by A. J. Macey
“We need a plan.”
“Sam is looking into. I’m just waiting on an update. Said there should be one this afternoon.”
“Who?” I asked, not keeping the harsh note out of my single-word question. He’d started without telling me. A burn of a flush spread over my cheeks with my anger. It wouldn’t do much to become enraged and do something rash, so I forced it down and tried to listen with a level head.
“Right hand to my father, surrogate uncle,” he explained. “If anyone can figure out what the hell is happening or how to get out of it, it’ll be him.”
“Hm,” was all I could think to say, digesting the information. It was weird to think about the Auckland Kings as a family and not just rivals. I was surprised by the tentative—albeit slightly raging—truce between us in such a short time, but I didn’t question it. At least not out loud. “Alright then. Did you explain to him about what happened?”
“If you tell me who Travis was talking to, then yes,” he urged.
Alright, Mila, no going back after this.
“Calvin Hall and Stephen Galvenstin,” I finally revealed, shuffling back and forth. “So, will the Kings help clear my name?” I purposefully left off the part of needing out—for now. Once I could trust him, I’d reveal my hand.
Now, let’s hope we get to that point. Otherwise, I’ll be way more fucked than I already am.
Theo
I eyed her curiously, wondering what had changed since this morning. She was pale, looking somewhat sickly as she waited for my answer. There was more, I knew there was, but I didn’t know how to get her to tell me. The only thing I knew how to do when it came to Mila was to piss her off.
“What else did you need help with?” Closing the book, I dropped it haphazardly on the coffee table. “Don’t say nothing. I can read you like an open book.”
“If you can read me like an open book, why don’t you what it is?” she snapped, defensively crossing her arms tightly over her chest.
So, it’s clearly something personal.
“I’d rather you just tell me.”
“What I want to tell you is to get fucked, but clearly, I need your help, so are you going to or not?”
“Help with what?” I pushed. Her eyes sparked dangerously, her chest heaving behind her caged arms.
“Getting my name cleared…”
“What else?”
“What else what? How the hell do you know there’s anything else? Maybe I just really don’t want to go to prison!” she snapped.
“If you were really worried, you would have acted like this yesterday or this morning, but you were cool and collected. Well, as cool and collected as you could be locked in the same house as me. This, though,”—I gestured to her defensive stance and fearful expression—“is different, and I want to know what it is.”
“Why do you care?” she shouted, her previously pale pallor turning pink in anger.
“What are you so afraid of? What is so bad about what your father wants?” I bellowed.
“He’s forcing me to marry an abusive piece of shit to ‘birth an heir’ for the Phantoms because I’m apparently incapable of doing anything but spread my legs! I want out, and I can’t do it on my own without getting killed!” She finally cracked, her defenses falling as her eyes watered and her arms flew out wide.
The silence following our very vocal argument was stifling as my mind slowly processed what she said. Holy shit, she doesn’t want to be a Phantom anymore. A sliver of me was hopeful, but the rage and utter disgust at what she was being told to do overpowered the positive. I may not have wanted a target on me, but to take care of that? For Mila? I knew I would gladly do it.
“We have a long history, Mila,” I said before I realized I was talking. Her crumbling expression made my heart squeezed. “I’ve known you since we were kids, throwing mud at one another for our family’s generation-after-generation-long feud, but no one quite riles me up like you.”
She gave a watery chuckle. “Same here, King.”
“And that’s exactly how it’s going to stay. No one but me gets the privilege of being an insufferable dick to you.”
Her eyes widened, her brows knitting together as she took in what I said, and after a long moment, her lips curled up.
“So, you’re going to help me? Get out, I mean?”
My fingers twitched with the pull to comfort her, the utter hope in her voice fueling the volatile emotions swirling in my chest.
“Yes.”
And for what seemed to be the first time in years, she smiled at me—truly smiled, not smirked in the infuriatingly attractive way she was so good at. I couldn’t hold back my smile.
“So,” she started, coughing awkwardly. My phone ringing cut off whatever she was going to say.
“Hey, Sam,” I greeted, keeping my eyes on Mila. Understanding blanketed her features, the new glimmer of hope growing.
“Theo, I found some news, but I think it’d be best to do it in person,” he revealed. “Can we meet?”
“At the house?” I asked both Sam and Mila. Her hesitation mimicked the silence on the line, but she finally nodded. “I can send the address if you want to come over.”
“She’s not going to shoot me as soon as I get there, right?” Sam deadpanned, making me laugh.
“No, Mila’s not going to shoot you,” I told him, giving her a hard stare. She only smirked, but I had known long enough to know that grin meant she agreed.
“All right, I’ll be over shortly.” Sam continued to mutter to himself, but I swore I heard ‘found ten more grey hairs that morning because of you kid,’ before the line went dead.
Knowing what I knew about Mila’s father, I wouldn’t be surprised if I also had ten grey hairs too.
Guess Karma really is a bitch.
8
Mila
After revealing everything to Theo, I felt out of place and antsy, but I couldn’t deny the newfound hope filling my veins. It was a heady sensation, and I almost giggled hysterically—almost the keyword. As Theo typed out the address to my house, I moved into the kitchen, making a fresh batch of hot chocolate and coffee. I needed something to do, something to distract me while we waited.
