by Cynthia Eden
“You were hired online?”
“That’s how that stuff goes down these days, man. Dark Web style.” Dwight wiggled his brows.
“Am I supposed to believe this jerk knows anything about operating on the Dark Web?” Antony wondered. “Because I don’t. He’s more like the hammer you use to bust open a window. Lots of force, but very little finesse.”
Yes, he was. But maybe one of the guys he’d been working with had the tech skills to find work online.
“Marty uses the Dark Web, all right?” Dwight said, as if on cue. “He finds the jobs, and when he needs extra help, he comes to me. See, like I told you—Marty is the one you need to send to the agents, not me.” He smiled. Some of his confidence seemed to return. Obviously, Dwight was used to making deals and throwing others under the bus. That was why his rap sheet was so long…and his prison stays had been so short.
“This just all got out of hand,” Dwight explained.
Boom. Sebastian could still hear that bastard taunting him. Out of hand, my ass.
Dwight’s face hardened, as if a new thought had just hit him. A thought he didn’t like. “Can’t believe Marty didn’t give me more time to get out.”
“Guess Marty was double-crossing you.” Winston sighed in mock sympathy. “You simply can’t trust anyone these days.”
Dwight nodded in total agreement. “Damn straight.” He smiled again. A flash of yellowed teeth. “So…we good?”
“I don’t know who hired you.”
“I don’t, either, man! That’s the problem! It was all online! Never saw him in person, never got a name. Just Player69.” He snickered. “And you know what that shit meant.”
Winston didn’t smile. “How did he contact you?”
“I told you—online! Through the Dark Web and—”
“On your phone? On Marty’s phone?”
“On Marty’s laptop.” His expression became sly. “If I tell you where to find it, will you stop the agents from taking me?”
The interrogation room door opened. A rumpled—and very pissed-looking—Dex filled the doorway.
“Aw, damn, not him again!” Dwight craned his head and glowered. “What is that no-dick SOB doing—”
“He’s the agent who will be transporting you,” Winston told him. Now, he did smile. “Have a fun trip.”
Dwight didn’t just slump. He shriveled.
Antony’s shoulder brushed against Sebastian’s arm. “We need that laptop.”
Hell, yes, they did.
“If we have it, we can track the mystery boss down in five minutes. Five minutes, and the bad guy is ours.” Antony turned toward Sebastian. “I’ll wait and make sure Winston gets the laptop’s location. You go and talk to my sister, then we can meet up and—”
“I’m not talking to Alyssa.”
“What? Dude, she’s being held in Winston’s office. The cops with her are under strict orders—probably from you and Winston—that she can’t leave. If she tries to walk out, they might cuff her or some BS like that. She needs to see you. So walk in there, let her know you’re all right, and then we can—”
“I think it’s better if I don’t see her.” It’s better if she never sees me again.
Antony didn’t blink. He barely seemed to breathe.
Sebastian cocked his head. “You okay? Your face just went all red.”
Through clenched teeth, Antony snapped, “Why aren’t you going to my sister’s side?”
“Uh, why are you even asking? Since when do you want me around your sister?” He tapped his chin and deliberately kept his voice flippant. “Aren’t you the one who told me to keep my hands off her? Should have listened to you sooner. From here on out, consider my hands to be one hundred percent off her—”
Antony grabbed him and shoved Sebastian back against the one-way glass.
“Easy,” Sebastian warned him. “You’re not the one who gets all crazy.” That’s me.
“I am when we’re talking about my sister!” Antony glared at him. “She shoots a man to save your ass, and now you’re dumping her? Are you kidding me?”
She shoots a man to save your ass.
Hold up. He’d shot the guy to save her. Right?
“This is why I wanted you to stay away from her. The challenge is over, isn’t it? You got what you wanted, and now you think you’re moving the hell on.” Antony’s gaze burned. It was so hot that Sebastian was surprised the man’s glasses weren’t fogging.
“Antony—”
“This is my sister! You don’t hurt her. You don’t pull your crap on her!”
“You seem a little angry,” Sebastian pointed out softly. “For all you know, Alyssa will be glad to see me walk away.”
Some hard emotion flashed on Antony’s face. There one moment, gone the next. Too complex and too fast for Sebastian to figure out what the hell it had been.
“She’s had nothing but trouble since I got close to her,” Sebastian continued as he fought to keep his voice from giving anything away. “Maybe me staying away from her is exactly what she wants.”
“I don’t think so.” Antony still held him in a tight grip.
Sebastian had the feeling that Antony was holding back on him.
“If she shot a man to save you, I think that’s a pretty clear statement on what Alyssa wants.”
