by Natalie Grey
“Different division, though. I’m in money laundering.”
“Really? You’d be surprised how often we track people down from a money trail. Well, actually, maybe you wouldn’t be.”
“No, I am.” Mala considered. “I….”
“What?”
“I don’t know, money laundering is kind of dull, isn’t it? Spreadsheets and so on. I guess I always figured you were the people who kicked doors down and yelled ‘Don’t move! Dragons!’”
“I have never once done that.”
Mala laughed into her drink. “I will not trust the TV shows, then.”
“Please don’t.” Nyx took an overlarge gulp of her whiskey. “So. Money laundering.”
“Not all that interesting.”
“No, it is. Tell me about it.” Tell me about you. About your life. I can’t believe it’s been so long. Nyx shut her mouth on the words.
“It’s really not very interesting.” Mala shook her head, hunching her shoulders under the jacket, and then sat back as the waiter placed a plate of food in front of her. “I mostly work with terrorist organizations. Well, not with them, obviously. Some of my colleagues spend their time trying to figure out where the money’s coming from, and I…well, I started with trying to develop algorithms that alerted us to money laundering across banking institutions, but once I got that down, I’ve been working on what they do with the money when they get hold of it again.”
“Wait, what do you mean, ‘once you got that down?’”
“Well, I wrote the algorithms.” Mala took a bite of food and covered her mouth as she chewed.s
“You’re the one who wrote Orion’s Algorithm? I thought that was written by…”
Something flashed in Mala’s eyes and was gone a moment later. “I … collaborated on it.”
“That’s impressive.” Nyx raised her eyebrows. “Seriously. Very elegant. We use it, too.”
“I see.” Mala’s smile was tight; she shrugged. “Anyway, yeah. I’ve also been doing some work with market distortions.” She patted the bag she’d hung over the chair, and though the gesture meant nothing to Nyx, she smiled.
“I see.” She cast about for something to say. “And how’s your apartment? Are you still subletting?”
“What?” Mala frowned, frozen in the act of bringing a sandwich up to her mouth.
“Your apartment. It’s registered to an Eve something. Orion. Oh! Coworker?”
Mala shook her head and put the sandwich down. “Wait. How do you know where I live?”
Shit. Nyx closed her eyes, her face flushing. “Um…”
“What is this?” Mala shook her head. “Seriously, how did you know what?” She looked scared now, and Nyx held out her hands, trying to calm her.
“I’m so sorry. I should have…I was prying.”
“Yeah, it sounds like you’ve been prying for a while.” Mala took a gulp of her drink and set her glass down hard, the liquid sloshing. “What’s going on here?”
She didn’t even need to guess at Mala’s reaction. The woman wasn’t going to like this. On the other hand, it was clear that Nyx wasn’t going to get out of here without explaining.
“I promised Kiran,” she said quietly.
“You promised Kiran what?” If the sound of her dead brother’s name even made a dent in her rising anger, Nyx could not hear it.
But the memory came back to Nyx, dizzying in its intensity. Everything had been white, dazzling. The papery robe on Kiran’s thin frame, the bandages at his head, the sheets, the walls. White, all of it. Even his eyes seemed bleached in the memory, and Nyx flinched at the memory of the smell from the machines, the medicines … and Kiran.
You will, won’t you?
You’re not going to die.
We both know I am.
“Melissa.” Mala’s voice was hard, dragging her back to the present. “What did you promise?”
Nyx paused, but she could no more deny this promise than she could will herself away from her. Kiran had practically been her brother, her twin. She would have done anything for him.
“I promised him I’d look after you,” she said quietly.
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Also by Natalie Grey
Original Series
Bound Sorcery (Shadows of Magic, Book 1)
Blood Sorcery (Shadows of Magic, Book 2)
Bright Sorcery (Shadows of Magic, Book 3)
Set in the Kurtherian Gambit Universe
Bellatrix
Challenges
Risk Be Damned (Trials & Tribulations, Book 1)
Damned to Hell (Trials & Tribulations, Book 2)
Vigilante (Vigilante Chronicles, Book 1)
Writing as Moira Katson
Shadowborn (Light & Shadow, Book 1)
Daughter of Ashes (Rise of Aiqasal, Book 1)
Meridian (set in Nick Webb’s Legacy Fleet Universe)
Mahalia
Acknowledgments
I want to give a hearty thank you to my family and friends, who have sat with me over many glasses of wine to let me bounce ideas off of them for this series. Thank you also to my beta readers, who helped me make book immeasurably better: Diane, Susan, Andrea, Sam, Kay, Wendy, Keelia, and Jillian.
Thank you also to all of my backers on Patreon, whose support enables me to devote more time each month to these stories and more, and means more to me than I can put into words: Christi Friesen, Keelia Silvis, Grant, Clare Kimmel, Jessie Wade, Angie Shadrick, Sam Katz, Mallory LaSonde, Steph Nope, David Bruns, Aaron McPherson, Courtney, Micah, Krisha Burnett Scannapieco, Andrea L. Anastos, Michelle, Hilary Martin, M J Porter, Hayley Steptoe, Timothy LaPean, Tamara Brinner, Carla, and Tania Richter.
And last but certainly not least, a thank you to many people whose advice and example has helped me follow my dreams more surely and confidently (whether or not they know it): Susan Kaye Quinn, Daniel Arenson, Geoffrey Huda-Wakeling, Jillian Scudder, Anna Min, Bryce Werner, Samuel Peralta, Madeleine, Don, Saladin Ahmed, Lindsay Buroker, and David Bruns.