by Penelope Sky
Yep. He knew.
I didn’t say anything else, knowing it would be stupid to say more than I should.
“I just had an interesting conversation.” Anger spilled out over the phone, filling the air around me. It was hot and thick, humid like on a summer day.
“I hope you weren’t talking to yourself.”
“Carter,” he hissed.
Bad time to make a joke.
“You went to the Underground and bought some woman—using my name?” The ferocity erupted over the line. “One of the Skull Kings called to check up on me because I’ve never sent someone in my place. Asked if I’d gotten the girl yet.”
Maybe I should have given him a heads-up. “Look, I didn’t know they were going to call you—”
“You don’t know anything about the Underground. You don’t know anything about the process. How stupid are you? You really thought you could pull this off without telling me? Do you have any idea how psycho the Skull Kings are?”
“To the best of my knowledge, they’ve never called you before.”
“Because I’ve never sent you in my place, dumbass.”
“And what did you say?”
He sighed into the phone. “I went with it. If I let them believe I was out of the loop, they would have killed you.”
“Were you convincing?”
“Damn convincing, asshole. Now what the hell is going on, Carter? We promised we were out of the game. What could have possibly brought you back into it?”
“I didn’t think I’d ever get back into it either. It was a one-time thing.”
“And why was it a one-time thing?” He practically growled into the phone like a bear about to rip my face off. “What was so damn important that you would drag us back into this? I’ve got a wife now. And not just a wife—a pregnant wife. I can’t risk her safety or the safety of my kid.”
“I never wanted to drag you into it. I thought it would be simple—in and out.”
“Asshole, it’s never that simple. If you wanted this done right, you should have brought me into it.”
“You would have said no.”
“Damn right. And we wouldn’t be in this mess because of my wisdom.”
“Mess?” I asked. “What mess? They called and asked a few questions, and that was it. You’re being paranoid.”
“Am I?” he countered. “Because they’ve never called and asked questions before.”
“That was because I’ve never gone in your place. Now that it’s cleared up, we’re good to go.” The damage was done, and there was nothing we could do about it now anyway. “This is the last time, I swear.”
He calmed down slightly, but his anger still simmered. “What was so enticing that you couldn’t say no?”
The only thing I cared about. “Cash.”
“How much?”
“One-fifty.”
Conway was silent, clearly surprised.
“I’ll split it with you since you covered for me.”
“Carter, I don’t care about the money. I care about my family now. I want nothing to do with this anymore. Call me boring, but I want the quiet life that my father has always talked about. I want to wash my hands clean and start over.”
“You’re getting your wish. I only agreed because of the cash, but I won’t agree again.”
“You better not. And who offered you that kind of fortune?”
“Some Russian.” I didn’t want to tell Conway the specifics so he wouldn’t worry. “Asked me to get his sister out. I said no at first, but he kept offering more and more money. When he hit one-fifty, I couldn’t say no.”
“One-fifty is a lot of money, but it’s still not worth it. I want your promise that this is the last time.”
“You’ve got my word, Con.”
“And you can’t give this woman back right away. Skull Kings are paying attention. If they spot her somewhere, we’re done for.”
“The Russian guy asked me to hold on to her for a month anyway. He’s out of the country on business or something.”
“Perfect. Keep her in the house.”
Easier said than done. “She’s a bit of a handful…”
“Why?” he countered. “Tell her she’ll be rescued soon. Chill out and watch TV or something.”
“Yeah…” I didn’t tell him that Egor told me not to tell her he was coming for her. I knew I was in the middle of something I never should have gotten mixed up in. She definitely wasn’t his sister, and whatever claim he had over her was sinister. I was curious to know what their real relationship was, but if I asked, I could get my hands even dirtier. It was best to be quiet, finish the job, and then forget about it. “Anyway, what are you and the wife doing?”
“No, we aren’t gonna have a casual conversation like you didn’t just cross me, Carter. I’m still pissed at you.” Click. He hung up.
I set the phone on my desk and sighed, knowing I’d deserved that. Now that I had the woman in my house, understood that I was the middleman in a tense relationship, I wished I could go back and deny Egor’s offer. But something told me there would have been worse ramifications if I didn’t cooperate.
Maybe doing what he asked was the best way to keep me and the rest of my family safe.
This woman was in a bad situation, but there was nothing anyone could do about it—especially me. I wouldn’t bother asking her about her story. I wouldn’t bother getting to know her at all. I would stay as distant from her as possible to make sure I never sympathized with her.
They say you should never get attached to the farm animals before they’re slaughtered.
I’d follow that advice now.
Fifteen
Bones
I walked into the bar, took a quick scan around, and found Max standing at the bar with a glass of scotch. One elbow rested on the counter, and his eyes were focused on a brunette on the opposite side of the room. With chiseled arms, battle scars, and an intense expression in his eyes, he was the kind of bad boy women were told to steer clear of.
But he was nothing compared to me.
