It was my turn to sigh. “Talon.”

“Bloody Talon,” Wes repeated. “Though I didn’t know that at the time. They took me to a room, sat me in front of a computer and said that if I didn’t do what they wanted, not only would they expose me, they would ruin my family, as well.” Wes shook his head. “I was a stupid bloody teenager. I believed them. So I did what I was told. For three years, I worked for Talon, wondering about my parents, wondering when the organization would let me go home. And you know what I finally realized?”

“They wouldn’t,” I muttered.

Wes nodded slowly. “When I was sixteen, I attended my first meeting with Adam Roth. They brought me into a secure room, no windows, no other humans around. And they showed me Talon’s secret. They showed me who I was working for.” Wes gave a short, bitter laugh. “A gift, they said. A reward for my brilliant service and talents. Bloody bastards. I realized then they would never let me go. I was in for life.”

“That’s when you decided to get out?”

“They bloody kidnapped me.” Wes’s lip curled in a snarl. “Took away my freedom, my family, everything. I was a bloody slave to the lizards for five years. I’d be damned if I was going to stay there.”

“Getting away must’ve taken some work,” I said, amazed that the kid had pulled off something so risky, and that he’d avoided Talon even this long.

“Yeah, well, like I said, I’ve been planning this awhile,” Wes repeated. “I had to set everything up so that when I did leave, I’d be out of their systems forever. And I had to scrape together enough secrets and blackmail to keep my family safe. When I ran, I made it very clear that if they ever threatened my folks in an attempt to get to me, there are some very interesting files on Talon’s businesses that would go public.”

I smirked. “Playing dirty with Talon. I’m impressed.”

The human snorted. “Right. There’s just one small snag,” he said, lowering his brows. “I can’t do this on my own. I can hack my way through just about anything, but I don’t have the survival skills you do, the ones that will keep me alive and away from the organization. If I run, eventually, they’ll send someone to kill me, or drag me back. Some Viper will slit my throat in the middle of the night.” He shuddered, giving me a grave look. “Honestly, I’ve been waiting for someone like you for a long time now. When I heard that you went rogue, I knew it was my chance. I’d probably never get another one.”

“So you tracked me down hoping I’d protect you from Talon?” I shook my head. “I don’t need a human tagging along, slowing me down. I work alone, that’s how it’s always been.” His face fell, making me feel like an ass, but I hardened my voice. “Do you even know what you’re asking? What going rogue means to the organization? They’ll never stop looking for you. They will never give up, or forgive, or accept any compromise. And they’ll never forget, because dragons have insanely long memories and will hold a grudge forever. You go back now, sure, Talon will lock you away and you’ll live a very sheltered existence until you die of old age or boredom. But at least you’ll be alive. You come with me, and your life is going to be uncertain, violent and probably very short.”

His eyes narrowed. “I don’t think you quite realize the opportunity here, mate,” he said, making me frown. “I’m not just some stupid kid in need of protection. I can help you, too.”

“How?”

He smirked. “For starters…you know all those accounts frozen by Talon when you went rogue? I can open them again, and make it so they’ll never be traced back to you.”

“What?” I stared at him, and his smirk widened.

“I told you, I’m one of the best, mate. You need something, some file stolen or code decrypted, I can do that. In fact…” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a strip of black plastic. “A goodwill offering,” he announced, tossing it to me.

“What is this?” I asked as I caught it.

“All of Talon’s files on you. Everything you’ve done for the organization, all their information on where you’ve been, where you’ve stayed, your case files, your assignments, your hatching date, everything. Congratulations. You are now truly a ghost to them.” I gazed up at him, stunned, and his smile turned hard. “You know you were never supposed to come back from that mission, right? According to your file, you were becoming a ‘liability’ and ‘suspect to corruption.’ Which is Talon’s way of saying they couldn’t control you anymore. So they decided to stage an accident, have you killed in the line of duty.” He shrugged. “But, since you’re here and not buried under a ton of bricks and mortar, I guess you already knew that.”

“Yeah,” I muttered, glancing at the thumb drive in amazement. My whole life, on this tiny strip of plastic. And now, it was mine alone. Thanks to this human, tracking me down had just become that much harder. “I guess that ‘file’ they had me steal from St. George was bogus, too,” I said, slipping the drive into my jacket. “Just an excuse to get me into the compound.”

“Oh, no, mate. That was very real.” Wes grinned again as I looked up. “Talon took a very important file from St. George that day. They already had an agent inside the base, why not use him one last time? Only problem? It seems to be missing now. Like it was never there. Funny how that works.”