Matt gazed into Tr0lz’s bathroom mirror. He hadn’t slept in over twenty-four hours. His olive complexion was undercut with gray. He splashed water on his face, smoothed back his hair. Wake up. You are so close. You just need to get out of here.

He unlocked the door and stepped into the hallway.

It was dark.

He blinked, the realization slamming into him—Tr0lz eavesdropped—at the same moment that something cold and hard pressed into his back.

“Are you done?” Tr0lz asked.

Matt tried to turn. The gun pressed even harder into him.

“You aren’t going anywhere, you tricky bastard.” He could smell her perfume. It was some kind of lily.

“I haven’t finished the exploit.”

“It’s finished enough.”

She was right. He had been bluffing. The exploit was completed enough that it should work. What he really meant was: I haven’t finished sabotaging the exploit. Tr0lz had not let his code out of her sight.

In desperation, he claimed he needed to use the washroom, and called Kate Lange.

“You would have made a great partner,” Tr0lz said. “Too bad you turned your back on me. I would have made you wealthier than you could’ve ever dreamed.”

“Uh-huh.” Matt didn’t bother to hide his contempt. “If I had wanted that, I could have done it myself. You’re the one who needs me. I don’t need you.”

“Actually, Condor, I don’t need you.”

¡Coño! His body registered the threat faster than his brain, his flesh jerking away from the deadly metal pressed into it.

Tr0lz pulled the trigger.

A stinging pain exploded in his back. He fell to the ground.

He lifted his head from the carpet and looked at Tr0lz.

But she dimmed before him, the cat tails on the back of her thighs swaying into darkness.

His torso exploded into fire.

Chapter 58

Chapter 58

4:47 a.m.

Kate was working through the implications of what her client had told her when Randall knocked on the door of Leah’s hospital room.

“May I come in?”

Leah threw him a questioning look. He gave her a brief smile. “I’m Randall Barrett, counsel for Harry Owen.”

Her gaze flickered with suspicion. “Why are you here?”

Randall glanced at Kate. “I needed to speak to Ms. Lange. Maybe we could speak outside.”

“I didn’t expect to see you here this early,” Kate said as they left the room. Staff clustered at the central station, so they walked to the other end of the hallway.

“I spent the night with Mel Owen.” He looked exhausted—and wired. She suspected she looked exactly the same. Limp clothing over tense body. “And now he’s being prepped for surgery. Harry Owen accompanied the police to the airport.” His tone softened. “When I left, I saw your car outside and I figured you were still here.”