My skin pulses with each thump my heart makes. Any moment now, my skin will split open and everything will tumble free— or so it feels.
I put my hand on my chest to feel it and take a long, steady breath in. It’s an old theater trick a director taught me during my first TV job when I got nervous between takes. Put your hand on your heart and remember that it’s all just a machine in there. Machines can be studied and controlled. You’re the master of your machine, not the other way around. It’s silly and not very scientific, but I’ve always used it to calm my nerves when they start to take control of me.
I focus on my breathing for several minutes but I feel no more in control of it than when I began.
That guy was a hack anyway. The show got canceled after three episodes.
I pat my face dry with a towel and step back out into the room.
The television is off. I don’t blame him, I guess. I wouldn’t want to look at me either after that.
I part my lips to say his name but as I scan the room, I notice he’s gone.
I don’t really blame him for that either.
***
Botsford Plaza Hotels are quite possible the gaudiest looking places I’ve ever stayed at — gold fucking everywhere — but the staff is always pleasant no matter the location, so it’s a fair trade. This particular location is known for its dual tower design. There must be some kind of local festival happening tonight. I look up into the sky and see long wires connecting the towers with large, colorful lanterns hanging between them. Gaudy as fuck, I say.
Fox pops the trunk and lowers his head down to sift through the black duffel bag of weapons and ammo. He grabs the Model 60 revolver and slips it into his belt. I hold out my hand and he exhales hard before finally handing me the Glock.
“Keep it out of sight,” he says.
Five words. It’s the longest sentence he’s said to me all day long. Seven hours on the road and the most we could manage was brief nudges and monosyllabic mumbles. I suppose it’s better than the awkward alternative of talking about last night.
I hide the gun under my shirt and we make our way across the parking lot towards the hotel.
I glance around the lobby as we step inside and Fox’s shoulders go tense. There’s a party happening tonight and the entire lobby is packed to the brim with people in cocktail dresses and tuxedos. It’s not even nine o’clock yet and their cheeks are already pink with caviar and alcohol.
I follow Fox, lingering a few feet behind him with my sunglasses on, as he wanders over to the front desk in the corner.
“We’d like a room, please,” he tells the girl behind the desk.
She smiles wide and her eyes shift between us. “One bed?” she assumes.
“Two,” I mutter. “For the love of god, two.”
Fox forces a grin. “Two beds, please.”
She returns the smile and taps away at her computer. I feel his eyes on me, but I keep my head down like he asked me to. This isn’t a diner on the highway. It’s a big hotel in the middle of a city. Excellent chance for me to get recognized.
“Room 2617, sir.” She slides two key cards across the counter and Fox takes them. “Do you have any bags?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Have a good night.”
“Thank you.” He nudges my elbow. “Come on.”
“Holy shit! Fox!”
His grip latches around my arm but quickly drops again as he recognizes the voice. We turn around to see a short man in a deep blue suit with thick-rimmed, black glasses walking towards us with his arms stretched wide.
“Boxcar!” Fox smiles wide as they throw their arms around each other. I stand back to keep from getting hit by their sloppy man hug.
“I was starting to think you wouldn’t show…” Boxcar grins at him. “You didn’t even show up to your own funeral, after all.”
“I sent flowers,” Fox jokes.
Boxcar laughs and his eyes fall to me. His eyes twinkle in recognition behind his frames, but he doesn’t say a word. “So—” He looks at Fox. “You have something important for me to crack into, yes? Or can it wait until after the party? I can decrypt sober or sloshed, makes no difference.”
“You’re a talented man.” Fox tilts his head. “But time is a factor.”
“No problem. My laptop is upstairs.”
As interesting as this Boxcar character is, I’d rather not sit around and listen to them drone on about Fox’s army days. I reach out and snatch a key card from Fox’s hand. “2617, right?”
“Dani—”
“I’m going to go lay down,” I say quickly before he can complain. “Come get me when you’re done.”
