Thea sighed. “Of course this is their stipulation.” She ran a hand down her face and looked to her coconspirators. “Well, this changes nothing about our mission. It would be a lot easier to recruit if we were able to use your name, but we would not like to jeopardize you.”

“And why can’t you use her name?” a voice said, a figure stepping into the dining room.

Kerrigan whipped around and found herself face-to-face with Dozan Rook. She so rarely saw him out of the Wastes that it was a shock to find him here now in all his glory. His burnished hair was brushed back out of his amber eyes. He wore a crisp three-piece black suit with a black button-up shirt and black tie. Only the red R pin on his lapel suggested that he was a symbol of the Wastes. Not that it wasn’t obvious, just looking into his beautiful, hardened face. A sensuous smile played on his lips.

“Hello, Red,” he purred.

Kerrigan blinked and stepped backward. She hated this reaction to Dozan. The pull that had always been there. It didn’t matter that she’d been obsessed with him at twelve. Her first love at sixteen. Her first everything. She wished that she didn’t react to him at all. Because he certainly never saw her as more than a pawn.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

Thea stepped forward, holding her hand out to Dozan. “Mr. Rook, thank you for joining us.”

“A pleasure,” he said. His gaze swept back to Kerrigan. “We should absolutely use Kerrigan’s name. Even if she doesn’t directly show her face in support, alluding to her involvement will give us a certain advantage.”

“We don’t want to harm her chances,” Thea said thoughtfully.

“Give her plausible deniability. Use her name to say that she’s working with us, but if it comes back to her, she can deny ever being there. We only keep her existence between us.”

“It’s a good idea,” Clover said.

Kerrigan frowned. “What if they don’t believe me? What if someone says they saw me here?”

Thea shook her head. “We’ll deny it to our grave.”

Kerrigan hoped it never came to that. And having Dozan here made it even less likely that it would stay silent. “You never answered me. What are you doing here?”

“How do you think they’re funding this little adventure?”

Kerrigan scoffed. “You’ve never spent a dime you didn’t think you could earn back ten times over.”

“Then, you understand why I’m doing it,” he said with an arched eyebrow.

She didn’t. This made no sense. Clover being here made sense. She was an idealist and always fought for those less fortunate. After losing her parents at a young age, she wanted to protect people. To not let others suffer.