It was my first night out in months, and the second I stood inside that room, I felt several women look my way. I was in a black t-shirt and jeans, the material hugging the rigid muscles of my body. All I’d been doing for the past few months was lifting weights and working, so my muscles bulged to their maximum capacity.
I made my way to the bar where Max was standing and took the spot beside him.
He tore his gaze away from the woman he was eyeing to look at me. His intense expression vanished when he saw me, his eyebrows rising up his forehead. His head cocked to the side slightly. “What are you doing here?”
“You invited me.” I waved down the bartender, a pretty blonde, and got my usual.
“Yeah, but I didn’t think you would come. You never come.”
“Well, I did tonight.” I clinked my glass against his and took a drink, letting the booze burn all the way down into my gut. Alcohol was an essential part of my life, and I would never take a hiatus from it again. But I would also never get that drunk again either.
Max’s surprise faded away, and a boyish look of joy came over his face. “Finally, my boy is back.” He clinked his glass against mine. “Damn, I missed you.”
I chuckled and patted him on the back. “I missed you too.”
“It’s been a long three months,” he said. “I wasn’t sure if you would ever get over it.”
I would never be over Vanessa completely, not when I loved her so deeply. But I’d finally come to accept that the relationship was really over and I needed to move on with my life. She had moved on—and now it was my turn.
“What brought you around?” he asked, taking a drink from his glass.
“Acceptance. Closure.”
His eyebrow arched with suspicion. “You didn’t drive out there, did you?”
I didn’t answer by taking a drink.
“You drove all the way out there?” he asked incredulously. “What hap
pened? Did you sleep with her or something?”
No, I didn’t even get out of my car. “I parked outside her gallery and saw her inside.”
“Oh no…”
“Relax. I saw her inside with some guy she was seeing. They probably had dinner, and then they were looking at her paintings together, holding hands. They clearly have a relationship…not some fling.”
Max’s facial expression fell instantly, the sad horror on his face. “Shit…are you alright?”
“Yeah.” I looked into my glass, remembering the searing pain inside my chest. “I was upset for a bit, but then I realized I had no reason to be. We broke up for a reason. She shouldn’t be alone forever.”
Max looked at me like he wasn’t buying it.
“It gave me closure.”
“Wow…who knew going out there would actually be a good idea.”
“If she’d been alone in that gallery, I’m not sure what would have happened. Maybe I would have gotten out of the car. Maybe I wouldn’t have. I don’t know. Seeing her with someone else was probably the best thing that could have happened. It made me drive away. It made me come out to the bar with you. Something good came out of it.”
He nodded in agreement. “True. I’m happy for you.”
Happy wasn’t the right word. I would never be as happy as I was when I was with her. Even when her family was insulting me every day, calling me trash, going home to her was the greatest part of my day. She was the only woman I would ever love. All the other women in my life would just be entertainment. “Yeah.”
He drank from his glass then returned it to the counter. He looked at the booze, the dark liquid that made rational men turn into assholes. He sucked in his cheeks like he was soaking up every drop of scotch. He turned back to me again then patted his hand on the counter. “I wasn’t going to tell you this because it’s a conflict of interest, but since you’re feeling better, I guess there’s no harm.”
The short spurt of peacefulness I’d felt was ruined by what he said. My eyes darted to his face as my body tensed for whatever news he was about to share. “What?”
“I just got an offer for a hit. But I passed on it because it would be too weird.”
Blood pounded in my temple just the way a migraine did. It thudded hard and deep, cracking my skull. My hand was on the cool glass, but now my fingertips didn’t feel the cold sensation. All the chatter around me died away as my fear suffused the area around us. I was terrified of what he would say even though I had no idea what he would reveal. “Max, spit it out. Who’s the target?”
He rubbed the back of his neck before he answered. “Conway Barsetti.”
My blood turned ice-cold.
Fuck.
Now my heart pounded harder. My fear gripped both of my lungs so I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t even think straight. All I thought about was Vanessa’s heartbreak as she attended her brother’s funeral. I thought of the depression that would hit both of her parents, which would then destroy her. Her life would never be the same.
“I passed because I knew you wouldn’t want any one of us to take the job.”
“And you didn’t think you should tell me this information anyway?” I slammed my drink onto the counter, making the glass shatter.
Max didn’t flinch. “She’s not part of your life anymore, Bones. It’s none of your concern what happens to her or her family. She’s got a new man now.”
“None of my concern?” He was right, she wasn’t my responsibility anymore. Her family had treated me like trash and took away the light of my life. They’d never treated me with respect or gave me a real chance. I should want them all to suffer. I should want them to lose someone they cared about, the way I lost someone I cared about. But none of those considerations entered my brain because they seemed irrelevant. All I thought about was Vanessa, the woman I loved. If I let this happen, she would never get over it. “It is my fucking concern. When did this happen? Who made the order?”
“I didn’t get a lot of information. But it seems like the Skull Kings are behind it. Conway crossed them somehow, but they don’t want to get their hands dirty because of his public image—which is why they called us.”
“Jesus fucking Christ. When is this happening?”
“I’m not sure, but they offered a ton of cash, so I know someone will pick it up.”