“Okay, that’s the second time you said that. What the hell are you talking about? The guy was going to shoot her. That’s the reason I fired, and the reason she had to shoot, too. She was in danger, and I’m damn sorry about that.” More than sorry. He was ripped open, torn apart with regret. I don’t want to put her in danger. “Don’t you see that’s why I need to step back? Because as long as I’m close to her, she will—”
“Dumbass. Listen to my words. She shot him to save you. Alyssa told me that while your ass was unconscious—from that freaking face-first slam into the pavement that people keep whispering to me about—the perp was going to shoot you in the back. She stopped him. She shot him—twice—and how do you thank her for saving your life? By breaking up with her?” Disgusted, Antony released Sebastian and stepped back. “You don’t deserve her.”
The perp was going to shoot you in the back.
Antony spun on his heel and headed for the door.
“I never deserved her,” Sebastian said quietly. “That was the problem. I knew it even as I wanted her.”
Antony glanced back at him. “If you walk away from her now, then hell, no, you didn’t deserve her. Because if a woman is willing to kill for you, if she’s willing to go to those lengths to keep you safe, then you hold tight to her. You don’t let anyone come between you.”
There was nothing he wanted more than to run right to Alyssa. “But I’ll keep bringing danger to her. She won’t ever be safe with me.”
Antony’s savage expression softened. A small, super tiny bit of softening. “Is that what this crap is about? You think you can keep her safe by walking away?”
“I’m a spy—”
“Then quit! How about just be the billionaire asshole that everyone thinks you are? Everyone but my sister, by the way. Because she spouted lots of craziness about how you really saw her and how you knew her favorite holiday—”
“Obviously, the Fourth of July,” he said. “You know how her face lights up and she gets that big smile whenever she sees fireworks.”
Antony’s eyes narrowed. “And how you know what kind of ridiculous body lotion she wears.”
“There’s nothing ridiculous about lavender. The lotion smells fantastic. She smells fantastic.”
Antony’s arms crossed over his chest. “What’s her favorite bakery?”
“Over the Moon.” He shrugged. “She likes their chocolate chip muffins.”
“Since when?”
“Uh, since she opened her jewelry business? Remember when we were helping her to set up the website—”
“You did that. I told you we could just send a tech over.”
“Well, I had to make s
ure it was done right. Anyway, she was eating their chocolate chip muffins and she said that she liked them far better than any other—”
Antony held up his hand. “What’s my favorite holiday?”
“Christmas.”
“And my favorite restaurant?”
“The Italian place down on Fourteenth. Rizzoli’s.”
Disappointment darkened Antony’s eyes. His lips twisted. “I was right. You remember the same shit about everyone. She’s not special to you.” He turned away. “You’re good at spouting the right words, but Alyssa doesn’t get that you can spout those words to anyone. Because you remember everything.” He reached for the door.
Yeah, he did remember everything. When it came to Alyssa, every single memory he possessed was in sharp focus. “On her twenty-first birthday, she was wearing faded jeans, black converse shoes, and this blue top that fell off one shoulder. I thought she was the sexiest woman I’d ever seen, but you were standing at my side, breathing down my neck, and telling me that I had better keep my hands off your sister.”
Antony stiffened. “Sometimes, you make me want to punch you in the face.”
“She was blowing out her candles and making a wish, and it was stupid, but I made a wish, too.”
Antony looked back at him. “If you tell me that you wished you could fuck my sister, I will break your pretty-boy face.”
“I wished that she’d always get whatever she wanted. I wanted her to always smile because she had the most amazing smile I’d ever seen. It lit up her eyes.”
Silence.
Sebastian looked away. His gaze darted to the one-way glass. Shit. Dwight was being escorted out. He’d missed the last part of the interrogation.
“You get that I’m a spy, too, don’t you?” Antony spoke haltingly. “Like, you haven’t somehow missed that important point?”
Sebastian raked a hand over his face. “Of course, I get that.”
“Since she’s my sister, the sister of a spy…you get that puts her at risk, right? I mean, isn’t that how this whole mess started? Because you thought I’d sent you a text saying my cover was blown? That Alyssa was in danger?”
“Being the sister of a spy is different than being married to spy.” He looked back at Antony, just in time to see Antony’s eyes flare in surprise. “What?”
Antony turned to fully face him. “You thought you’d marry her?”
In my fantasies, hell, yes. “No. I mean, why would she want to marry someone who would have to lie to her about the jobs he does? Someone who keeps secrets and who would bring danger into her home? And if she really did shoot that guy to save me—”
“She did. Why are you having trouble wrapping your mind around that? It’s weird.”
