Gemma
I put the mask and sunglasses on, and then a baseball cap.
Then I go to the box of old clothes I never wore as Mrs. Cassian Blackwell and pull out a hoodie that I zip up most of the way over my purple tank top.
First, because it covers my obvious red hair the rest of the way.
Second, because it has a purple crescent moon on the back.
Three years ago, that moon was the calling card of my hacker
identity, Moonlight.
When I look in the mirror, I’m unrecognizable.
On the way, Zina contacts the department head who contracted the job. By the time we get to the big Nautilus building, they’re waiting for us in the lobby. They do a double take when they see
the moon on my hoodie.
“A–are you Moonlight?” they ask.
They can’t see my smirk behind my mask, but I give them a polite
nod and say, “Lead the way.”
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Chapter 11.
We quickly reach the tech department. A group of IT guys in plaid shirts and thick glasses stare at me, wide–eyed.
“That’s Moonlight!” I hear one whisper.
“No way! Moonlight is dead. He died in an FBI sting three years ago.”
“He is not dead,” another guy hisses.
“Maybe not, but he was a dude, and that is not,” says yet another
one, staring at my cleavage, visible above the low–cut tank top
revealed by the half–zipped hoodie.
“We don’t know Moonlight was a dude, you jerk,” snaps the first
guy. “No one ever saw them!”
My smirk widens. I love hearing all the rumors that have sprung up
about me over the years.
“If that is Moonlight, Adrian Blackwell has some serious pull, even for a Smokewind wolf,” someone else says. “How else could he. get such a talented hacker out of retirement?”
I can’t help but preen a little at what they say.
I’m not the boring little rabbit wife you think I am after all, am I,
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Chapter 11
Cassian?
Cassian
I scan the warehouse from where I stand on top of a shipping crate. Most of my people from the smuggling arm of the business
are there.
“I want to address the sabotage of one of our planes,” I say.
People are packed into the room. I assume Gemma is somewhere
in the back, too afraid to show her face.
She’s not here, Zephyr says suddenly. I can’t find her scent.
There are a hundred and fifty people here, I tell him in irritation.
I know her scent, and she’s not here.
On a whim, I say, “I want to recognize the bravery of the crew on
the flight. Call out when I call your name.”
I go through the crew. They’re all there. I save Gemma for last.
“Gemma Marino,” I call out.
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Chapter 11
(8 min loft
There’s no answer. Again, annoyed, I call out, “Gemma Marino.”
She would never disobey me. Not that little rabbit, despite her fake attempt at a divorce.
Just then, there’s shuffling from the back of the room.
“Um, Alpha?” a young woman pipes up. I recognize her as one of the flight crew members I already named, Ferne.
“Yes?” I say.
“Um, Gemma isn’t here. She texted me to tell me she wouldn’t be
here today…she said…um…she said she quit…”
People start whispering immediately. A thousand rumors
spreading all at once.
My vision goes red. My claws and fangs slide out before I can get
ahold of myself.
There are vital things to talk about today. Important things. We still haven’t gotten to the bottom of the sabotage, and we need information from everyone who was on that plane.
But no. Gemma couldn’t let the spotlight go. Not even for one day.
My little rabbit of a wife who hasn’t stepped a toe out of line in
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Chapter 11
8 min loft
public for three years is suddenly challenging me at every turn.
Reyna climbs up onto the crate next to me. She smiles at Ferne and puts a hand on my arm.
In a voice too low for anyone else to hear, she says, “Cassian, let’s stay focused and continue. A resignation is no big deal. We can fill
a crew position easily.”
But I can hear the whispers spread like wildfire through the room. I hear them saying she quit because of the crash. That I can’t keep my people safe, and more crew might quit soon.
Damn her. She didn’t even think about the optics of her stupid.
theatrics.
It doesn’t matter now. I have to carry on.
I finish the meeting and then go to my office upstairs. I call Gemma, ready to chew her out for not being where I told her to be.
The phone beeps obnoxiously in my ear.
She blocked my number.
I squeeze my cell phone in my hand and almost crush it.
Just then, Adam walks in with a package. “Alpha, the jewelry you
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Chapter 11
ordered from Europe is here. I’m sure Reyna will-”
8 min loft
He holds it up. The necklace, earrings, and bracelet are exquisite. White gold and iridescent alexandrite that shifted from dark
purple to light aqua.
They weren’t for Reyna; they were for Gemma. A gift for our
three–year anniversary that didn’t get here until too late.
Like hell will I give it to her now.
“Get rid of it!” I snarl. Then I storm out and slam the door behind
- me.
I bring my phone up again, about to contact my Beta and
command him to find Gemma when the phone rings.
It’s my Beta, Liam. The exact person I was about to call.
I answer. “What?”
“Alpha, our mole at Nautilus says their program is being dismantled. They’re in danger of being exposed.”
“What?” I snap. “How?”
“The hacker, Moonlight.”
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