by M. Malone
Oh yeah? Like how I think about all the ways to kill your brother-in-law on a daily basis? Like that? I kept that thought to myself though. Normal people didn’t think about killing people. That was the problem. At the core of it, I was a killer. Noah wasn’t. Noah had killed. He’d been an assassin just like me. The problem was, I liked it. And that made me the boogeyman.
But you don’t do that anymore. No. No I didn’t. That was the reason for my locked up monster, after all. Now, the things I cared about were protecting my new family and taking down my old one.
My old “family” had sold me to ORUS like I was nothing… like I wasn’t worthy of living. They had taken the only person I’d ever cared about in my life and killed her. And then they’d sold me off. So my slow, deliberate dismantling of their empire? That was payback.
And what if that payback blows back on your new family? The family I’d carved out for myself. The family I fought to protect.
I never thought of myself as capable of love. Maybe at one time I had been. But that love had died with that girl. I might not be capable of that emotion, but I felt strong affection and a need to protect my family. They were everything to me.
My watch buzzed again and I groaned, turning my attention back to the monitors. This time, it wasn’t an attack. It was a message written in one line of code in my command window.
We’re coming.
Well, they were welcome to come. I would kill them all before I let any of that filth touch anyone I cared about. They were all going to die.
Gemma
I adjusted my sunglasses on my face. I knew exactly where the cameras were, and I managed to avoid the majority of them. The ones in the luggage area were the more difficult to avoid.
But I knew the rules. Stay hidden and stay alive.
JFK was as busy as usual, a horde of people easy enough to get lost in. Once I had my bag, I deliberately separated myself from the throng and then made my way to the ladies’ room. After waiting in line for nearly thirty minutes, I bounded into a stall, changed my clothes, and dragged off the blond wig I’d been wearing before shaking out my dark locks.
After I was done, I studied myself in the mirror. Anyone looking for me would completely miss me. I’d traded the wig for my natural hair. Well, my naturally dyed hair. My natural color? Red. When was the last time I’d seen that?
I missed it sometimes, but while I was undercover with the Family, black was better. They might have recognized me as a redhead. Maybe not, but better safe than sorry.
I picked up my rental car and tossed my roll along bag into the trunk. The moment I was in the driver’s seat, I took out my phone and made a call. “I’m in.”
The voice on the other end of the line was terse. “You understand what you need to do.”
“Yes, I understand. When will I get the target?”
“We’ll give you the target when you’re all settled. We don’t want you getting all excited now. There’s a plan in motion.”
I was already regretting this. When I’d been asked by the government organization that I worked for, ORUS, to go back undercover in the one place I’d vowed I would never return, my answer had been an all-encompassing “Fuck, no.”
But they dangled the carrot of all carrots: revenge. And now I was a double agent. Every day was a big game of Russian roulette with my life. Oh the good times. But if I wanted access to the head of the criminal organization known only as the Family, then I was going to have to complete their stupid initiation rite. Stupid or not, it means killing someone. Are you ready for that?
As an ORUS agent, this wasn’t my first kill. But it was the first kill where I knew nothing about the target. ORUS targets were sanctioned by the US government. They took out the worst of the worst. Scum of the earth. ORUS was the cleanup crew.
I didn’t know who the hell the Family was sending me after. Although, whoever it was, if they had an association with the Family, it meant they weren’t clean. But still, can you know that for sure?
I shoved that thought out of my head.
“Of course I want everything that you’re offering, but to be successful at my job I do need some information.”
“Ah, Avery, you’re always so intent on doing a good job. Not to worry love; you’ll get to meet Father. You’ll get what you’ve been looking for this whole time; to become a fully pledged member of the Family. You just have to carry out this one last job.”
I knew what wasn’t being said. If I didn’t do what I was told, they were going to hurt my friend.
I’d known better. Befriending people in the Family could get you killed. But the moment I’d been back undercover, I’d seen her. I remembered her from before when I was a child. And I hadn’t been able to shut her out.
But of course, those wankers had seen my soft spot for the kid. So to make sure I carried out my job, they’d taken Sabine away to a safe location. Somehow, I was sure Sabine was anything but safe. But they’d taken her to ensure I was serious about becoming a member of the Family.
Sabine worked as a drug mule for them. She hadn’t been sold into prostitution yet, but I was terrified that was what was going to happen to her. The guilt from leaving her behind that first time ate at me.
I needed to do this job, get to Father, and get Sabine the hell out of there. Thanks to my job at ORUS, I had money, plenty of it. I could give it to Sabine to start a whole new life, but first, I had to do this. And if my target was innocent I had to find a way to save them too. Easy as pie. This is the job. Too late to back out now.
“I’ll do what you say. I’ll be at the safe house.”
After hanging up, I took the SIM chip out of the burner phone, slipping it back into the case into the little protector slot labeled A, for Avery. My code name with the Family.
Then I took out another SIM chip from the slot marked G. I grabbed my other burner phone and slid the chip inside.
When I was abroad, this was how I kept my two mobiles separate. I found it funny how neither of my two cells were my original self.
