Page 13 of Heartless Enemy

Now, he at last turned around. Meeting my gaze, he arched an expectant eyebrow and gave me a look full of challenge.

Technically, I could have told him that Jamila had called him a bully and that the rest of them agreed with it too. But I just… couldn’t. Granted, Frank and Jamila and the others hadn’t exactly been all that kind to me lately. But the thought of snitching on them still soured my stomach.

“They had literally just walked through the door and only had time to saywelcome backbefore you called for me,” I said, meeting Wright’s suspicious eyes with a steady gaze.

He stared me down for another second before grunting in acknowledgement, clearly buying my carefully constructed half-truth.

It took effort not to snort. Why did everyone in this entire building always seem to forget that I had worked undercover for months? I was obviously an incredibly talented liar. But it was as if no one here ever even considered that I might just use that skill against them too.

Without another word, I started towards the door.

Wright narrowed his eyes.

Then a paper slipped from the folder he was holding. Or rather, he let it slip.

It fluttered through the air before landing on the floor in front of his feet.

Captain Wright kept his eyes locked on mine. I had half a mind to just keep striding towards the door, but reined myself in and instead trailed to a halt.

For a moment, everything was silent and still.

Then Wright nodded towards the paper. “Pick it up.”

This time, I almost didn’t succeed in hiding the flash of anger that shot through me. Quickly bowing my head, I drew a hand over my face, as if to push some loose strands away, in order to stop Wright from seeing the rage that no doubt flickered in my eyes.

Still keeping my chin lowered, I worked furiously to shove that anger back deep into my soul until my features were smooth again. Then I closed the distance between us.

While contemplating what sound Wright would make if I rammed a sword through his chest cavity, I lowered myself to the floor before him and reached for the document.

I had to remind myself not to crush the paper in my hand as I picked it up and then straightened again.

“Here,” I said, holding it out to him.

His blue eyes narrowed slightly.

And that’s when I realized my earlier mistake that had triggered this highly unnecessary power play. He had wanted me to ask for permission before I left.

I suppressed a groan. My disregard for authority was growing by the day.

“Is there anything else I can do for you, sir?” I asked as I stepped back and lowered my chin again.

Captain Wright was silent for a while, as if trying to make me worried. When he at last spoke, his voice was full of smug satisfaction.

“No. You may leave.”

I dipped my chin and then turned around before I lost the grip on my self-restraint. The moment my back was to him, I allowed the mask to slip from my face. While striding back out of his office, I let my mind circle through several different ways to kill Wright in the most humiliating way possible.

Since I didn’t trust myself to keep my cool if someone confronted me just yet, I slipped into one of the stairwells and started up towards a different floor instead of going back to my colleagues. There was something else I needed to accomplish before the end of the day.

When I reached the right floor, I stopped and edged the door open a fraction so that I could peer out into the corridor.

A group of people were standing outside one of the offices. Several of them were holding stacks of folders and documents, and it looked like they had just come from some kind of meeting. Keeping the tiny crack in the door open, I remained where I was and just watched them in silence.

We were allowed to visit other departments without issue, so I could have just walked into the corridor and moved past them. But it was better if I drew as little attention as possible. At least for now. So I stood there pressed against the door, one eye on the group ahead and one ear listening for other footsteps in the stairwell.

Thankfully, the group broke apart and drifted towards another room before anyone else could find me spying in the stairwell.

Slipping through the door, I moved quickly down the corridor and towards a room farther down.