Lily’s gaze didn’t waver. “How are you involved with him? What have you given him? Because if you gave this info to the Feds, I’m guessing you also gave it to Vex.”
Sam let out a dry laugh, shifting uncomfortably. “Come on, Lily. You think I’d be stupid enough to give Vex everything?”
Lily didn’t blink. “I think you’d be desperate enough, especially if you’re playing both sides. So tell me, Dad—how deep are you in? Are you just feeding Vex scraps, or are you setting Titus up for the fall?”
Sam’s jaw tightened, and he drained the rest of his drink in one long swallow. He set the empty glass down with a careless, heavy clink. “Fine. Yeah, Igave Vex something. Ataste. Enough to keep him happy, to make sure he didn’t come after me. But it wasn’t the full deck. Like the Feds, he doesn’t know everything.”
Lily folded her arms. “He knows enough, though, doesn’t he? And that’sa problem.”
Sam rubbed his jaw, stalling. “I didn’t have a choice. Vex has been circling for months. He wanted leverage, and I had to give him something or he would’ve torn through everything. Imade sure it wasn’t enough to bury anyone—”
Lily’s lips curved, but there was nothing amused about it. Her smile grew acrid, edged with something cold and knowing, the kind of look that sent a chill down Jazz’s spine. “I just needed to know if you were as stupid as you looked. Turns out, you are.”
Jazz turned to her sister, heart pounding. “Lily—what do you know?”
“Enough,” Lily said smoothly. “Enough to make sure this doesn’t touch us. But we need to know exactly what Sam handed over so I can make sure it’s… handled.”
Jazz felt the strength of her sister’s words settle into something tart and sure. “Then let’s get everything. Every name, every file, every conversation.We need it all.”
Sam let out a low curse, running a hand down his face. “You don’t get it. This isn’t just about what I gave them—it’s about what they think they have. The Feds are building a case, and if they connect the dots the way I think they will, Titus won’t just be in trouble—he’ll be buried. They don’t need the full picture, just enough to make the charges stick. And once that happens, there’s no getting out of it. Titus won’t be able to outmaneuver this. He’s going to jail.”
Lily narrowed her eyes. “Then we’d better make sure we know exactly what they’re holding before he does. Because I’m not going to let Jazz go down with him.”
Jazz turned to her sister. “We need to talk. Privately.”
Lily nodded immediately. “Yeah. We do.”
She led Jazz past their father, who watched them go with that same infuriating mix of regret and self-preservation. He knew more than he was saying. Healwaysdid.
And Jazz had the sinking feeling that whatever he knew… it would blow up in all their faces and soon. But this time, she refused to stand by and let it happen. She was done reacting. If Titus stayed five steps ahead, then she needed to be six. She squared her shoulders, ready for whatever camenext.
Lily led the way down the hall, away from their father’s prying eyes, and pushed open the door to what used to be a spare bedroom. But as Jazz stepped inside, she realized it had become something else entirely.
Rows of monitors filled the space, along with cables snaking across the desks, and efficient processors humming softly, their cooling fans whirring in a constant low drone. The glow from multiple screens cast shifting patterns across the walls, illuminating the room in a pulsing rhythm of green, blue, and white.
The faint sound of keys clicking filled the air, an almost hypnotic symphony of rapid typing. The screens flickered with lines of scrolling code, some running commandstoo fast for Jazz to follow. Two young women sat at opposite workstations, their fingers flying over keyboards, faces illuminated by the blue glow of the screens.
Jazz blinked. “What the hell is this?”
Lily barely spared the room a glance as she strode in. “We work on computers for companies who need our coding abilities.”
Jazz let out a low whistle, her eyes scanning the room in awe. “Damn, Lily. And here I thought you were just good with computers.”
Lily grinned, leaning casually against the desk. “Not bad, huh?”She snapped her fingers, drawing the attention of the two women. “Go home. I’ll need you first thing in the morning.”
They didn’t ask questions. One grabbed her laptop, the other stretched, barely acknowledging Jazz before they slipped out of theroom.
Once the door shut behind them, Jazz folded her arms, eyes scanning the room. “How long have you been running a codingbusiness?”
Lily sighed, rolling her shoulders as she dropped into a chair and propped her feet up on the desk. “A few years now. Started small, mostly consulting gigs, then built it into something bigger. Companies like hiring problem-solvers.”
Jazz dragged a hand through her hair. “This is… a lot. Ihad no idea you were doing all this.”
Lily waved a hand. “What’s happening with Titus is a lot, too. Which is why we need to talk.”
Jazz didn’t hesitate before lowering herself into the chair across from her sister. She trusted Lily implicitly, always had, and after everything, she was just relieved to have someone on her side. If her sister was offering help, she wasn’t about to turn itdown.
Her tension eased just a fraction. “Alright. Talk.”
