Page 35 of Prey

"Which ones?"

He winces. "All of them."

All of them. My office. The hallways. The elevators. The apartment. She saw everything. Grey in my office. Grey in my apartment. Grey in my bed. She saw me watch him. She saw me want him. She saw me break.

"Did she copy anything?"

"I don't know. Maybe. She had access for three months. She could have downloaded whatever she wanted."

Three months. She's been sitting on this. Watching. Waiting. Choosing her moment. I walk back to my desk and sit down. The anger is there, cold and sharp, but I need to be clear-headed. Grey is at his apartment, packing, waiting for me to tell him it's safe. I can't afford to lose focus.

"Here's what's going to happen," I say. "You're going to give me every text, every email, every conversation you had with her. You're going to tell me exactly what she accessed and exactly when she accessed it."

"Yes."

"And then you're going to have a shadow. Benjamin. He'll be with you at work. He'll be with you at home. He'll be with you when you take a shit. Consider it... protective custody."

Leo blinks. "You're monitoring me?"

"I'm protecting my assets." I lean forward. "You made a mistake. A big one. But you made it because you were trying to help someone who asked for help. I understand that. I'm not firing you."

"Not yet?"

"Not yet. But if you ever, ever give anyone access to anything without my explicit authorization, you're gone. I don't care how long I've known you. I don't care how sorry you are. You're gone."

He nods. "Understood."

"Now get out. Send me everything by end of day."

He walks to the door. Pauses. "Cain... I'm sorry."

"Get out, Leo."

I sit in the silence for a long moment. Then I pull out my phone and call Rose. She answers on the first ring.

"Cain." Her voice is warm, almost flirtatious. Like she's been waiting for this. "I was wondering when you'd call."

"You accessed my surveillance system. You manipulated Leo. You used his decency against him."

"I used what was available. You should be impressed. I've been planning this for a long time."

"Planning what?"

"To get your attention." She pauses. "It worked, didn't it?"

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. When I open them, my voice is flat. "What do you want?"

"You know what I want."

"Tell me anyway."

"I want him gone. I want you to send him away. Terminate him. Whatever you have to do. Just get him out of your life."

"And if I don't?"

"Then I'll make him go. One way or another."

The threat lands. I feel it in my chest, a cold, sharp pressure.