by Shanna Bell
Well then.
As Luca drove over to her apartment, once again, Tess found herself wishing she had magical powers. For starters, the power to vanish. An amnesia serum would come in handy as well. Especially in the “not having to remember throats being sliced” department of her brain. Furthermore, she would use it to make both her father and Luca forget she even existed, so they would leave her alone.
No, that wasn’t right. This mess hadn't started out with her going to Luca to help him. If she was being honest to herself—which she sometimes loathed—it had begun the day she met Onyx on the dark web. The day she had discovered she wasn’t the only one with fingers that could weave digital magic on a level only a few people could.
That fateful day, she believed she had encountered a group of kindred spirits and eventually had gone on a “quest” with them. Except it hadn’t been to Mordor, which would have been better than where she had ended up with them. Going to a fiery mountain to drop a ring in it was far more to be preferred than going to a power plant to blow it up. And the aftermath, oh, the aftermath of it had been worse than someone biting off half your finger. She would have gladly sacrificed a finger instead of having to look down into the eyes of that dead guard. An innocent man that had been at the wrong place at the wrong time. She believed her penance had been over when she’d helped Luca, another casualty of Onyx, get free, but maybe she’d been wrong. Maybe he was just the beginning of righting a wrong. Perhaps she should just come clean. But how? How could she ever explain to him what had truly happened? He might hate her. Also, he had no idea how dangerous the group was that had targeted him. He truly believed he’d just been set up by his former partner, Cruz.
You can’t tell him about Onyx, Tess. Shut your pie hole.
If he went after Onyx, there was no telling what could happen to him this time. Then there was the fact that Onyx and Tess had never met in real life, which she’d prefer to keep that way. It was never good to meet your heroes, especially not when said hero was sending her warnings by playing cards. She couldn’t afford to be more than a blip on Onyx’s radar.
There was a difference between being considered a nuisance or going full-on Dark Phoenix on Onyx’s ass. The second she challenged the black hat hacker, only one of them would come out of that battle alive. There was no room for both a Dark and Light Vader in the same realm. And no matter how many enemies Tess slew on the battlefields as an elf, in real life, she couldn’t even stand the sight of blood. Onyx, on the other hand, had already shown he was capable of anything.
The best way for her out of this mess was to find this Cruz person. Which would hopefully lead to Grace’s killer. Luca might be hell-bent on revenge, but she was just as passionate about not getting murdered by Damon, simply so she wouldn’t be a liability. It was amazing to what lengths some people would go to eradicate the minuscule chance that she would be a threat to someone they loved. Then again, she understood Damon all too well. On that account, they were cut from the same cloth. The difference being that she dealt in information, not bullets.
Note to brain; find useful info on the twins.
It could never hurt to have a backup plan. Then, when everything was said and done, she would extract herself from Luciano Detta’s life.
When Luca killed the engine in front of her apartment, a sense of peace entered her. It always happened when she got closer to the one place in the world that was her center of gravity. It was a two-bedroom apartment and didn’t account for much, but to her, it was a castle. And other than her grandfather, she usually didn’t allow anyone in.
They went up the stairs only to find out that her front door was open. Her heart started to pound.
Luca grabbed her arm. “Wait here.”
She didn’t really want to but needed a minute to compose herself. The little voice in the back of her mind told her this wasn’t just an ordinary burglary.
Luca returned with a grim expression on his face.
“How big is the damage?” she asked.
“Actually, less than you’d expect. Only one room was ransacked.”
“My study.” She dashed by him, going for her “headquarters,” as she’d dubbed the place. Crap. Her favorite room was turned into a digital ghost town. All her computers, laptops, screens—basically anything having anything to do with technology had disappeared. All that was left were a few old computers that had sentimental value.
“That’s not all,” Luca said. His eyes went to the whiteboard opposite her desk.
Her heart went to her throat when she saw what object was clipped to it.
Queen of Spades.
So much for flying under the radar.
Luca looked at her questioningly. She knew he probably had, like, a million questions, but she couldn’t answer them. Not the ones he really wanted and needed to know.
“It’s just a warning,” she explained. A deadly warning, but nevertheless just a warning. Sadly, it also meant Onyx knew her identity, which sucked.
“What the hell do you mean by a warning?”
“It’s just the Queen of Spades. No need to worry just yet.” Of course, she’d be screwed if it were the final card, the Ace of Spades.
“Did you receive any cards like this before?”
Why did he have to ask that question? “Um… yes.”
“You didn’t tell me.” His voice sounded low. “Why didn’t you tell me, Tess? What happened to your radical honesty?”
That was so unfair. Except, it kind of wasn’t. “I didn’t tell you the code to unlock my phone either. That doesn’t make me a liar, does it? I don’t have to tell you everything. I think our fake engagement is getting to your head.”
That’s right, T-girl. Deflection is an art form.
He stared into her eyes for a moment. She recognized his pose for what it was; a stare-down contest. Her heart started to pound, but she refused to look away.
“Where and how did you get the first playing card, Tess?”
Asking a direct question. The rat bastard was learning fast. Guess there was no way around it. Perhaps it was for the better anyway. He needed to know he was in danger.
