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Chapter 7

I jolt awake, snapping straight.

I scratch my head wrap, looking at the empty space beside me. I smile, falling forward, crawling over to the edge. I peer over the foot of the bed. The first rays of dawn spill into my room, bathing a half-naked Calum in rosy sunlight. His arm slung over his eyes. He has the body of an Olympic swimmer, long and lean-muscled with washboard abs.

“You’re welcome to do more than just look.”

“You know I didn’t actually expect you to sleep on the floor?”

He lifts himself up and moves to sit on his knees, facing me so we are eye-to-eye.

“Didn’t want to put myself in a place of temptation.”

His face inches from mine. His nose brushes against mine, drawing out a giggle from me.

My bedroom door swings open. My mom walks in, smacking the itch out of her head.

“Hadie baby—”

She stumbles to a stop, holding the door handle. “And what the hell is this?”

Calum stifles a laugh. I lightly push his head away.

“Nothing, Calum just slept on the floor last night,” I emphasize by gesturing to the pillow and blanket on the floor with him. “It was late. So I allowed him to crash here.”

I move away, standing up to make my bed.

Her eyes narrow into slits, her flattened hand still beating at the bonnet. “Uh huh... so ya’ll didn’t... do anything?”

Oh jeez.

Calum bursts into a short laugh. “No, ma’am... or else your daughter wouldn’t be able to walk.”

I snatch my pillow, pitching it at him. He catches it with an impish grin.

My mom stabs him with a warning finger before she leaves, closing the door behind her.

Calum looks back at me with an innocent smile. “What?”

“Now I gotta worry about my mom not killing me before Gaza gets the chance.”

My phone shrieks. I flinch. Grabbing it off the bedside table, I frown at the no caller ID.

Hesitantly, I answer, “Yes?”

"Estas loco? Sé que fuiste responsable del golpe en el yate de Gaza!”

I put it on speaker for Calum to hear. “You mind saying that in English?”

“Gaza just put a half a mill bounty on the black girl that hit his yacht last night. All his men. Everyone that works for him knows to be on the lookout for you. Security feed got wiped but one of them can make an ID because he saw her face when they got into an altercation.”

Calum sprouts to his feet.

“When I gave you the intel about the meet. I didn’t know your plan was to rob Gaza, or I wasn’t going to tell you jack shit.”

My cold hand cools my sweltering forehead. “Look none of this is going to link back to you. I promise.”

“Worry about yourself, señorita. Gaza is coming for you.”

He drops the call.

“Hello?”

I look back at the screen. One missed call from last night and an email notification from some company. I swipe it away.

Calum starts gathering his clothes. “We gotta jet.”


When Calum and I arrive at the office. I’m stunned to find out that James already sent for me. But Calum and I go in together. When we reach the inside, we don’t even give him time to draw breath before we dump the truth on him. We tell him about what my confidential source said. And everything that unfolded after that.

“You’re telling me you lost the drone that had videographic evidence of the CEO of Zenith assembling with high-ranking criminals?”

Calum pierces him with a glare. “I lost nothing. They shot it down with a damn sniper rifle. Drones operating on RF communication can be tracked using RF sensors. Mine doesn’t. So at least on that end, I don’t think they can trace it back to me.”

“You mean us?” James amends firmly. “That camera drone was Trans-Media property. Along with the van that you used to play vigilante with. Do you have any idea how reckless and stupid that was? Jeopardizing this establishment and risking your lives like that.”

Calum looks away. My eyes seek the floor.

“It’s that kind of foolish risk-taking that separates the greats like you and the average, bottom feeder like everyone else outside this office.”

Calum and I exchange baffled looks.

“Though it was stupid, it was brave.” He leans back in his chair. “It’s the kind of dedication that got you where you are now, Hadassah. But today... you crossed a line. Putting not only yourself but your loved ones at risk because of what you did. Cartels don’t just come after you. They come after your entire family.”

