by Aria Grace
I’d planned to buy a computer, so I could keep in touch with Alexi and have access to the family network if I ever needed it. But after the message I got from Alexi in our fake email account, I’m not sure what I should do.
The innocuous statements we came up with to send messages to each other after I left were easy enough to decipher, but the stuff he couldn’t encrypt is what has me the most worried.
He said they are moving the kids to Grandmas. We don’t have any kind of code that involves kids or a grandma, so the only thing I can think of is that it’s not a code. And since there aren’t any young kids in the family, it really doesn’t make any sense. Grandma is the name we use for the housekeeper, Gladys. She’s Brazilian and has worked for my uncle for my entire life.
Unless my uncle is adopting some new kids, I have no idea what Alexi is talking about. But I know he wouldn’t risk his safety or mine to get me a message that wasn’t important. As soon as I can get a ride into town again, I’m going to buy a burner phone and give him a call.
If he’s in trouble, I’ll walk away from all the money from The Vault and do whatever I can to help him. Alexi is the only reason I stayed with my uncle and his business for as long as I did. I would’ve run away at fifteen if I’d thought Alexi would be okay there alone.
But between his perverted mother and sadistic father, I couldn’t bear to leave him alone in that house. Of course, he was never actually alone since there are always dozens of people working in and around the estate, but being surrounded by people doesn’t always drive away the loneliness. In fact, in a family like ours, the only way to ensure one’s sanity is to avoid as many encounters with the natives as possible.
“Dude, you’re going to the library?” Scotty is looking at me like I’ve grown a few extra heads. “What the hell for? You can read on your phone.”
I shrug and play the geek card. “I like the classics, and the font is too small to read on my phone. My glasses are already thick enough. I don’t need to make myself completely blind trying to read teeny little letters.”
“Whatever floats your boat, dude.” He turns back to the game he’s in the middle of playing. “We’ll pick you up in two hours.”
Asher drops me off at the library, and I watch until the car is completely out of visual range before going in. With everything on my mind this time, I don’t even bother pretending to want to hang out with everybody. I’m too anxious about talking to Alexi.
My heart is pounding against my rib cage when I log in to our spam email account and realize someone else is already logged in. Alexi is probably writing a message to me, but I don’t know for sure. Instead of making a stupid mistake, I open up a new email window and begin typing.
Crossfire fruit.
Appleberry marmalade.
Thank god! When his standard response appears on the screen, I smile in relief. Knowing it’s Alexi and that he’s okay had me more worried than I wanted to admit.
I immediately start typing out my first and most obvious question. How are you? Your last message freaked me out.
The letters I just typed are deleted before Alexi responds with his message. It should. Remember what I said I was worried about? It’s happening.
Oh shit. The last thing Alexi told me before I left was that he thought his dad and uncles were branching into human trafficking. I didn’t want to believe it was true, but I wouldn’t put anything past those evil men. How do you know?
Long story. Bottom line is they’re going after a school. They’ll make it look like an accidental explosion, but get a few dozen kids out before anyone realizes they were missing. No survivors.
Even as I’m hitting the backspace button to delete each of the letters Alexi just wrote, my arm curls around my stomach to soothe the pain forming in there.
What can we do? Deep inside, I know there isn’t much I can do. When Uncle Joseph has a plan, he doesn’t let anything derail it. I’ve seen him take out entire families who threatened to interfere with even the most menial aspects of his business. Which is why doing nothing isn’t an option.
My letters disappear, and new words show up in their place. I have a plan. But we’ll need help. Do you trust anyone else?
I erase each letter then retype after a quick inventory of my friends. Zero. No, not really. The guys I work with don’t have these kinds of connections, and if my boss finds out what’s going on, he’ll probably fire me. Can you come here?
Negative. Dad is getting paranoid. Thinks you’re trying to steal his money. Uncle Joseph did have a habit of letting his paranoia rule him into making very stupid decisions.
I laugh to myself and type over Alexi’s words. I don’t give a shit about his money. But he should be paranoid. What’s your plan?
I’m going to Nashville on Saturday for a bachelor party. Can you meet me there? Or at least be available for me to call you?
I can’t say no to him, but I have no idea how I’ll pull this off. I don’t know if I can be there in person, but I’ll get a burner phone before then. We’ll figure this out.
Got to go. Stay safe.
You too.
I hate knowing he’s so far away when all this shit is going on around him. But if I have any hope of helping him, I need more money. Six grand isn’t gonna cut it. The double shifts have helped, but I’m going to ask Tanner if I can start doing triples. I’ve heard some guys even do overnights. Hell, if the tips are that good, I’ll even change fucking diapers if I have to.
Once I log off, I stand up to stretch, still feeling tension in my muscles from having to hold myself up on a cross for two hours the other night.
Asher won’t be back to pick me up for over an hour, so I wander through the stacks of thrillers and pick up a few paperbacks. There’s a quiet corner with a few empty chairs, so I settle in with my books and try not to think about all the possibilities for my night at The Vault.
Instead of letting me do triples, Tanner might just offer me the option of taking some of the more extreme clients. He said those usually aren’t available during the first three months, but they count as a double and the tips are amazing, so I’ll take one if he’ll let me.