A long, long time ago, my name had been Gigi, and I’d been a bright-eyed, red-headed girl full of hope and love. And then the Family had taken me.
I never thought I would know love or hope again, until I met Matt and he made it his life’s mission to protect me. But, of course, his protection hadn’t been enough. He’d nearly gotten us both killed.
So affection, it was a dangerous thing. I dialed the number I had committed to memory. After one ring, I hung up. Then dialed and let it ring for two rings, and hung up again. Finally, I sent a text and then called again. On that final call, the person on the other line answered immediately. “Persephone, status?”
“I’ve landed in New York. They still won’t tell me who the target is. I’m supposed to go to the safe house and lie low, and then they’ll give me instructions.”
“You’ve got nothing to go on?”
I knew what my orders were from ORUS. I was to do whatever was necessary to gain the trust of the highest levels of the Family. If that meant taking out this target, then that’s what I would do.
“I know nothing. All I know is that if I take care of the target, I’ll meet Father.”
“Whoever it is, they want him badly. So if they want him, I want him. It’s risky, and we don’t know where they may or may not have moles, but if we can take the target alive, talk to him, question him, that can be extremely useful to us. If need be, we’ll tell the Family you had to put the target down. We’ll fake proof of death.”
“That will be risky, and there are other lives involved here.”
He sighed. “I know you’ve made promises and we’ll do our best to keep them, but that is not our primary objective. Do you understand?”
“Understood…” Except not understood. I was getting Sabine out of there whether Orion liked it or not.
I was playing a dangerous game. One that could get me and Sabine killed. Never mind whoever the hell my target was. I had to keep all three of us alive
.
But I could do it. I had to do it. If I could get to Father, I could bring down the whole damn family: the people that destroyed my life; the people who took away the only other person besides my father that I’d loved. I was going to make them pay for everything, and I was going to stand back and watch them burn.
“My other mole inside the organization has no idea on the target either. But again, he is there to give us human trafficking routes and drug routes. Finding out about your target is above his pay grade.”
I cursed softly. “I know. I’ll call you as soon as I have more information.”
Orion was silent for a beat. “Be careful. I understand how great a risk this assignment is to you. Andromeda has already let me have an earful.”
I let a smile tug at my lips. Andromeda had saved my life more times than I cared to count. She was still an active agent in ORUS, but I had a feeling that the woman would retire soon.
A long time ago, she’d pulled me out of the Thames, nearly drowned, sick, and had taken care of me, had given me a whole new life. I owed that woman everything. “Tell her she taught me how to take care of myself. I’ll be fine.”
“Get to the safe house, lie low, sunset the phone and the chip.”
He always gave me the same set of instructions, as if I needed them. ”I understand. Will do.”
“Roger that.”
Sin Chapter 2
Matthias
* * *
When I was a boy, I saw a fire break out in the council estate where I lived. I would never forget the terror on people’s faces as they’d watched everything they owned burn right before their eyes. I’d been too young then to truly understand how far-reaching a disaster like that could be, but I’d understood all too well what it was like to have nothing.
I’d been an expert even at that young age.
Now, years later, I watched the lines of code streaming past on my screen and felt the same bone-deep emptiness I’d felt that day. I couldn’t stop this attack. Blake Security was in chaos and there was nothing I could do.
Panic clawed at my throat as I continued to furiously type commands.
My mind racing, I tried everything I could think of. Then I tried things I was sure wouldn’t work but I was desperate enough to try anyway. But no matter what I did, section after section of my network went down. It was like watching dominoes fall.
I wasn’t being at all dramatic to say it was like watching my world come to an end.
“I’ve been shut out. I’ve been shut out of my own system.”
The words hung in the air, sharp as knives. I was sure if I said them too many times they’d slice my lips to ribbons. But I had to do it. Saying it aloud made it all too real. It was just the slap in the face I needed to bring me out of the trance I’d been in since I’d first discovered the breach.
Like a shot, I was out of my seat. As soon as I hit the hallway, I called out, looking for my friends.
“Noah! Lucia!” I thought back to earlier tonight, trying to remember where everyone was going.
It was dark in some areas but the lights were still on in the kitchen. As if on cue, the lights went out, plunging me into darkness. We’d just discovered that we could control the lights remotely. I let out a disgusted sigh. There was no way of knowing just how much damage had been done so far by whoever was mucking around in my system.
“Help! Somebody help!”
I rushed forward at the panicked scream. It was a woman, which reawakened my fears that everyone hadn’t left as planned. When I got closer to the elevator, I realized the sound was floating up from a floor below.
“Lucia?” I asked incredulously.
“Matthias! Thank God! We were on our way back up when the elevator stopped.”
Noah spoke up then. “Matthias, what’s happened?”
My boss’s voice was steady but I’d known Noah a long time. This was his damage control, don’t-freak-out-Lucia voice.
“There’s been a cyberattack. I’m trying to get the cameras back online and restore my access but it might take a minute.”
Before they could respond, I heard a pounding coming from behind me. I whirled around, drawing my weapon in one fluid motion. Panting, I glanced right and left, looking for intruders. Nothing.
