CHAPTER 44
Ryle watched her closely, his gaze sharp and calculating. He recognized the genuine confusion in her eyes—Finn had not told her the whole truth of their bargain.
Ryle wasn’t interested in providing clarity; he was interested in control. He knew the exact moment the light above the surgical doors would change, and he intended to use that psychological tension to deliver the ultimate blow. Finn’s secrecy was his weakness, and Ryle was about to exploit it.
He needed Lauren to understand that her life—her very presence in the complex, her mission clearance, and her opportunity to prove herself—was not a trophy she had won.
It was a debt. It was a debt Finn had purchased with his honor.
By revealing the full extent of Finn’s pleading, Ryle could instantly destroy Lauren’s self
