“We need to go.”
“To the hospital?”
He shakes his head and signs off the computer. “No, just…we need to leave here.”
We make it to the door, but he stops and turns to face me before opening it.
“Sally, I need to search you.”
“Search me?”
He nods. “I don’t even know who you are. I have to make sure you aren’t taking anything from my office.”
I give him an indignant glare. “I was on the floor with you the whole time.”
“Just hold still.”
He feels me up from head to toe, spending more time squeezing my breasts than necessary. He takes the tiny purse I brought and dumps in on the desk, examining the tube of lipstick and cell phone inside. He even goes so far as to remove the phone’s battery and search for hidden compartments.
“Well?” I demand.
“I’m sorry. You just have to understand—”
Fake tears well in my eyes as I shove my items back into the purse. “You don’t trust me. It’s fine. I just want to go, Tom.”
With a heavy sigh, he walks me back past security and out the front door. When we’re on the sidewalk, he grabs my wrist and tries to turn me to face him.
“Sally, can I—”
“No.”
I stomp down the sidewalk, euphoric with the completion of my first operation. Tom doesn’t follow.
As soon as I’m out of his sight, I dump the purse into a trash can. I left my actual purse in a locker at a nearby bus station, and I head that way.
I did it. I fucking ran my first op alone, and I killed it. All I can think of for the rest of the night is how proud my uncle Jeff would be of me right now.
6
Phoenix
“I’m here!” Coco’s voice echoes through the penthouse, waking me from a perfect dream. “It’s Monday, Nix. You know what that means?”
I roll over, push myself up, and swing my legs over the bed. I’d hoped that over the weekend she’d realize that becoming more involved with my business was too dangerous and drop it. But as with most things with Coco, she’s drawn to living on the edge and outside the fringe. I tried to give her everything a normal kid her age had, and I did, pushing her toward college, but she wanted nothing to do with it.
This isn’t the life I wanted for her. This isn’t the way I thought shit would go down when I plucked her from the streets and gave her a roof over her head. I never thought I’d have anyone else involved in my business—especially Coco.
“I’ll be out in a minute.” I scrub my hands down my face to clear my head. When I finally climb to my feet, I catch a glimpse of the clock and it’s only noon. Last night I stayed up until five a.m. completing a task for a buddy who had called in a last-minute favor.
After washing my face and pulling on a pair of sweat pants, I finally make my way to the kitchen. Coco is sitting at the island, her feet swinging back and forth as she waits on a stool. “Took you long enough,” she says as I walk in. “Coffee’s done.” She smiles cheerfully.
“Thanks.” I’m trying not to be grumpy, but I’m still tired and I know she’s going to start right in on me about starting to “work” for me today. I imagine this is a tiny sliver of what it’s like to be a parent—being half asleep when you’re ambushed with chatter. I pour a cup of coffee and feel her eyes on me. “Have a good weekend?”
“It was amazing. I went to…”
Following my advice, she truly lived this weekend, visiting places and experiencing them as if it were her last time. Maybe she was here to tell me she’d changed her mind. I’m leaning against the counter across from her, sipping my coffee, and trying to focus on her words, but she’s talking so fast and full of so much excitement that I can’t.
“Slow down, Coco. I haven’t even had an entire cup yet.”
She snaps her mouth shut and nods. “Sorry,” she whispers. “I forget you’re not a morning person.”
I smile behind the cup at the innocence on her face. “Just talk slower.”
“Okay.” She takes a deep breath and starts to speak at half the pace as before. “So I did what you asked. I took time and thought about if I could give everything up if I work for you and get caught. I thought long and hard about it, Nix.”
I raise an eyebrow and feel optimistic she’s going to say what I hope. “Yeah?”
She drums her hands on the counter. “Yup.”
“And?”
“I didn’t change my mind. I want to become your protégé.”
“Fuck,” I whisper and try to muster a smile because she’s so excited. “As long as you’re sure.”
“I am!” She nods quickly. “Can we start today?”
I take a few gulps before placing the mug on the island counter and giving her my undivided attention. “We’re going to do this at my pace. There are things you need to learn first, and once you’ve mastered them, we’ll go a little deeper.”
She crosses her arms, drops a shoulder, and frowns. “Am I going to be old and gray before you actually let me do anything exciting?”
I laugh softly at her dramatics. “No, love. I just need you to learn the basics. This isn’t something you can dive right into. Everyone has to start somewhere.”
Her shoulders straighten a little, but she’s still not happy. “Fine. Where do we start? Do I get to go out with you tonight?”
“No,” I say in a calm tone even though my insides are jumping. “We’re going to start with computer basics.”
She rolls her eyes. “I know how to use a computer, Nix. I’m not an idiot.”
“Facebook and Twitter don’t count.” I smirk.
“Hey, do I get to pick a badass nickname?” She taps her chin as her eyes move around the room. “What’s yours?”
“Nix,” I laugh and start to pour another cup of coffee. I can already tell this is going to be a long day.
“Well, that’s not really original. You should be something like Hammer or Flames.”
“Nope. Just Nix. It’s easier for me.” Even though she’s having fun, I’m having anything but.
