Salt Kiss – Episode 29
Mark’s past gave Tristan a direction. He connected the former rival organization to the shell companies funding the breach, but the network had changed names and leadership too often to identify a single enemy.
The investigation required help beyond club security. Mark contacted allies in Washington while Tristan coordinated with the authorities handling the poisoned intruder.
The attacker finally regained consciousness. He refused to name his employer but delivered a warning: Mark was expected to honor an old agreement, or everyone close to him would pay.
“What agreement?” Tristan demanded after the interview.
Mark said nothing.
The silence carried a different quality from grief. This was not a secret rooted only in the past; it was an obligation still active in the present.
“You asked for honesty,” Tristan reminded him.
“I asked it during a scene.”
“Trust doesn’t end when I stand up.”
Mark turned away, and Tristan recognized avoidance where he once would have seen control. Whatever the agreement was, Mark feared its effect on him.
A call interrupted the confrontation. Mark listened without speaking, his expression becoming unreadable.
“Who was that?”
“A family representative.”
“Whose family?”
Mark placed the phone facedown. “This is not the time.”
Tristan’s anger sharpened. “Someone is trying to kill you over an agreement you refuse to explain, and you still think information is yours to ration.”
“The threat and the agreement are not the same matter.”
“Then prove it.” Tristan walked out before Mark could order him to stay. Behind him, the phone lit again with a name he did not see: Isolde Laurence.