Page 57 of Code Name: Scorpio

“I’ll handle it.”

“How?”

He didn’t answer.

“They’ll be suspicious.”

He shrugged. “They’re already suspicious.”

But this would be worse, and he knew it. Plus, it didn’t change the computer situation.

“I’m the only one who can hack that air-gapped system.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “No. Doesn’t matter. They should’ve never sent you in in the first place.”

“Ryder, I’m halfway through that system. I know where the data clusters are. One more session and I can pull everything we need.”

“You didn’t sign up for this.”

“I signed up to get data off a computer. The circumstances changed, but the job hasn’t.” She sat up. The washcloth fell into her lap and the room tilted slightly, but she held steady. “The submissive cover is already in place. If I disappear, it makes everything worse for you. If I stay, I finish the extraction and we both get out.”

He was looking at her with an expression she couldn’t quite read. Respect, maybe. Or fear. Or some twisted combo of both.

“I can do this, Ryder.”

“Cassie—”

“I can do this. We can make it work.”

He held her gaze for a long time. She could see him weigh it out: wanting to keep her safe but at the same time acknowledging she was their best option if they wanted to hack the system.

“I need to call Fallon. Isaac and Nolan are still out there waiting, probably wondering what the fuck happened to us. Plus, maybe she can talk some sense into you.”

“She can’t.”

“We’ll see.”

He powered the phone on and dialed. It barely rang once before she picked up. Cassandra could just make out her voice with the phone pressed to his ear. “Isaac and Nolan are about to have a conniption. Where the hell are you?”

“Somebody woke up, and things went to shit.”

Dead silence for three full seconds.

“Define went to shit.”

“We ran into Heath Diehl in the kitchen then the rest of the crew joined us. I convinced them she’s my girlfriend who showed up uninvited and that it was a little game we play. The situation escalated from there.”

“Escalated how?”

Ryder glanced at Cassandra. “I had to establish a more specific cover for her behavior. I told them we have a dominant-submissive arrangement. They bought it. They’ve decided they want her to stay.”

The silence that followed was longer than the first one. When Fallon spoke, her voice was very carefully controlled.

“You’re telling me Cassandra is performing sexual submission inside a house full of armed criminals.”

“I’m telling you they think that’s what she’s into and we’re both alive because of it.”

“How did she handle being around that many people?”