“May I sit with you?” A deep voice rumbles beside me, and I flinch at the sound. My jaw drops when I look up into Edge’s hazel eyes. Those same eyes that witnessed the lowest moment of my adult life.
I quickly turn back to my book, ignoring him and hoping he’ll take the hint. He doesn’t.
“Liam.” Edge’s voice is louder this time and leaves no room for me to pretend he’s not there.
I heave out a breath and glance in his direction. “I’m not allowed to speak to clients outside of the compound.”
“What are you talking about?” He drops into the chair beside mine and rests his elbows on his thighs, leaning forward so we can talk quietly.
“It’s a rule,” I whisper. “If we ever see a client out in the world, we aren’t allowed to acknowledge or interact with them at all. Sorry.” I turn back to my book, trying to focus on the first word but unable to keep my mind off the fact that Edge smells so fucking good. It might be cologne or maybe even just his body wash, but combined with his natural scent, I want to bury my nose in his neck and take a long drag.
“I don’t think so.” Edge gently reaches for the book in my hand and tugs it away from me, leaving me with my jaw hanging once again. “You want to grab a cup of coffee?”
“But I can’t—”
He holds up one hand to stop me. “Don’t worry about Tanner. I’ll tell him I saw you and wanted to buy you some coffee. It’s fine.”
I don’t want to get in trouble, but I don’t know how to get out of this.
“Besides, that rule is for politicians and married businessman. It doesn’t apply to me.”
I look around, trying to find some excuse for why I can’t have coffee with him, but nothing comes to mind. I gesture to the book in his hand. “I’ve been wanting to read…”
Edge lifts his phone and takes a p
icture of the book cover in his hand. “I’ll buy you a copy and have it delivered tomorrow. You can read it in bed.”
It’s probably just my imagination, but I could swear his eyes twitched just a bit when he mentioned me being in bed.
Oh, right. He probably did twitch…out of disgust. Remembering what he witnessed last night, my embarrassment is back in full force, and I can feel my cheeks burning with mortification. I turn away once again and cross my arms over my chest. “You should leave, Edge.”
It’ll be better for both of us that way.
11
Edge
Rainier is some kind of computer wizard. After we confirmed the message he sent me was from Liam, he tapped into the account and mirrored Liam’s email to show up on my phone with just a few clicks.
Because I read his entire conversation as it was unfolding, I know the fear and discomfort Liam’s feeling right now have nothing to do with me being in his presence and everything to do with his family and their disgusting plan.
The good news is I feel much more confident that Joseph isn’t coming after me. Unless Liam is an amazing actor, his interests in me have absolutely nothing to do with his family or any sort of revenge they might be seeking.
But now that I know what Liam’s actually dealing with, I have a much harder decision to make. When the only question I faced was how far I would go to defend myself in order to seek vengeance for my brother’s death, it was an easy call.
I want to witness Joseph’s last breath before I take my own. I need it.
But that’s the end of my needs.
Once my list is complete, I’ll have nothing left to live for. I’m not being dramatic—it’s not like I have a death wish or anything—but I’ll have done what I needed to do in this lifetime.
No one depends on me. No one waits for me to come home at the end of the day. And very few people even like me. Someday, I’ll disappear, and no one will think twice about it.
But right now, the question in front of me is whether I want to put myself and everything I’m trying to do at risk in order to help Liam stop a horrific tragedy from happening. Obviously, I’m not going to sit by and let the fucking Nicolas blow up a school or kidnap kids. But I could probably stop that without getting involved. A few well-timed phone calls and it would be over.
But that doesn’t get me any closer to Joseph, and that’s what I need. That’s what I’ve been waiting for.
While we’re walking to the coffee shop down the street, I text Tanner and let him know that I’ll give Liam a ride back so Asher doesn’t have to pick him up. Liam walks stiffly beside me, either anxious to bolt or trying not to throw up. I don’t know if it’s because of me or because of what he just learned about his uncle, but I hope a little caffeine will help him relax enough to open up to me.
After we order lattes and cinnamon rolls, we settle into a quiet corner, and I wait for Liam to start talking. Several minutes pass of him avoiding my stare before I finally clear my throat to get his attention. Liam’s eyes flit to mine, and I offer a small smile. “Is everything okay?”
He nods his head quickly to reassure me, but I can tell it’s all an act. “Yeah, of course. I’m fine. How are you?”
Okay, so he wants to play that game. “I’m great, except for the fact that I don’t like when people lie to me.”
Liam sucks in a breath and looks away, no longer making eye contact. “I’m not lying.”
Now he’s starting to piss me off. My voice drops a few octaves, and Liam’s eyes lock on mine again. “You’re doing it again. What’s wrong?”
He gives me a weary smile and heaves out a deep sigh. “I’m just thinking about my cousin. He’s in a bad situation at home, and I’m feeling guilty for not being around to help him.”
Now we’re getting somewhere. “What kind of trouble is he in?” Of course, I know the answer, but it will be much easier to help him if he’s upfront with me.
“Oh, just some family stuff. I’ll figure it out.” Liam picks at his cinnamon roll but doesn’t put anything in his mouth.