“Right before Grace’s body dropped out of your pantry, I received a message on my phone. It was a picture of the Jack of Spades.”
“Cruz must know about you helping me out.” His eyes were scouring the room. “The Queen of Spades after the Jack of Spades with the body.”
Yep, he was connecting the dots. Except, it wasn’t Cruz who’d sent her the message. It was his evil overlord who had pulled the strings.
“Guess you’re not just looks and a big wallet after all. You actually do have a brain.”
He sent her a withering look. “One day, we’re going to discuss this radical honesty thing of yours and the ability to make a man’s balls shrink.”
“It’s not my fault that you can’t handle a few stones to your um… stones.” Then it happened. He actually smiled. Of course, he didn’t know what kind of pickle they were in yet. “It’s nice that you can still keep your humor despite the mess we’re in.”
“It’s nothing a cleaning crew can’t handle. I’ll have some people sent over.”
“Not that kind of a mess.” She walked over to her gear on the table. It was smashed into a thousand pieces. “They’ve ruined my gear. I need certain stuff to do certain searches. It’s not like in the movies, you know. A few taps, and whatever info you’re searching for pops up on your screen within lightning speeds. We’re talking about finding a guy who has done everything to disappear. He has the means to cover his tracks. Even if I had all the software I needed, it’s going to take a while before I’ve found his trace. I’m going to need to find a credit card to connect him with. Or him hitting a public camera so I can place him at a certain location. He might not leave his hiding place for weeks, and only use cash for the same amount of time.” She hoped she was painting him a clear picture.
“What you’re telling me is it could take anywhere between a day a
nd, say, a month before you trace him.”
“Exactamundo.”
“Fine.” He looked around her place. “Pack a bag. You’re staying with me until you find him.”
“Yeah, I don’t think so. See, I’m kind of an einzelgänger. That means a solitary person in German, and—”
“I know what it means. And I don’t care. As long as you’re working for me, you will be a duo instead of a solo. I’m not letting you out of sight. Besides, your place is trashed. Also, you’ll be safer with me.”
She highly doubted that. “Fine. But regardless of where I’m staying first, I need to get some new gear. Big gear, in tiny packages. Just like me.”
“Ah, I’ll get you a new computer.”
“Sure, let’s go to Target and get one.”
He nodded, looking serious. “Of course, let’s go.”
She snorted. “And they say I don’t always understand sarcasm. Look around, Luca. The stuff I use here, it’s not something you can buy in a regular store. Most of it I’ve had custom-made. Some I transformed myself. Digital warfare requires good gear, just like with regular warfare. The one with the better equipment usually wins. They’ve destroyed everything. This is a major setback, but nothing that can’t be fixed. I just need new stuff which, in the short term, I can only get with certain people. One person, to be exact.”
“Fine, let’s go to that person then.”
“Can’t. Not today. Alfie only goes outside on a Saturday, and I have no clue as to where he lives. He operates off the grid. Doesn’t own a cell phone or anything else the government can trace him with.”
“You have odd friends.”
“You don’t know the half of it.” He hadn’t even met her grandfather’s weird ass friends yet. And he never would. They were the kind of people who mostly lived in the shadows and were only seen when they wanted to be seen.
“So, we have a whole week until we can meet this Alfie person.”
“That’s right.” She picked up a rug from the couch, trying to salvage what could be saved.
Then she packed a bag and followed him back home. The drive over to his condo was done in silence. Tess didn’t feel like talking and he seemed to be in a pensive mood. Although “broody” was perhaps more fitting.
The second time around in his condo, she took in her surroundings better. The guy lived in a place straight out of a magazine for the rich and famous. It was nice to take pictures in, but it didn’t have any personality. It was all hard lines, black and steel furniture, and marble. Just looking at it made her feel like she was in a cold bowl.
She put her bag on his rock-hard designer couch and studied him. It was time to get down to business.
“So, who am I looking for, exactly? There’s your former assistant who kind of died on you.” She shivered, thinking back on the body dropping on top of her. That had been like a scene from a horror movie. “Who else should I be looking for? Just this Cruz person?”
Her question seemed to snap him out of whatever dark headspace he’d been in.
“My ex-partner, Immanuel Cruz. I’ll give you everything you need to know about him. Both he and my ex-PA had access to the files that were used against me in court. Both of them testified against me. Hector tried to find him, but it appears he has disappeared from the face of the earth.”
“Don’t mind me for asking but, why exactly has he not been… apprehended before? After all, your brothers could have easily gotten to him and put on the screws, so to speak.”
“They could have,” he acknowledged. “But I made them swear not to intervene. The only one cutting his strings will be me, no one else. I dreamed of that moment, every day, for the past two years. Cruz thinks he can run, but he can’t hide. There isn’t a place on this planet he can hide from me forever, unless it’s six feet under. And even then, I will pull him out of that grave to spit on him.”
