by K. C. Crowne
The truth was, Wally and I broke up because we wanted different things. I wanted to stay in Chicago and build an investment firm from the ground up. He wanted to travel the world and immerse himself in other countries’ cultures, specifically interested in their foods. He wanted to cook, to one day run his own kitchen.
Our paths were heading in different directions, and we both knew it from the start. I couldn’t fault him for wanting to follow his dreams, just as he couldn’t fault me for following mine. When we broke up, we promised to support each other no matter what. It was the mature, adult thing to do.
“How’re you doing, Einstein?” he asked, a twinge of concern in his words. “You really freaked me out over the phone. Is everything alright?”
I glanced over my shoulder. I could have sworn someone was watching me. “Molly’s missing,” I whispered. “And I think… I think I’m next.”
Wally blinked, looking at me like I’d lost my mind. “Sit down. Tell me everything.”
I sat on the edge of my seat, knees bouncing, wringing my fingers together. “Friday at work, I noticed something. Money was missing from one of the client accounts. Lots of it. At first, I thought it was an error in the system. Molly volunteered to bring it up with our supervisor. She didn’t show up for drinks that night like we’d planned, and I couldn’t get ahold of her all weekend. Then, when I came in to work today, she was gone. They told me she was transferred to a different department.”
His brow furrowed. “You don’t believe it?”
“Fuck no,” I mumbled hurriedly. “That much money. Gone without a trace? And then Molly disappears without a word? She’d never not tell me something like that, and she’s not answering my texts. That’s not a coincidence. I think something terrible happened to her, and Blue Cloud Financial is covering their tracks.”
Wally paused, staring at me like I suddenly grew a second head. And then he started laughing. “Hilarious as always,” he said, wiping the moisture from his eyes. “Have you finally made the leap from genius to insanity?”
I gripped the edge of the table and leaned in close. “I’m not crazy, Wally. I wouldn’t lie about something like this. You know I wouldn’t.”
“Okay,” he said softly, patting me on the forearm. “Okay.”
“You believe me?”
He sighed. “I mean, I believe you believe you’re in trouble.”
“Wally—”
“Do you have proof?”
I attempted to swallow, but my throat was squeezed tight. The encrypted files. All the proof I needed was there, but I couldn’t get to them without the password. I left in such a hurry that I didn’t even think to make a copy, but the thought of going back to work made my heart race. What if they caught me? What if they did to me what they did to Molly?
“No,” I mumbled through gritted teeth. “No, I don’t have any proof. Except that Molly ghosting me is not normal.”
He sighed, running a hand through his dark curls. “That’s not ideal.”
I slumped in my chair. “I know, but I—”
The soft chime of the bell just above the coffee shop’s door reached my ear. I looked over Wally’s shoulder and saw a man standing at the entrance. Any other day, any other time, I wouldn’t have batted an eye. But the alarm bells in the back of my mind went off, a deep-rooted impulse that told me there was nothing ordinary about him.
He was tall, intimidatingly wide with an oddly small head. He wore sunglasses despite the fact that it was an overcast day. He wore an all-black ensemble —black shirt, black pants, black shoes— as if that wasn’t the universal uniform for bad guys everywhere.
“Hi!” the barista behind the counter greeted with a chipper smile. “What can I get for you, sir?”
He didn’t answer. He scanned the inside of the coffee shop, his gaze stopping on me. The man took a single step toward me and I knew I was in trouble. I grabbed Wally by the hand and dragged him out of his seat, dashing toward the back exit.
“We have to go!” I exclaimed, heart pounding in my ear.
“Viv, what—”
There wasn’t time to explain. I pulled Wally through the narrow back exit and out into the alleyway around back. It was filthy, commercial garbage bins full and awaiting pickup and graffiti all over the place. We ran as fast as we could, reaching the main road and slipping into busy pedestrian traffic.
My heart was in my throat, blood rushing loudly past my ears. My chest burned, my calves cramped. We made it a good five or six blocks before taking a sharp right corner, hiding behind a massive concrete building. Wally bent forward, hands on his knees as he panted harshly.
“What the hell was that?” he wheezed.
“We were being followed!”
Wally looked incredulous. “By who, Viv? No one’s even here. What’s gotten into you?”
I turned. The man was nowhere in sight. We either lost him or…Or he wasn’t following us in the first place.
“I could have sworn that he…” I took a deep breath.
Wally put his hands on my shoulders. “You’re being paranoid, Vivian. No one’s after you, alright? Whatever you’re going through, I promise to help, but you’re totally safe. Do you understand?”
My mind swirled. None of this made any sense. Maybe Wally was right. Was I losing it?
I nodded slowly. “Okay,” I whispered. “Okay, I’m sorry.”
“Let me walk you home. Come on.”
A storm was brewing in my chest. My stomach churned, threatening to make me ill. Maybe what Arty and Alistair told me was true. Maybe Molly really had been transferred. It just didn’t make sense that she wouldn’t tell me, or that she would ignore my texts. Did our friendship really mean so little? The thought stung more than I wanted it to.