Would Sam and the other Kings be as accepting of my help? It would be understandable if they weren’t, and that frightened me more than I cared to admit or even dare consider. I needed out, and I needed help to do it, as much as I hated to ask for it. Taking a deep breath, I tried to work through the barrage of emotions and worries swirling together and focused on my task. Three mugs lined the counter, the coffee pot filling as I stirred the warming milk in a small pot on the stove. I would take any distraction I could, and Theo seemed to understand, leaving me to my piss poor attempts to busy myself.
After a long stretch of silence, a knock filled the room. Theo moved off the couch and toward the door, peeking through the peephole. Theo quickly opened the door, glancing outside quickly when Sam stepped over the threshold.
I finally turned fully and took in the man before me. He was tall like Theo but had a leaner build. It was obvious by the blond hair, deep brown eyes, and extremely fair complexion, Sam wasn’t related to the King family, who were tanned with dark hair. I couldn’t pin how old he was, but there were soft lines forming around his eyes and a hint of graying stubble on his jaw. He scanned the room briefly, then stared at me, assessing and calculating. No one spoke for a long time, but finally, whatever he saw seemed to be sufficient, he nodded and looked at Theo.
“I found the police file on Travis’s death.”
“But?” Theo countered, picking up on the underlying tension.
“It’s with the Phantoms.”
“Of course it fucking is,” I grumbled, pinching the bridge of my nose.
“You didn’t know?” Sam turned his questioning on me, suspicion littering his words. I dropped my hand and glared.
“If I knew, I would have gladly taken it when I was there last, but I didn’t,” I snapped.
“When was the last time you were there?”
“The morning we were almost arrested.” I gestured between Theo and me. “We met unexpectedly at the apartment complex after I’d stormed home, then ran into each other as I was leaving.” I had no clue why I felt the need to explain how we’d met that day.
“Why’d you storm home?”
“Sam,” Theo murmured coolly. “Can we focus on the fact the Phantoms have the file and not interrogate Mila on her personal whereabouts and reasonings?”
The right-hand man of the Auckland Kings eyed Theo curiously, almost surprised, if I was reading him right. Probably because he’s standing up for me, I noted with a tiny surge of gratefulness, I subsequently squashed. I’m already in enough debt to Theo. I don’t need to get emotionally attached as well.
“Alright,” Sam finally gave in. “I have a few questions that don’t have much to do with you in particular, but in response to the Phantoms curiosity, if you don’t mind indulging me, Mila.” I waved him on in a silent agreement. “Why were they littering bodies everywhere a few months back?”
I was surprised by the question, having expected it to be more along the lines of information, or how the hierarchy works, or what my father was truly planning, not something that happened three months ago.
“Honestly? I have only guessed, but probably cleaning house of any loose ends. Or of anyone I’m assuming who possibly disagreed with my father after the previous head of the Phantoms, my uncle died. My father had been his right-hand man. He was never really expected to take over, but he did a few years ago and has been closing ranks,” I explained. “The Phantoms always had a very compartmentalized structure, but it became even more so after the change of power.”
“You don’t know for sure?” Sam asked, once again surprised.
“I was never allowed too close before the shift or afterward. My father... well, he’s a bit paranoid, so he let me in the ranks but nowhere near anything of actual use to him or his power. Why the cleanup stopped? Well, I’m sure I don’t have to tell you the top of the ‘security’ branch was taken off the chessboard.”
“Ah, yeah... Liam and Harper got that shit rolling, didn’t they?” Theo noted with a chuckle. I rolled my eyes at his dry tone.
“Yes, they did,” Sam agreed, his lips thinning at the reminder. “Do you know why Travis was targeted? Was it part of another burst of cleanups after being radio silent for months?”
“Oh, Phantoms weren’t radio silent. They were doing a lot of shady shit. After the heat with Liam and... Harper, was it? My father tried a different approach, one the Phantoms aren’t known for. Quietly moved merchandise, secret meetings, why or for what, I don’t know, but I tried to keep my ears open.”
“So, they just never laid down and hid? Isn’t that what one guy said after being kicked?” Sam’s question seemed more directed at Theo than me, but I answered.
“Ah, yeah, I remember him. He was showing too much dissonance for my father’s liking and was cut, with the promise of being taken care of as long as he kept his head down. I’m sure you know how that went. But no, they didn’t just stop their businesses and shit,” I revealed.
“They? Not we?”
I felt my throat close up at Sam picking up the slip. While I told Theo I wanted help, I wasn’t ready to do the same with Sam or any other member of the Auckland Kings, let alone the right-hand man. My pride over smarts might be directing that urge, but I couldn’t squash it.
“She wants out, and she needs help.” Theo took pity on me and explained when he saw my expression. Sam groaned.
“Please tell me you didn’t agree to that.” With a look at Theo, Sam sighed and rubbed his eyes with one hand, already knowing the answer. “Alright then, we’ll deal with that after we figure out this murder charge shit.”
“Sounds fair,” Theo agreed, looking to me for confirmation. I nodded. “Is there anything else you know?”
