because this was by far the most serious I’d ever seen him. I was seeing the real deal for the first time. “Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t get beaten or nothing. But I learned that jokes diffused tension really quickly, kept people from asking the uncomfortable questions. I’ve never looked back from that.”
“Can I tell you something secret, that if you leak to the guys, I will rip out your spleen and shove it back down your throat?”
“You’re so violent,” he said. “It’s kinda hot.”
“Promise me.”
“I won’t tell the guys.” He leaned forward, like a small boy waiting for a cookie. “Come on. Spill.”
“I used to want to be a princess.”
“You?” He blinked. “Like a tiara and princess want and everything?”
“Yeah. I had a collection of princess dresses and tiaras and had fantasies of marrying Prince William.”
He snorted, trying to hold in laughter.
“Don’t laugh!”
“I can’t help it. This is priceless.” He guffawed, which caught the attention of several other patrons. My cheeks burned with embarrassment. He lowered his voice. “You, the woman who breaks into military grade, multi-million dollar computers and hits every target center mass with her eyes closed… wanted to be a princess?”
“I knew I shouldn’t have said anything,” I scowled and crossed my arms over my chest.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’ll stop.” He took a cleansing breath, broke out in giggles, and took another breath to stop it. “It’s just… when did you have time for princess fantasies?”
“You know, I wasn’t always about studying and work. I was a pretty normal kid… mostly.”
He smiled at me. “There’s nothing normal about you. So what changed? When did you go from princess to spy?”
“I’m not a spy.”
“The question stands.”
“I was really smart, like super smart with computer science and math and engineering principles. I got the attention of a politician, who offered me a full ride in this really prestigious academy for gifted students. It was high school and college in one. It was a fantastic opportunity for me to do things I loved. I jumped on it.” I stopped, because after school was when I met Jack. He was my field trainer. And I had been naive.
Dylan must have sensed the change in me because he cleared his throat. “You know what we need?” He picked up the dessert menu and pointed to a picture. “This double Swiss chocolate cheesecake.”
I grinned at him, because that was indeed, exactly what I needed.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Cadence
Dylan was waiting for me outside with my jacket, but I had to pee so bad. I didn’t think I could walk home like that. So while he went outside, I went to the bathroom. But when I got out of the stall, strong hands grabbed me and pulled me back against a hard body.
“Miss me, sweet pea?”
I froze, only for a second, as I processed the sound of the male voice and the words he spoke. I thrashed, trying to get free of him, but his grip was like iron. Tears pricked at my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. Not with him. His hand covered my mouth, but I tried to bite it without success.
Then the glint of silver caught my eye and the cool length of a steel blade at my throat made me stop. “Calm down, Cady. You know you’d be dead if I wanted you to be.”
My chest heaved with exertion from fighting him. I breathed from my nose, angrily trying to catch my breath.
“Now, no screaming, but that’s not really your style, isn’t it, Cady baby?” His voice purred over me, deceptively soothing. “Let’s talk like civilized folks. I assume you know why I’m here?”
He slowly released my mouth but the knife stayed at my throat.
“You couldn’t break my encryption.” A sense of pride brought a smile to my face, even though Jack was holding me. He wouldn’t have come unless he needed me, and showing up himself was incredibly risky.
“You’ve gotten better. At least with the programming, you have. Your
“Can I tell you something secret, that if you leak to the guys, I will rip out your spleen and shove it back down your throat?”
“You’re so violent,” he said. “It’s kinda hot.”
“Promise me.”
“I won’t tell the guys.” He leaned forward, like a small boy waiting for a cookie. “Come on. Spill.”
“I used to want to be a princess.”
“You?” He blinked. “Like a tiara and princess want and everything?”
“Yeah. I had a collection of princess dresses and tiaras and had fantasies of marrying Prince William.”
He snorted, trying to hold in laughter.
“Don’t laugh!”
“I can’t help it. This is priceless.” He guffawed, which caught the attention of several other patrons. My cheeks burned with embarrassment. He lowered his voice. “You, the woman who breaks into military grade, multi-million dollar computers and hits every target center mass with her eyes closed… wanted to be a princess?”
“I knew I shouldn’t have said anything,” I scowled and crossed my arms over my chest.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’ll stop.” He took a cleansing breath, broke out in giggles, and took another breath to stop it. “It’s just… when did you have time for princess fantasies?”
“You know, I wasn’t always about studying and work. I was a pretty normal kid… mostly.”
He smiled at me. “There’s nothing normal about you. So what changed? When did you go from princess to spy?”
“I’m not a spy.”
“The question stands.”
“I was really smart, like super smart with computer science and math and engineering principles. I got the attention of a politician, who offered me a full ride in this really prestigious academy for gifted students. It was high school and college in one. It was a fantastic opportunity for me to do things I loved. I jumped on it.” I stopped, because after school was when I met Jack. He was my field trainer. And I had been naive.
Dylan must have sensed the change in me because he cleared his throat. “You know what we need?” He picked up the dessert menu and pointed to a picture. “This double Swiss chocolate cheesecake.”
I grinned at him, because that was indeed, exactly what I needed.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Cadence
Dylan was waiting for me outside with my jacket, but I had to pee so bad. I didn’t think I could walk home like that. So while he went outside, I went to the bathroom. But when I got out of the stall, strong hands grabbed me and pulled me back against a hard body.
“Miss me, sweet pea?”
I froze, only for a second, as I processed the sound of the male voice and the words he spoke. I thrashed, trying to get free of him, but his grip was like iron. Tears pricked at my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. Not with him. His hand covered my mouth, but I tried to bite it without success.
Then the glint of silver caught my eye and the cool length of a steel blade at my throat made me stop. “Calm down, Cady. You know you’d be dead if I wanted you to be.”
My chest heaved with exertion from fighting him. I breathed from my nose, angrily trying to catch my breath.
“Now, no screaming, but that’s not really your style, isn’t it, Cady baby?” His voice purred over me, deceptively soothing. “Let’s talk like civilized folks. I assume you know why I’m here?”
He slowly released my mouth but the knife stayed at my throat.
“You couldn’t break my encryption.” A sense of pride brought a smile to my face, even though Jack was holding me. He wouldn’t have come unless he needed me, and showing up himself was incredibly risky.
“You’ve gotten better. At least with the programming, you have. Your
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