“I’m not going to be that lame.” She climbs off the stool and twirls in a circle, pushing herself around using the counter as a catapult. “I want something spectacular.”
Every time I look at her, I still see the fragile, scared teenager I caught on the streets. She’s come a long way since then, growing into a young woman, but she still has so much to learn. “How about Shortie?”
“Ugh,” she groans, stops spinning, and hops off the stool, taking a few steps backward. “That’s not powerful.” She flexes her biceps and draws her eyebrows downward. “I’m tougher than I look.”
“When picking a nickname, you have to select something people will remember when they see you. You’re not a big thing, Coco. Shortie is perfect for you.”
“Fine.” She walks toward the stool, dragging her feet with every step. “Shorty with a -y, not an -ie.”
“Sure,” I say to appease her. No one is going to ask how to spell it, but anything to make her happy.
“I reserve the right to change it later, though. It doesn’t sound tough enough to me.” She shrugs. “Where do we start?”
“Let’s get you a computer and get you started with the basics.”
“Can’t I just use yours?” she says with a whiny voice as I round the island and stand next to her.
“No, kid. A person’s computer is sacred. There’s no sharing. We’ll get you everything you need today, and we’ll start your lessons tomorrow.”
She glances up at me with the biggest eyes. “What am I supposed to do all day?”
“You’ll set up your computer by yourself and learn how to use it a little on your own, before we start in on coding and some other fun stuff tomorrow.”
“Yeah. That sounds like a hoot,” she says with sarcasm.
Brushing a few strands of fallen hair behind her shoulder, I tell her, “We all have to start somewhere.”
“Good, Shorty.” I give her shoulder a quick squeeze, and I am filled with uncertainty and a touch of pride. “Let me get dressed, and we’ll hit the store.”
She places her hand on mine before it slips from her shoulder. “I’ll prep your schedule for the week while you put yourself together.”
“Thanks, Coco.” I lean forward and kiss her forehead. I’ve never loved another person besides my parents the way I do her. Not a lusty love, not full of want and need, but the kind where she’s part of me and I’d kill to protect her. She weaseled her way into my heart and solidified a place in my life. She’s the kid I never had, nor did I ever want, but I wouldn’t change a second of our time together.
“Go, Nix. We have shopping to do.” She rubs her hands together and laughs because she shops like it’s an Olympic sport. “Even if it’s not clothes, I’m ready to burn a hole in your credit card.”
“If you’re good, maybe we’ll get you a few things for your wardrobe too.”
Her eyes light up with excitement. “Really?”
“Yeah.” I smile, but I regret the words already.
“I want some outfits like Sharon Stone wears in Scarface. That woman had some seriously badass outfits.”
“You mean Casino.” I stop myself from rolling my eyes before I stalk off toward my bedroom.
“Same thing.”
But it’s not even close.
* * *
We haven’t even been at the store for five minutes, and she’s already made a beeline for the most beautiful laptop in the place. It’s completely Coco’s style, but it won’t get the job done and it’s hard to crush her dreams.
She strokes the laptop. “Look at this one. Oh my God,” she sighs. “It’s so beautiful, Nix. Can I have it?”
“It won’t work, kid. It’s not powerful enough.”
Flattening her palms against the lid, she stakes her claim. “But it’s tiny and so sparkly.”
Walking to the other side of the table, I glance down at the more powerful and completely necessary model. “This is the one you need.”
She frowns. “But it’s so…so plain.”
“You can pretty it up,” the saleswoman says, wearing the typical black cargo pants and signature blue shirt all store employees do. “You can buy skins and decals to make it as beautiful as you want.”
Coco’s eyes widen. “You can?”
“Yeah. There are millions of ways to make it as pretty.”
“But I want the gold one.”
“Eh,” the saleswoman mutters and glances in my direction with a tiny smirk. “It’s pretty, but it doesn’t do as much as the one your boyfriend wants to buy.”
“He’s not my boyfriend, he’s my…”
“Brother,” I say quickly because it’s too hard to explain and it’s not important. “I’m buying her a birthday gift.”
“My brother bought me a shitty coffee mug.” She grimaces and looks back at Coco. “You’re a lucky girl.”
Coco nods and I tap the laptop, ready to be done. “We’ll take this one.”
“Anything else?”
“Maybe a sleeve for her to travel with.”
Coco looks at me in confusion. “A sleeve?”
“It’s like a little purse for your computer.” The saleswoman saves me. “Let’s go over to the other wall and pick one out.”
Coco and the woman scurry away, and I weave my way toward them just as Coco zooms in on a hot pink sleeve and snags it off the wall. “This one.”
“We’ll take it.” I reach in my suit jacket and pull out my business credit card before handing it to the saleswoman.
She stares down at it for a moment, reading over the details. “I’ll get it wrapped up for you Mr. Ash.”
After she walks away, Coco elbows me in the ribs. “You know your fake name is kind of dumb, right?”
“Shush it, kid.”
“I mean, Phoenix Ash? Come on. It can’t possibly be real. Even I know that.”
“Why don’t you go sign the receipt and get your computer so we can hit Saks.”