“I can’t know more until we have the file. I’ve tried all our inspector contacts and underground ears who may have an idea, but they all came back with nothing.”
“So, we need to get it,” I surmised with a sigh of my own. “As long as I can get in without a Phantom seeing me, I can get it. No one will question why I’m at the house.”
Sam murmured a shocked ‘huh’ while Theo bellowed his objections to the plan.
“You’re not fucking going back there!”
My head tilted as I tried to figure out why he was so against it.
“I’ll be fine, Theo. It’s not like I’m risking my life by shouting, ‘oh hey, I plan on betraying the lot of you. Come and get me!’” I huffed, unable to keep my annoyance from my voice. “It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
“No!” he shouted, still obstinately against my plan, but Sam stayed silent, watching us curiously.
“Why do you even care? This isn’t just about me. If I don’t do this, your name won’t be cleared. It’s logical for me to go.”
“That’s if you don’t get arrested on your way in or out or not caught snooping around!” he yelled, his arms flinging out wide as he talked.
“I’m going, and that’s that.”
Theo
This little... I fumed, glaring at Mila and her stupidly pretty face. Didn’t she see how dangerous this could be? Didn’t she realize what she was risking if her father, or worse, her piece-of-shit fake fiancé, caught her?
I turned to Sam as if demanding he take my side and talk some reason into the woman, but he only shrugged.
“You can’t be bloody serious, Sam,” I told him coldly. “What happened to if there’s an incident, none of us should go alone?”
“This isn’t a gunfight like what your brothers are so good at barreling into. This is a quick in-and-out, and I’m sure Mila is well-equipped to handle herself.”
“Yes, I am. Thank you, Sam.” She beamed triumphantly at the man I desperately wanted to punch in the face for being so reckless.
“Well then, what exactly is your plan?” I demanded.
“Go there, get in, find the file, get out,” she bulleted.
Slack-jawed, I stared at her before finally getting my wits about me.
“Are you fucking serious?”
“Well, do you have a better idea, Mr. Smart Stuff?”
I ground my teeth in irritation because, unfortunately, the answer was no.
9
Mila
“I cannot believe you talked me into this ridiculous plan of yours,” Theo grumbled, his voice filling the headphone tucked in my ear. Theo had decided—well, more of a compromise, I had to make to stop him from being such a whiny twat—I was to be in contact the entire time I was in the Phantom’s compound. Thankfully, I was frequently seen listening to music with only one earbud, and the pair I owned had a microphone on the cord.
Now, let’s hope no one picks up on the fact I seem to be talking to myself.
“Oh, hush, and let me concentrate,” I muttered as I neared the front of the building. Sam had been picked up to go back to the Kings, and Theo was camped out around the corner and down the block in the car Sam had brought over.
Thankfully, no one bothered me as I strode by, my head held high and my best Resting Bitch Face smoothed over my features, held conversation at bay. Wracking my brain, I tried to decide the most logical place to search, which was easy—my father’s office—but I needed to find out if he was in or taking care of business elsewhere.
With each step and turn in the large building, I kept my ears open, taking in everything everyone was saying. It was difficult with Theo continually muttering in my other ear, but I tuned him out after a moment of intense concentration. When I reached the floor my father’s office was on, I heard from two members say he was in but would leave in fifteen to run to a lunch meeting with a few of his higher-ups.
Bingo. Now to lie low until then.
I slipped into one of the empty conference rooms, locking myself in the small cluster of guest offices attached to
it. It wasn’t the best of hiding places if someone came into the conference space, but it was at least out of the direct eye line of the hall.
“Can you tell me anything?!” Theo’s ranting finally caught my attention, having completely blocked him out of my focus for the last ten minutes.
“Yes, calm yourself. I’m waiting in one of the empty rooms until my father is out for lunch,” I relayed, staying quiet, even though I knew no one could hear me. “Going to poke around on the computer in here and see if there’s anything digitally.”
“Don’t do that again,” Theo bit out icily.
“Do what?” My brows knitted together, confused as hell why he was so peeved.
“Ignore me! I had no fucking clue what the hell was happening.”
Sinking into a leather office chair, I felt a twist of guilt and nibbled my lower lip. Theo may irritate the hell out of me, but the emotion that filled his words affected me in a way I hadn’t expected.
“I’m sorry,” I murmured, surprising myself with my apology.
He was quiet as I typed, logging into the computer and pulling up the directory, but I could barely focus, too concerned about what he’d say.
“Apology accepted, Mila,” he finally said, his anger seemingly mollified.
At least for the time being.
“Did anyone look at you?” he continued now that the two of us seemed to have calmed.
“Yeah, but not in a way that worried me. Just the usual glance and nod bullshit.”
“Will they let your father know you’re there?”
“No, they wouldn’t waste his time with something so menial. The only person I need to watch out for is—”
“Your fiancé?”
“He’s not my fiancé,” I growled, “but yes, that asshole.”
“So, I’m assuming you didn’t see him?”
“Oh, you’ll know if I see him.” My eyes scanned the files on the Phantom’s system while I waited, but nothing seemed to jump out.