He inhales fast but doesn’t attempt to argue as I turn around and make my way through the crowded lobby towards the golden elevator in the corner.
Chapter 11
Fox
“That’s her, huh?”
I watch as the elevator doors close on Dani’s down-turned face. “Yeah,” I answer. “That’s her.”
Boxcar nods with approval. “Good disguise.”
“Thanks.”
“So, what’d ya do?”
I sigh and tilt my neck until it pops. “Nothing. That’s the problem.”
He winces. “Ugh — I call that one the Caleb Special.”
“She says hello, by the way.”
“Pfft — bullshit. No, she fucking doesn’t.” We step towards the elevators and he taps the call button. “You still hanging around with that hag?”
I chuckle as the doors open and we step onto the empty elevator. “You two are made for each other, you know that, right?”
“Nope.” He rolls his hand into a fist and punches the button for the fifteenth floor.
“I told her you’d take care of some debts for her as thanks for helping me out,” I say, my lips curling. “Hope you don’t mind.”
Boxcar throws his head back. “Come on, man. Why would you do that? Now I’m obligated to help her.”
“You don’t have to even talk to her, Box. Just delete a few zeroes from her record and you’ll be square.”
“I don’t want to be square with Caleb. I liked the freaky trapezoid. It was comforting to know that I always had the upper hand on her.”
“Hasn’t this gone on long enough between you two?” I ask, feeling the rush of ascension. “Don’t you ever just want to make amends and be together again like a normal couple?”
“Nope.” He shakes his head with unmoving eyes. “Never again. Not with her.”
“What? You don’t believe in second chances, Box?”
He peeks at me over his glasses. “Never give a second chance to a girl with a boy’s name. It’s science. And for the record, I don’t think a man in love with his stepsister has the right to use the phrase normal couple when dispensing relationship advice.”
“Fair point.”
“You know,” he continues, “you could probably benefit from that wisdom at the moment.”
“Kind of need to have a first chance before worrying about a second.”
“And I didn’t just witness a first chance crashing and burning down in the lobby just now?”
I wince. “Maybe.”
The elevator dings and we step off onto the fifteenth floor. “But enough about women,” he says, waving a hand. “I want to hear about you and this epic journey of yours to the underworld and back.” I pause by the door as he slides his key card in. Then he studies my face. “It’s about a woman, isn’t it?”
“Pretty much.”
He sighs with rolling eyes. “All right— let’s hear it.”
We walk in and Boxcar crosses to the table by the window and folds his laptop open. I reach into my pocket for the flash drive. “I have a file on here that needs to be decrypted.”
“As you mentioned.” He cracks his knuckles and I hand him the drive. He pinches it between two fingers and points it at his USB port. “What’s on it?”
“The Snake Eyes master file.”
Boxcar drop
s the drive and it clatters against the keyboard. “Dude.” He sits back in his chair, his eyes sparkling like jewels. “The what?”
“The Snake Eyes master file.”
“Yeah, I heard you the first time. How the hell did you get it?”
“I stole it.”
He scoffs loudly. “From where?” I stare at him for several moments until his jaw drops. “And suddenly, it all comes together.”
“Box…”
“That’s where you’ve been?!”
“You’re shouting.”
“You’re damn right I’m shouting!” His mouth contorts, shifting between gasps and grins. “You’re in Snake Eyes?!”
“Not anymore.”
“Holy fucking shit, man!” He pushes his hands through his hair, ruffling it bad, but I doubt he cares. “This is huge.”
“What exactly were you expecting?” I ask. “I came back from the dead to hand that to you.”
He exhales. “Fox, when I woke up this morning, I certainly was not expecting to hack into the master file of the most deadly underground organization on the planet. And I say that with the greatest of respect and fear. Quite frankly, I’m appalled you even joined.”
“They didn’t give me much choice.”