“I’m sure there’s a perfectly normal explanation,” Wally said as we walked back the way we came. “Let’s stop by Molly’s apartment, hm? Did you think to check in on her in person?”
“I… No. I didn’t.”
“I’m sure everything’s fine. She probably just lost her phone or something. You know how forgetful she can be.”
“That’s true.”
We took another few steps but stopped short when a man halted in front of us. He came out of nowhere, silent like a shadow. There was nothing particularly memorable about his features. If I were tasked to pick him out of a lineup, I wouldn’t be able to do it. The one thing that did stand out was the snake tattooed on the side of his neck. It curled around the front of his throat, slithering all the way behind and circling back like an ink noose. Most notable of all were the deep crimson of the animal’s eyes.
He loomed over Wally and me, staring down his nose at us. “Vivian Jones?” he asked, voice low and gravelly.
I shook my head, taking Wally’s hand to try and go around. “Sorry. You’ve got the wrong person.”
“She’s lying,” came another man’s voice.
I turned and saw the man from the coffee house. He somehow got behind us. Now that I got a closer look, he also had a snake tattoo wrapped around his neck. Was this some sort of gang symbol?
It was then and only then that I realized Wally and I were standing next to a big white van next to the curb. It’s side door slid open. A third and final man appeared, approaching with an alarming amount of speed. He was trying to shove us inside.
I whipped my messenger bag at him, smacking him across the side of the head with enough force to knock our attacker off kilter. I kicked his knee with all my might and watched him tumble to the ground.
“Run!” I shouted at Wally.
This time, I didn’t hear a lick of protest.
I hit my second wind, dodging other pedestrians on the sidewalk as we evaded our assailants. They were hot on our tail. No matter how many turns we took, no matter how fast we ran, they continued their pursuit. Considering they were willing to make such a scene in public, I knew I was in bigger trouble than I’d originally thought.
“What the hell’s going on?” Wal
ly demanded. “Who are these people?”
“Less talking, more running!” I snapped. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the ascending stairs that led to the train. “This way!” I shouted at Wally.
We shoved past people trying to get through the ticket stall.
“Come on, come on, come on,” I said, mostly to myself in a panic.
The train was seconds away from leaving. Wally and I practically tripped into the last car as the doors slid closed, sealing us in and separating us from the platform. The men with the snake tattoos came up right to the door, one of them pounding the glass window in frustration. The train pulled away with an electric screech.
We were safe.
For now.
I nudged Wally in the ribs with the tip of my elbow. “Do you believe me now?”
He nodded, catching his breath. “Yes. Yes, I do.”
“We need to call the police. We need to—” I reached for my phone in my messenger bag, but grimaced. My bag was gone. “Shit. Shit, shit, shit.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I threw my messenger bag at them. I lost it all.”
“All?”
“Everything, Wally. My phone. My wallet. They have everything.”
Wally hushed me gently. “Hey, it’ll be okay, Vivian. You’ll come with me. You’ll be safe.”
“I don’t know. I’ve already dragged you into this. I don’t want you to be in more danger than you already are.”
“You’re forgetting something very important, Viv.”
“What?”
Wally smiled. “My father’s a bonafide badass.”
Chapter 8
Jesse
I got home early, around 9:00 p.m. I had a productive day, banging through my to-do list with impressive efficiency. There was an issue with payroll that I sorted out during lunch. I had a total of four client meetings in the afternoon, all of whom signed Pegasus Star as their primary security service once I was done pitching. My teams were all organized, the new hires were undergoing a strict training regime that I came up with, and all my dispatched bodyguards reported a total of zero hiccups.
Everything was running smoothly. Easy, predictable clockwork.
Just how I liked it.
I stepped off the elevator and into the penthouse, shrugging off my suit jacket from over my gun holster and loosening my tie. I was exhausted, more so than usual. Maybe Devin had a point about taking a break, though I’d rather die than admit that he was right. I could already imagine the smug look on his face.
I paused in the living room, noting a shuffling sound coming from the kitchen. From where I was, I could see that the fridge door was open, a pair of bare legs visible just below.
A pair of female bare legs.
Did Wally have a guest over? He knew the rules —no overnight guests without letting me know first. He wasn’t prohibited from bringing people over; I just wanted a little heads up so I could avoid awkward situations like this one.
I approached the stranger and cleared my throat. The woman yelped despite my caution.
“Holy shit!” she shouted, slamming the fridge door closed. “Don’t do that.”
I recognized her voice first. Soft and delicate.
“Vivian?”
She gave me a sheepish smile. “Hey, Mr. White.”
“What are you doing here?”
She was wearing one of Wally’s t-shirts. My son was by no means a large man, but it looked massive on her, practically swallowing her whole. I did my best not to stare, but it was hard not to. Her skin looked soft and warm.
I forced myself to look down the hall toward Wally’s room. “Are you two back together or something?” I wasn’t sure why I sounded so disappointed.
“Ah, no. Nothing like that.” Vivian shook her head, her long black locks swaying elegantly over her shoulders. It was the first time I’d seen her with her hair down.