This was a damn nightmare. “Get that information. Now.”
“What?” he asked incredulously. “What the hell are you going to do?”
“Make sure Conway doesn’t get hit. Obviously.”
“You can’t be serious.” Now he slammed his glass on the table. “After everything those stuck-up assholes did to you?”
“Irrelevant.”
“Irrelevant? They treated you like scum.”
“Because I am scum.” I’d come to accept who I really was. I’d come to embrace it. “When it came down to it, Vanessa chose her family over me. That’s because she can live without me, not without them. So if something happens to Conway or his wife, she’ll never be the same. She’ll know a new kind of heartbreak that she’ll never recover from. I have to do something, Max. Now, get me that information. Not tomorrow or in an hour.” I pointed my finger in his face. “You make those fucking calls right now.”
Max was sitting on the couch in the living room with his laptop open. I was gathering all of my gear, my guns, ammo, bulletproof vest, everything I had. I had no idea who I was up against, and I had to be prepared.
Max hung up his call.
“What did you find out?” I barked.
“You aren’t going to like it.”
“Spit it out.” I was ready to snap my rifle in half because I was so impatient.
“Conway has some appearance tonight in Milan. When he leaves, they’re going to hit him then.”
I glanced at the time on my watch. It was seven in the evening. That left only a few hours at most. “His wife?”
“She’s at their house in Verona. But they’re going to get her too. Take them both out.”
“Fuck.” I dragged my hand down my face, furious this was happening. “She’s pregnant.”
“I think that’s the point.”
I slammed my hand through the coffee table, smashing it and making a hole right through the wood.
Max didn’t react. “You need to calm down.”
“I won’t fucking calm down.” I was always calm on every mission. Nothing affected me because I was focused on my task. But this made the emotions inside me run haywire. This was personal now.
I pulled out my phone and called the man I thought I would never speak to again. A part of me hated him, hated him for the way he’d thrown me out like trash. But another part of me respected him, respected him for raising such a magnificent and strong daughter. I loved her so damn much, so I could never hate her father completely.
He picked up instantly, his guard sky-high. “What did I tell you?” He threatened me with just his tone of voice, reminding me what he would do to me if he ever saw me again. He’d pointed a gun right between my eyes and said he would kill me if I ever showed my face again. That was more than enough reason for me to let his son die. But my hatred for this man wasn’t as strong as my love for his daughter.
“The Skull Kings have put a hit on Conway. I just found out thirty minutes ago. They’re hitting Conway tonight at the banquet he’s attending. They’re also hitting Sapphire at their home in Verona. Their objective is to torture and kill them both.”
Crow reacted far more calmly than I did when I first heard the news. Perhaps he was a seasoned veteran, someone who had the skill to remain logical when he should be emotional. “How do you know this?”
“We don’t have time for this shit, alright? Everything I’ve said is factual. We have very little time here. You need to get Sapphire out and save Conway at the same time. Don’t waste any more time talking to me.”
Crow didn’t question me, knowing he wouldn’t call my bluff, not when his son’s lif
e was on the line. “The rest of my family. What about them?”
“No hits on any of them. They only want Conway and his wife.” Vanessa was safe, the most important person on the list. If there were any chance she wasn’t, I’d leave Conway to his fate and save her instead.
He hung up without saying anything else.
Not even thank you.
I shoved the phone into my pocket. I was tempted to call Vanessa, but there wasn’t time for that. After not speaking to her for so long, the conversation wouldn’t be simple and short. She was in no danger, so there was no point in telling her anything. “Call the guys. They’ll get Sapphire out of there. You and I will take care of Conway.”
Max gave me the most dumbfounded expression I’d ever seen. “You can’t be serious. You expect us to risk our lives for those assholes? After what they did to you?” He rose to his feet. “After we’ve had to see you mope around for the last three months and almost die in a car accident?”
“I’m not doing it for them. I’m doing it for her.”
“Whatever,” he snapped. “Her life isn’t on the line, so I couldn’t care less.”
“Max.” If I had to do this alone, I would. But my chances of success were much greater with my crew. “They’re all five hours away. They probably have men around here, and they can probably get here in a chopper, but still. They need me.”
“Did they ask for your help?”
“No. But that doesn’t matter.”
“I think it does.”
“Max, together or apart, Vanessa is my second.” When it came to our partners, it was a mutual understanding that they were the priority of us all. If Cynthia’s mother were kidnapped, we’d all be involved. “She’s still my second. She’ll always be my second.”
Max’s nostrils flared in annoyance, but he finally dropped the argument.
“I’ve gotta do this, Max. I know Vanessa…if she loses her brother, she’ll never get over it.”
“I don’t see how that’s your problem, man. She turned her back on you.”
But she didn’t want to. I remembered the last day we were together, the way she was broken like shattered glass. I’d never seen her lose her strength like that, seen her sob like that. Losing me was the hardest thing she’d ever had to do. I knew she still loved me, even if she was with someone else. I knew she would never love him the way she loved me. “Even if she did, I would never turn my back on her.”