“Yeah, I hear their recruitment tactics are a bit medieval. Never mind how you got in — how the hell did you even get out?”
“It’s a long story… but it involves me, a Russian mobster, an Italian girl, and a gunshot wound.”
“His or yours?”
“Mine.”
He sighs with admiration. “You’re a real badass, you know that, Fox?”
I smile.
“Wait—” He points a finger at my chest. “Do you have the tat?”
“Yes,” I nod. “I have the tattoo.”
“Can I see it?”
“Box—”
“Dude, you have to let me see it.”
I roll up my shirt, exposing the black cobra inked on my torso, and his eyebrows bounce with wonder. “Happy?”
He smirks. “Damn, you’re taut.”
I drop it back down. “Decrypt the file, Box.”
He hesitates for a few moments with his fingers tapping against his knees. “Fox… I have to ask.”
“Why do I need the file?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, how else would you expose the most deadly underground organization on the planet?”
“I was afraid of that…” He scratches his head. “You don’t. That’s the answer to that question. You fucking don’t.”
“I’m not here to debate it, Boxcar. I just need the file and then… you might want to lay low for a while.”
“Yeah, no shit. I’d ask why you’re so keen on killing yourself, but I’m pretty sure I already know the answer to that question.”
“They threatened her.”
“I noticed — along with the rest of the world.” He traces his thumb down his cheek. “Look… I don’t want to be a downer on this bright and sunny conversation we’re having here, Fox, but I feel like I have a moral responsibility to point out that you’re in this file, too.”
“I know.”
“And you’re okay with this?”
“With them exposed, they won’t have a reason to go after her anymore.”
“Fox…”
“Can you do it or not, Box?”
He holds up his hands. “Hey— I’m not saying I won’t do it. I’m pretty sure I still owe you like nine more favors after this one. I just want to make sure you know that you rotting in a cage is a very possible outcome in this — and that’s the best case scenario. The scenario directly below it includes torture and other very unpleasant things.”
I pause, staring him down. “It’s Dani.”
“She has no idea you’re doing this, does she?”
“No.”
“That’s noble as fuck, man.” He sighs and snatches the drive off the keyboard. “You know, just once, I’d like to be the cool guy in the room.”
I shift around to sit on the bed as he plugs the drive into his laptop. “Don’t act like you wouldn’t do the same for Caleb.”
He inhales sharply but says nothing to argue against it. “This might take a while.”
Chapter 12
Dani
The door opens behind me. I lie still on the bed, drifting back from the edge of sleep and I stay that way. I can’t believe I’m actually faking it like a damn child but it’s better than trying to have a conversation with him. Hey, remember last night when your hand was between my legs and your tongue was in my mouth? Good times, eh?
I never thought I’d say this but I can’t wait to go back to Los Angeles. This awkward cloud above our heads is turning my lungs black, even worse than the smog in the Hollywood Hills. Another few days of this and I’m bound to completely snap.
I close my eyes and focus my hearing. He’s moving across the room, his feet slow and soft like he’s trying not to wake me. Good. He’s probably avoiding me as much as I’m avoiding him.
“Dani.”
I open my eyes as that voice cuts down my back.
That’s not Fox. That’s—
I spin around and his gloved hand slaps against my mouth. His lips curl into a sinister smile and he brings a finger to his lips. “Shh…” he warns.
I look into Mercer’s icy blue eyes and fear overwhelms me. He stares back at me without his mask and I see the rest of his face for the first time. He’s far younger than I thought he’d be with dirty blond hair and only a few wrinkles around his eyes. Youthful but deadly in every way.
My hands roll into fists to slam them against his chest but he easily grabs my wrists and holds me down against the bed. I inhale deep, preparing my lungs to cry out but he grabs a knife off his belt and lays the blade against my face with a quick twist of his hand.
“Don’t scream,” he growls, “or I’ll fuck up the rest of your pretty face.”
I freeze, terrified of the sharp edge digging into my other cheek.