“So you’re here raiding my fridge because…”
“Because I’m stressed as hell. And we can’t really call it raiding because there’s nothing to raid. Why’s there so much tofu?” Vivian quickly swept her hair up into a bun, securing it atop her head with an elastic.
I frowned. I had so many questions, but the only thing that came out of my mouth was, “What’s wrong with tofu? It’s healthy.”
She put a hand on her hip. “I can’t stress eat tofu.”
“Why are you stress eating at all?”
Vivian nibbled on her supple bottom lip. “It’s a long story. It’s actually why I’m here.”
“What’s going on, Vivian?”
“Dad?” Wally stepped out from the guest bedroom, hands busy fluffing a pillow. “I’m glad you’re back. I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for hours.”
I checked my phone. There were three text messages and four missed phone calls. “I was in meetings all day,” I said with a grunt. My mind immediately went to the worst-case scenario, attempting to fill in the gaps. “What’s going on? Don’t tell me you got her pregnant.”
Vivian’s face turned bright red. “What? Oh my God, no. That’s what you think this is about?”
I crossed my arms. “My son brings his ex-girlfriend home out of the blue… What am I supposed to think?”
Wally groaned. “Vivian’s in danger.”
I regarded her carefully, observing her from head to toe. Now that I had a moment to properly take her in, she did look rattled. Her shoulders were slumped, and she couldn’t stand still, toeing one foot with the other while biting her lip. She didn’t have any visible injuries, but it was obvious how shaken she was mentally.
I moved to pull up the nearest chair for her to sit down. She seemed grateful, immediately sitting down and pulling her knees to her chest. She was wearing a pair of shorts. Short shorts. I looked away out of decency, uncomfortably warm all of a sudden.
“What kind of danger?” I asked, pressing on.
Vivian took a deep breath. “I work for an investment firm with my friend, Molly. The other day, I noticed something weird about one of the accounts. Money was missing. Lots of it. Molly volunteered to bring the error up with our supervisor, and now she’s missing. They told me she transferred, but I don’t buy it for a second. She’s not answering my texts. And then earlier today when I went to speak to Wally, we were chased—”
“Chased,” I said. “Chased by who?”
My son shrugged. “A group of men. Three of them. Looked like thugs.”
“Why didn’t you call me?”
“I tried.”
A pang of guilt twisted in my chest. Right. I put my phone on silent mode so I wouldn’t be disturbed.
“What did they look like?” I asked, getting back to business.
“Big, dressed all in black. They all had matching tattoos.”
“Describe them.”
She nodded. “They all had snakes that wrapped around their necks.”
A chill scraped its way down my spine. “Snakes,” I repeated.
“Yes.”
“Black ink with red eyes?”
She took a deep breath. “Yes, that’s right.”
I stared at her, both stunned and alarmed. What the hell had she gotten herself into?
“Dad?” Wally said. “Do you know who they are?”
“Have you ever heard of the Azure Cartel?” I asked, my voice low.
Vivian arched an eyebrow. “No, but the account I flagged belonged to a company called the Azuras Association. Are they connected somehow?”
“I’m not sure, but I know for a fact that you should never mess with the Azure Cartel. They’ve been running rampant in the Chicago area for years. They mostly deal with weapons and drugs, but I have it on good authority that they’ve been branching out into human trafficking.”
Vivian visibly paled. “They tried to shove Wally and me into a van. Do you think…” She shuddered. “How do you know it’s even them?”
“Those tattoos are a part of their initiation process. New recruits earn
their tattoo once they’ve successfully—” I licked my lips, struggling to find a delicate way to put it.
“What?” she urged.
“It’s like a badge of honor,” I said. “One they earn after their first successful kill.”
I expected her to cry. I expected her to squirm in her seat. Any sane person would be rightly worried for their lives.
Vivian didn’t so much as flinch. “We need to go to the police,” she decided firmly. “If they have Molly… We need to get her back as soon as possible.” A fire ignited behind her eyes. Sheer determination in the face of the looming unknown. It was startling.
And sexy as hell.
The Azure Cartel meant business. If Vivian was telling the truth —and I had no reason to believe that she’d lie— this was no joke.
I knew that the smart thing to do was let the police handle this, but I also knew from experience that if I wanted something done right, I needed to do it myself. If the cartel really was after Vivian and had already gotten their hands on her friend, there was likely next to nothing the cops could do. As grim a truth as it was, people went missing under police protection all the time. Sometimes, unfortunately, with their cooperation.
“You’ve made up the guestroom for her?” I asked Wally.
He nodded. “Yep.”
“We’ll file a missing person’s report for your friend first thing in the morning. You’ll stay here until the authorities get to the bottom of this.”
Vivian’s eyes widened. “You mean… You mean I can stay here?”
“Would you rather go it alone?”
“No, I…” She inhaled through clenched teeth. “Thank you.”
“We’ll have to establish some ground rules,” I continued firmly. “Until we know that you’re out of harm’s way, you will not be permitted to return to your place of work. If your employers are somehow linked to the cartel, returning would make you an easy target.”
“Won’t people be suspicious if I don’t go?”
“Better safe than sorry. You can call in tomorrow morning and tell them you’ll be taking an extended leave of absence due to a family emergency.”