She smiles widely. “I’m going to be a kickass Ginger,” she says, referencing the character Stone plays in Casino, but she doesn’t realize she’s closer to the Ginger from Gilligan’s Island. There isn’t a badass bone in Coco’s body.
An hour later, I’m standing outside the dressing room in the women’s department in Saks, waiting for Coco to try on her third outfit out of about twenty, when someone in the distance catches my eye. Maybe it’s the glint from her lips when she speaks or the sound of her laugh across the room, but I know I know her.
“What do you think of this one?” Coco asks as she steps out of the fitting room dressed in a gold and white dress that’s similar to the one worn in Casino—only shorter and with a faux fur wrap.
I resist the urge to run up to her and cover her breasts that are halfway exposed by the deep, plunging neckline. “It’s nice, but a little over-the-top.”
She spins in a circle and pulls the fur tighter around her shoulders. “I feel so badass in this, Nix. I want it.”
“Fine. Fine. You’re an adult, Coco. Get what you want.”
She runs up to me, squealing like a little kid. “Anything?”
“Anything.” I smile and glance over my shoulder, spotting the familiar face again. “I’m going to head over to the men’s department. You okay over here?”
“You don’t want to see what I’m buying?”
I shake my head. “Get anything you want and put it on my card.”
“You’re the best.” She stands on her tiptoes, and I lean over, letting her kiss my cheek before she strides back into the dressing room with her head held high.
I’ve created a monster. I know I have. Since the day I brought her home, I spoiled her and indulged her every whim. The kid had been so deprived of everything that I overdid it and took everything to the extreme.
Standing behind a pillar, I watch the familiar woman. She’s browsing through a rack of cocktail dresses, oblivious to my presence. It’s her mouth that draws me in. That fucking mouth piercing keeps flashing in the lights like the beacon from a lighthouse.
When she tugs on it with her tongue and there’s a twinkle, it hits me where I know her from—Hassan’s arm piece but without the bright blue, chin-length hair. She’s more beautiful with the long, pin-straight black hair that sways each time she moves a new dress aside than with the electric-blue wig. Her eyes drift to where I’m standing, and I step to the side, shielding myself from her view with the pillar.
I’m not ready for her to see me. Staying hidden until I know she’s alone is more important than my need to speak with her. Reaching into my pocket, I grab my phone and open the camera. I need to get a photo of Eva and figure out who she is before I expose myself to a possible threat. Hassan follows his dick, but I tend to use my brain. But that doesn’t mean I won’t toy with her a little.
I weave through the racks of clothes and step behind her as she’s standing in front of a mirror holding a hanger with a sleek black dress pressed against her body. Her eyes catch mine in the mirror and widen in recognition. “Eva,” I say with a slight smile to her reflection in the mirror.
Her hand with the dress drops, and she spins around on her heel to face me. She smiles nervously and sucks that fucking ring into her mouth.
7
Kennedy
Well, shit. This is no good. Nix is eyeing me like a hungry wolf that just found its next meal. And I’ve never felt so naked in my life.
I want to turn and run. Without a disguise to make me into Eva, Raine, Laura, or one of my other many identities, I don’t know what to say to him. Even though I knew one of my work contacts could see me like this, I wasn’t prepared for it. And of all people, it would have to be the man who already seems to be able to see right through me.
“You shopping for a dress, Nix?” I ask, my tone casual but my heart racing as I continue looking
through a rack of dresses.
“You look better without the wig.”
He bypasses my question smoothly. I pause my dress perusal and meet his dark, steely eyes.
“Thanks,” I say crisply. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have shopping to do.”
Nix follows me to the next rack of dresses. “No need to buy anything new to impress your sugar daddy with. I hear he’s back in Dubai on business.”
“Do you mean Hassan?” I ask, my tone unconcerned. Inside, I feel a flare of annoyance that Nix knew that and I didn’t.
He hums with amusement. “How many sugar daddies do you have, Eva?”
I narrow my eyes in a glare. “I don’t need a sugar daddy, Nix. Don’t be so backward that you assume all attractive women want a man to pay their bills. I pay my own.”
“And what did you say you do for a living, again?”
“I didn’t.”
He’s a few feet away, but Nix’s presence still feels so warm and close that I want to duck my face and run.
“Kennedy.” The sound of my actual name makes me curl up and die inside. “How about this one?”
I turn to my friend Amara, whom I stupidly agreed to come shopping with today. So very fucking stupidly.
“I like it,” I say, smiling weakly at the short, long-sleeved black dress she’s holding up.
Amara looks back and forth between Nix and me and retreats to a rack out of earshot, obviously feeling like she interrupted something.
Just me blowing my cover to the most elusive cyberthief in the world. Nothing to see here.
“Kennedy.” Nix’s deep voice sounds rich with the satisfaction of knowing my real name. “I’m learning a lot about you today.”
“And I’m learning I was right about you being an asshole. Now if you don’t mind, I’m shopping here.”
“I won’t tell Hassan your real name. And I also won’t tell him how stunning you are without all that shit on your eyes.”
I shrug. “Wouldn’t you assume my sugar daddy has seen me without makeup, Nix?”
“Has he?”
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