmare. But there’s a secret, selfish part of me that lights up at the idea of going back to that safehouse with Poe. Just the two of us. No neighbors. No immediate threat hanging over our heads for a little while. The thought of being alone with him again, of touching him without an audience, of letting myself feel something real in the middle of all this chaos, sends a warm flutter through my chest that I try to ignore but can’t quite suppress.
“It’s a good plan,” I say when Dean finishes. My voice is steady and professional. “I can make the call. Serafina trusts me enough to believe it. We can make this work.”
Dean nods, satisfied. “We’ll get you both back to the safehouse tonight before she suspects anything’s wrong. Stay close. Play the part. We’ll handle the rest from here.”
He stands and heads for the door, giving us a moment alone. Poe waits until the door clicks shut before he moves. He rounds the table and pulls me up into his arms, holding me tight against his chest. I bury my face in his shirt, breathing him in, letting myself feel safe for just a second. His hands slide up and down my back, gentle and grounding.