“Are you close to your family?” He looks uncomfortable by my line of questioning, but I’m not going to back down on this. If he’s planning to get involved with his uncle as soon as this weekend, I need to know everything I possibly can…immediately.
“No, I’m not. My parents died a long time ago, and I went to live with my uncle. My cousin is the only person in my family I’m close to.”
“I’m sorry to hear about your parents.” A niggling in the back of my mind makes my stomach lurch, and I have to force my features to remain calm. “What happened to them, if you don’t mind my asking.”
Liam shrugs and looks out the window as if recalling a memory. “They were in a car accident. Someone cut the brake lines on my dad’s car. My mom wasn’t even supposed to go with him, but at the last minute, she insisted on accompanying him to a meeting.”
The coil in my belly tightens as I recognize that scenario. Guilt I never thought I would feel flows through my body, making me nauseous in an instant. “When did that happen?”
“I was twelve.” He glances at me with pink cheeks and droopy eyelids. “Ten years ago.”
I breathe in and out slowly, trying to appear neutral as the consequences of my actions stare me in the face for the first time ever. “That must have been very hard for you.”
“It was. But that’s all behind me now. At least, I thought it was.” He’s mumbling to himself, but I know what I heard.
This young man’s life was changed because of me, and it wasn’t in a good way. I had conned myself into believing my actions were acceptable because of what Joseph did to me. But clearly, that was naïve. I killed Liam’s parents and left him an orphan. I’m a bigger monster than I realized. With a controlled breath, I pretend only to feel sympathy for his story. “What do you mean?”
“Except for my cousin, I try not to think about any members of my family at all. But, I may have to go back for a visit soon.”
“Where are you from?” If he’s been living with Joseph, he’s probably spent the past ten years at the San Antonio estate. It’s set up like a ranch, but with one of the biggest ranch houses you’ve ever seen.
“San Antonio.”
“That’s kinda far.” I can hear my voice becoming more conversational, and it annoys me. I’m trying to be intimidating, but he keeps knocking me down a few notches. “Can’t you help out your cousin over the phone?”
Liam gives me a smirk that’s almost a smile. “Not in this case. I need to help him move.”
“Out here? To the desert?”
Liam shrugs. “It’s not that different from where we grew up. I mean, it is…but it isn’t.”
“Are you going to get him a job with Tanner?”
Liam’s eyes go wide and he looks at me like I’m crazy. “No. God, no. He just needs to get away from his dad.”
“Away to The Vault?” I shouldn’t be pushing him so hard when he’s obviously distressed, but the clock is ticking.
“I can help him get an apartment with my tip money.”
I know the guys all make great tips, but I don’t know if it’s Las Vegas apartment kind of money. “Do you make a lot from tips?”
Liam’s cheeks pink up, and he turns away again. “Well, as you know, some things earn more than others. As long as I’m not picky, I can make enough money to support him until I leave The Vault in a year.”
“Why does he need to get away from Texas so badly? Is he in danger?” I ask.
Liam looks startled by the realization of how much he’s already told me. “Uh, no. He’s fine. He just needs a change of scenery. Anyway, I should get back to the house. I’ve got a long night ahead of me.”
I don’t make a move to stand up. Not yet. “You know, you can tell me what’s going on. I might actually be able to help you.”
Liam cocks his head and looks at me. After a moment, the corner of his lip lifts in a smirk. “Thanks, Edge. But I don’t think anyon
e can help me at this point.” He turns to his cinnamon roll, and I give him some space to think things through.
I don’t want to come across as too demanding of information, but I do need him to open up to me sooner rather than later. Based on what I read from his cousin, time is of the essence if we want to prevent a tragedy from occurring.
When we finally get to my car, I turn on the engine and let it idle for a minute. “If you don’t want to tell me what’s going on, you should talk to Tanner. He’s a great listener.”
Liam is staring straight out the window and doesn’t turn to look at me. “Thanks, but I don’t think my boss will want to get involved in this shit.”
Despite my better judgment, I reach over and pat his knee, giving it a gentle squeeze. I shouldn’t tell him anything about myself, but if this will help him open up, I might as well lay it all on the line. I don’t have anything to lose, and if it means getting closer to Joseph Nicola, I’ve got everything to gain.
“When I was fifteen, my brother was killed right in front of me. He had been raising me, and when he was gone, I was left all alone. Tanner took me in and protected me until I was old enough to take care of myself.”
Liam glances in my direction, but I don’t take my eyes off my hand on his knee. I don’t want to see any sympathy or disdain in his eyes. I’ve seen enough of both sentiments focused in my direction to last me a lifetime. “Tanner cares about you guys and will do anything he can to keep you safe. So, if there’s something going on that you don’t feel comfortable talking to me about, at least reach out to him. He’ll know what to do and has the resources to help.”
I didn’t mention the fact that his primary resource would be me. Liam will find that out for himself soon enough.
He’s facing me, so I finally look up into his confused eyes. Even with furrowed brows, he’s almost angelic. Those blue eyes practically pierce right through me, and his clear, porcelain skin makes me want to run my fingertips up and down his cheeks.