There it was again. That look in his eyes. Another shiver went down her spine. Luciano Detta was a man hell-bent on revenge. He was going at it like a bulldozer, determined to destroy anything in its path. She could’ve told him his ex-partner and PA were just the tip of the iceberg. That they were just another pawn in a big game. But if she did, she would have to tell him everything. He might figure out her role in all of this. He was already suspicious of her. Still, she had to ask.
“So, imagine you did find him and he’s not lying in some grave. Then what?”
“Then, I’ll make him regret his mother ever gave birth to him.”
“Wonderful. That doesn’t sound like a sociopath talking at all.”
“Sociopath talk? He destroyed my life. Revenge is my right.”
“Ah yes, your life.” Some life you had.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Did I say that last part out loud?”
He crossed his arms, leaning against the bookcase. “No, but your tone says enough.”
“Well, let’s not get into what I think of your life. After all, I’m just here to—”
“No, no, let’s get into it. See, I have this feeling you got a problem with me. Why don’t you just tell me, Ms. Honesty? Spit it out, so we can get it out of the way. I don’t plan on getting pricked by your barbed tongue for the next couple of weeks.”
That stung. So, maybe he wasn’t the first one to make a comment about her tongue and sarcastic retorts. It was just that, since she was a little girl—being little and having a far from conventional upbringing—she’d been picked on. So, she’d learned to lash out the second someone even tried to put her down. She hated the way he had dismissed her, that first time in prison. Men like Luciano Detta had a certain way with a certain kind of woman. Tess knew she didn’t fit into that mold. She never had with Trevor either.
Dammit, maybe the guy had a point. Maybe she was projecting her feelings of betrayal toward Trevor. Which wasn’t really fair. Her pops would be disappointed in her. Still, that didn’t mean her initial assessment of his personality was wrong.
“You are a prince,” she finally said.
“What?” He looked baffled.
“You’re a prince,” she repeated. “Just think about your upbringing and the people you surrounded yourself with. Show me your friends and I will tell you who you are. That’s what my pops told me. Did any of your friends visit you when you were inside? Don’t answer that, I already know. I’ve seen your visitor’s list. The only ones visiting you were your brothers and some women for a conjugal visit. You didn’t even know the people you called your friends. I know your type. Rich, entitled, king of his world. You collect things, Luca, not people. Your ex-fiancée is a prime example of this.”
“Don’t get Natasha into this.”
“Why not? I bet I know her better than you do, and I’ve only just met her once. What’s her favorite color?”
“White. Her favorite color is white because it reminds her of the diamond I bought for her.”
Tess nodded. “Of course you’ve bought her blood diamonds. Why am I not surprised? But you’re wrong, by the way. According to an interview last year, her favorite color is red. Ruby red, to be exact. It’s the stone her husband bought for her for their one-year anniversary.”
His jaw clenched. “Natasha will get what’s coming to her as well.”
“Really? Do tell. What exactly are you going to do to her? A thirty-two-year-old former lingerie model, who’s basically acting exactly the way people expect her: spoiled. The biggest decision she has to make on a daily basis is what couture to wear.”
“Whatever needs to be done.”
“And what might that be? Are you even going to listen to her? Weren’t you sentenced to twenty years? Did you really want her to spend two decades waiting for you, not living her life? Or are you actually going to listen as to why she did what she did?”
While she didn’t approve of the way Natasha had handled things, Luca needed to know—no, she needed to know—that there was still a hint of reason inside him, a speck of mercy.
&
nbsp; “I don’t listen to betrayal.”
Of course he didn’t. “Must be nice sitting atop that high horse, looking down on the rest of humanity. To live in such a perfectly clear black-and-white world. Ever thought that perhaps your former partner had a reason to betray you? Maybe Cruz didn’t actually want to betray you, but his hand was forced?”
His eyes narrowed. “Are you telling me you got info indicating that?”
This was where it got tricky. “I just believe in questioning someone first, instead of whatever it is you’re thinking of doing.”
“And why is that?”
“Because sometimes people screw up. Even when they have the best of intentions, they screw up.”
Like I did. Years ago.
He took a step toward her. Then another one, until they were standing nose to nose. She could see the ice blue of his irises. There was understanding in them. For a moment, she believed she had gotten through to him.
He put a hand on her shoulder. “I will ask him why he betrayed me.”
A relieved breath left her. “Good.” At least this time, she wouldn’t be aiding in someone’s death.
“Then, after I’ve listened to whatever sob story he comes up with, I will end him.”
Her heart plummeted. The raging fire in Luca’s eyes had turned into a blue inferno. This man would know no mercy, no compassion. If he ever found out…
The doorbell rang, shaking her from her dark thoughts.
Luca turned, taking a piece from his back.
She gasped. “You carry a gun.”
“Stay here.” After giving her a stern look, he went for the door.
“I’m so not staying here.” Like she was some poor little woman who couldn’t take care of herself.
The peaceful evening suddenly got shattered by Trevor’s voice. “Who are you?”
Had his voice always been that nasal?
Tess pushed past Luca, who was blocking the front door. She was glad to see that he’d put his gun back where it belonged, out of sight.
Trevor looked somewhat disheveled out of his tweed jacket and without sporting his arrogant look.