Not wanting to give away my position if there was someone in the penthouse with me, I didn’t bother to update Noah and Lucia on what I was doing. I could hear Noah still talking but I didn’t turn back. At least if there was someone in the penthouse with me, they were safe in the elevator.
For now.
Although it would have been really fucking convenient to have Noah to back me up right about now.
I kept my eyes trained on my surroundings as I traced my steps back to my room. Whoever had gotten into the system hadn’t turned off the power yet but it was only a matter of time before they figured out how to do it. If I had even a chance in hell of stopping them, I needed to regain control before that happened.
Just as I was sitting down, my phone rang. I snatched it out of my pocket and answered without even checking the number.
“What?”
“It’s Dylan. Ryan just tried to log in to the system and he’s getting an error.”
“We’ve been hacked. Don’t come back yet in case it’s a trap.” I hung up and immediately sent a text with the same message to everyone. Whoever was behind this had spectacular timing, locking down the system when Noah and Rafe wouldn’t be able to help me. Lucky.
Unless it was planned that way.
Whoever had executed this plan was skilled. Very. I was one of the best hackers in the world and it wasn’t false modesty that told me so, merely the number of systems I’d broken into over the years. It wasn’t often I met a system I couldn’t gain access to, and all of that experience breaking in places uninvited had given me unique insight on how to keep people out. So for someone to take control of a system I’d designed by brute force, it wasn’t a garden-variety hacker. Maybe not even one person. In all likelihood, it had taken a team working on it together.
Which could mean that my past was coming back to haunt me. Finally. But if that was true and someone was coming to take me out, I’d go out in a blaze of glory.
Reaching under my desk, I unclipped the Glock that I always kept there. Next, I reached over to the shelf behind my desk and pulled forward my three volumes of the Lord of the Rings series and slid out the knives I kept hidden behind the books. Whoever was coming in, they’d better have done their homework. Because hacking was one thing; hand-to-hand was another.
At least I’d get to look the bastards in the eyes before I slit their throats. I was in the killing zone now. Nothing could bring me back.
Then I heard the one sound guaranteed to penetrate through to the heart. A baby’s cry.
“Isabella. Oh bloody hell,” I whispered. How could I have forgotten?
When Noah and Lucia had gone out for a quick bite, they’d only planned to be gone for an hour or two so they’d felt comfortable leaving the baby with me. Isabella slept so well that I rarely had to do much anyway when they left, other than the time I’d knocked her pacifier out and she’d screamed bloody murder until I’d found it and given it back.
I stood, my blood prickling in my veins like ice. This wasn’t just about me anymore. Whoever had chosen tonight to attack had signed their own death warrant. Because I would die myself before I let any harm come to Izzy.
Gemma
Waiting in theory was much easier than in practice. I had given myself plenty of time, leaving my hotel room earlier, being sure to dress in jeans and a black, long-sleeved shirt—nothing that would attract undue attention. I’d taken a cab to the first address provided and then, per instructions, walked to the second address.
I stared up at the imposing glass and concrete structure, my burner phone clutched in my hand. This was the target? A security company? Knowing that my time was short, I whipped the T-shirt over my head to reveal the tight black compression vest
beneath. This thing was designed to withstand a lot of force, was bulletproof, fireproof and could even keep me afloat if I found myself in deep water. From my pocket, I pulled out a band and tied my hair back. I would put on a mask before going in and would need my hair to be out of the way.
This area of town was busy so I kept to the shadows, feigning interest in the screen of my phone. But while I waited, I used the time to scope out the building. There was only one entrance visible from this side. Honestly, it looked like a run-of-the-mill office building or maybe a warehouse of some type.
I wasn’t sure what I’d been expecting but this wasn’t it. Usually the Family had much loftier goals but perhaps this security company had information they needed.
Disgust roiled in my belly. God, I was tired of this. Living my life in the shadows, always at someone else’s whim. I thought back to the long-ago night when my mentor had fished me from the icy waters of the Thames. The night I should have died but instead had been granted a new life. My mentor, Andromeda, had taken care of me, taught me to defend myself and trained me to be a weapon so I’d never again be vulnerable the way I’d been as a child. But I couldn’t deny there were moments, in the dark of night, where I wondered if being saved that night was truly a mercy. Was this really a life I wanted to lead, being used to further the agenda of men drunk on the thought of more money and power?
Oh yes, even though I was undercover with the Family and had seen close up the atrocities they’d commit to solidify their power base, I was under no illusions that ORUS was much better. The organization had saved me, true, but it didn’t mean I was blind to the things going on behind the scenes.
Even a broken clock was right twice a day. I shook my head at the thought. It had been something Andromeda used to say when I would question their methods or strategies. As a teenager, I’d accepted it as being an easy way to brush off my questions. But now that I had more experience under my belt, I wondered if my mentor hadn’t been trying to justify the things they did in her own mind as well. If I was this conflicted about the ORUS mission after only seven years, I couldn’t imagine the moral compromises one would have made after a lifetime in. Not that I knew Andromeda’s age. Questions were one of the first things I’d learned to squelch. An inquisitive child, I’d quickly learned that people in my strange new world didn’t take kindly to anyone trying to ferret out personal details.