Mercer studies me. “You know, I’m a big fan of yours…” he whispers. “Not at first — I thought you were a bit too cutesy — but now that I’ve seen you up close… I get it. I get what Fox sees in you.” He runs his free hand over my head. “Maybe it’s the new hair…”
I cower from his touch as bile rises in my throat. “Are you going to kill me now?”
He smiles, holding back a bit of laughter in his throat. “Maybe,” he answers with complete truth in his tone. “But that’s up to you.”
“What do you mean?”
He releases me and stands up, sliding his knife back into his belt. “I wanted to get some time alone with you,” he says. “No funny business. I just want to chat.”
I sit up. “Chat about what?”
Mercer crosses the room and grabs the chair from the writing desk in the corner. “The weakness of my enemy is my strength.” He carries the chair back and sets it next to the bed. As he sits down, he reaches for his handgun, slides it free, and balances it on his knee. I look at it, cringing as he keeps his finger resting against the trigger. “I am a man that likes to know my strengths, so… How are you, Dani? Do you mind if I call you Dani? Or do you prefer that adorable stage name of yours?”
I stare at him in silence, dumbfounded by his friendly tone.
“Dani it is, then.” He gestures to the bed. “Please, relax. I’m not going to hurt you.”
My muscles burn from their tense grip on my body but I try to do as he says. I slide back against the headboard and my hand touches hard metal beneath my pillow. My gun. Of course. I forgot I put it there before I fell asleep.
I take a breath and drop my stiff shoulders to show that I’m relaxed.
Mercer smiles, satisfied by my apparent attempt. “Dani, did Fox tell you about our organization? About Snake Eyes?” He pauses for a moment. “Answer, please.”
“Yes.”
“Then you know who I am? You know what I am capable of?” I nod and he blin
ks twice. “Good, good. But do you know who he is?”
I furrow my brow. “Who?”
“Fox.” He shifts in his chair but keeps his piece pointed forward. “I don’t pick just anybody to join my squad, Dani. Fox Fitzpatrick was chosen for a reason. I saw a potential in him and potential like that… it’s not the kind I let go to waste, you know what I mean?”
“Not really.”
He leans forward. “Fox is a killer, Dani. I usually don’t like slapping labels on everything but in his case, there’s no better word.” A chill rolls down my spine as he grins at me. “You remember Senator Lamb. We put two bullets through his eyes. It usually takes two men to pull off a kill like that, but Fox… He can shoot a man through his eye from a thousand yards and take out the other eye before his body even hit the ground. Truly a legend in every way.”
I cringe, trying to force the image from my mind.
“But… something was holding him back,” he continues. “Fox was quiet, reserved. Which is not at all uncommon in our line of work, obviously, but it was different with him. Turns out, there was a girl.” He raises his brow. “That’s you.”
“You think?”
He chuckles. “He didn’t say much — just that you were forbidden.”
I slide my fingers around the butt of my gun.
“When Fox went dark, I was devastated to lose such a valuable item in my toolbox…” He bites his cheek. “Until we discovered the little security breach. Someone helped themselves to our master file — two copies, to be exact. Now, Dani… you wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”
“No.”
He tilts his head. “For an actor, you’re a terrible liar. But that’s okay. I would be a special kind of fool if I expected trust between the two of us, but if I may… I would like to try and connect with you if you’ll let me.”
My fingers tighten around the trigger. “I don’t understand…”
“I’m going to tell you the truth, Dani. I imagine a young woman of your status doesn’t experience that often from those around her. Am I correct in my assumption? I will not be offended if you tell me otherwise — we come from two very different worlds.”
I nod.
“I’m going to tell you the truth,” he repeats, “and for the next few minutes, I will expect the same from you. It’s only fair. Do you agree? Don’t nod. I want you to say it.”
Bodyguard: A Bad Boy Stepbrother Romance (Snake Eyes Book 1) Page 9