My insides turn into stone, anchoring me to the ground.

“Which actually leads me to why I called you here,” he begins gravely. “A company in the private sector reached out, wanting to enlist you for several projects of theirs. They need your help.”

I scoff. “Translation: they just want me to find dirt on their opponents.”

“I don’t care if it’s to scrub their toilets, I’m loaning you out. The position is aboard and you will be well compensated. And for the safety of everyone around you. You’re going to take it.”

“For how long?” Calum asks.

“Couple of months.” He shrugs. “Possibly more, they disclaimed. In the meantime, I’ll hire private security to guard your mother. She won’t even know that she’s being watched. They already emailed you their agenda, everything you need to know.”

“I should come with her.” Calum suggests. “We’re kind of a matching set.”

“They didn’t ask for you,” James shuts down.

I lift a shoulder. “I’m able to do what I do only because of Calum.”

“He’s not the one with a death warrant on his head,” James retorts. He exhales, releasing his frustration. “Besides, I need his expertise here. He’s our best tech guy. I’m sorry kiddoes, but this is the part you’re going to have to do on your own.”

My shoulders sag from the weight. “When do I start?”

“Tomorrow.”


Even a pumpkin spiced latte can’t cheer me up.

I place it down. Calum and I are seated at the dinner table, studying the enigmatic book. Calum has come up with some valid theories about it being a book cipher. Compelling, since many parts of the book have a random splash of words. Which is the point. Traditionally, book ciphers operate by using a preselected book as a key. Each word in the encoded message is replaced by a set of numbers that correspond to the location of words in the book. These numbers typically represent the page, line, and word number, creating a seemingly normal message that disguises the hidden content. This method of encryption ensures that without the specific book, decoding the message is nearly impossible, as it relies on the exact positioning of words within the text.

My mom is in the kitchen making her legendary lasagne as a bitter-sweet celebratory dinner. She’s more excited than sad because she’s been dying for me to get out and take a break. Even if it’s just a break from a particular case.

I should be packing, but I will leave it to later, then inevitably forget or just procrastinate some more and end up having a major panic session in the morning.

“You’ve been abnormally quiet.”

Calum straightens in his seat. He smiles, but his eyes no longer bear that light. Warm mirth overshadowed by the dolour that even he can’t hide. Not from me.

“Have you realized that since we met in kindergarten... we’ve never been apart? Same elementary school. Same high school. I went to study computer science then software engineering. Now we work together. Still together... always together.”

Tears burn behind my eyes and I blink them back, smiling sadly.

“You know... my dad.” A wistful look enters his eyes. He lets out a small, nostalgic chuckle. “He made a dumb crack about my exes saying that I’m a dumbass for searching for something I already have.” He meets my eye. “Someone... incomparable.”

The tears sear their way out.

I hide my face with the billowy sleeves of my oversized jersey.

“Aww, don’t.”

I hear him get up. Wood scraping against wood. Soon I feel his comforting arms wrap around my neck from behind, resting his head on mine. And now I just know, whatever happens. It’ll be okay. It has to be.

“You gonna make me cry and I don’t want to mess up my mascara.”

I snort a laugh, wiping at my eyes.

“Everything’s going to be okay, princess. I got you. Always. No amount of distance can change that.”

“It’s not the distance I’m worried about.”

We remain as we are for a while. Until finally, he lets me go to occupy his vacated seat and I down the rest of the latte. After, I saunter into the kitchen to throw away the cup. The kitchen is pregnant with a delectable, lip-licking smell. Mom offers me a clueless smile, looking back at her pot.

There’s no way I can take that book with me. And I can’t keep it with Calum—won’t risk his life like that.

I bend to chuck the cup in the bin. Something catches my eye. I pause when I see it. Staring out of the window and into the spacious backyard with a grill we never use on the patio. Mom’s flowerbeds border the lawn, quaint and scenic. And the last place anyone would think to find Gaza’s book of treason.

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