He swallowed. Because if she did…if she shot someone for me…
The observation room door opened behind Antony. Winston stepped inside and shot a frown at them both. “What the hell is this? Party time? I’m in there, working my ass off, and you two are just standing around and shooting the breeze?”
“Give us a chance to work for you,” Sebastian said. “We need the laptop.” His voice was wooden. “Give it to me or Antony and we can figure out who hired the perps in minutes.”
“Uh, yeah, I already have cops going out to collect the laptop. Didn’t you see that part?” Winston motioned toward the glass. “Or were you busy with something else that was more important than the investigation?”
Antony pointed to Sebastian. “This idiot doesn’t get that my sister shot a man to keep him alive.”
Sebastian lifted his chin.
“Oh, didn’t I tell you that bit?” Winston nodded. “My bad.”
His bad?
“Alyssa told me all about it,” Winston continued in his seemingly casual tone. “The perp even backed up her story while he was drifting in and out of consciousness in the ambulance. Guy got chatty with the EMTs and the cop who’d been assigned to stay with him. While you were on the ground, the fellow was going to shoot your ass in the back because he’d gotten word he could eliminate you. But Alyssa shot him instead. I believe she actually wound up shooting him twice.”
Sebastian couldn’t move.
“Isn’t he acting weird about that?” Antony peered at Sebastian with squinted eyes. “Shouldn’t he…I don’t know…rush to her side and say how eternally grateful he is to her for saving his ass?”
“Sure, he’s being all weird. But I know why. He’s scared.” Winston nodded and stalked closer to Sebastian. “Because when a woman saves your life, when she’s willing to kill for you, a smart man holds tight and never, ever lets go.”
“Everyone says he’s smart.” Antony shook his head. “To me, he’s acting like a fool.”
“Again, scared.”
Sebastian growled.
Winston tossed a glance toward Antony. “He’s scared because he wants to run to her and he wants to keep her with him, but if she shot a man this time, what happens next time?” Winston’s voice softened as his stare returned to Sebastian. “I know you, Sebastian. And I know that’s what you’re thinking. She shot the perp this time. But what happens next time? Does she try to jump between you and a bullet? Does she kill the bad guy? Does she get herself killed?”
Another growl escaped from Sebastian. Harder. More savage.
“If she’s hurt while she tries to save you…” Winston’s lips curled down. “What do you do? You know, other than lose your ever-loving mind.”
The two men were between him and the door. “Get out of my way,” Sebastian ordered.
Neither man moved. “Why?” Winston put his hands on his hips. “You suddenly got somewhere you need to be? Like I told you already, I sent cops to retrieve the laptop. You’ll be notified when it gets here. In the meantime, your buddy Dex said he’d be moving Alyssa to a new location. He’s got her, so you can just mark that item off your to-do list.”
Sebastian’s heavy breathing huffed in and out.
“Hey, this way, you don’t even have to see her.” A shrug from Winston. “Don’t have to say thanks for saving my ass.”
Sebastian lunged forward. “Dex isn’t taking her anywhere. He screwed up with her last time—”
Antony put a hand on his chest. “And you’re screwing up with her now.”
“I want her safe.”
“Maybe being with you is the safest place for her to ever be.” Antony’s voice was more subdued. Less go-to-hell angry.
“Alyssa isn’t supposed to shoot people. She’s supposed to be happy. Blowing out birthday candles, making wishes.” He swallowed. “I wasn’t supposed to drag her down into my world.”
Surprise flashed on Antony’s face. “Is that what you think you did?”
“I dragged you down. Brought you into this mess when you had no business being a spy.”
“I made my choice. I did it. Not you.”
“You want out. You think I don’t see it? You want—”
“You want out,” Antony threw right back. “You want out because you want a different life. I’ve seen it for a while.” Antony cocked his head. “Is that why you were taking fewer and fewer cases? Because you thought you could slip out and try to make a life with Alyssa?”
If he’d cut out the danger, if he’d put it all behind him… “It doesn’t work that way.” Dex had been correct on that point. Sebastian had been blind. “The enemies I made won’t just forget me. I’ll always be looking over my shoulder and wondering if my secrets have been discovered. I can’t ask her to live that way.”
A sly expression slid over Antony’s face. “So you’re just gonna give up on her?” He looked at Winston. “He’s gonna give up on her.”
Winston nodded. “Obviously.”
“He’s going to let Dex take her to some undisclosed location.”
“The hell I am!” Sebastian’s denial exploded before he could hold the words back. “His guards are crap—”
“He’s going to let Alyssa walk away,” Antony plowed on. “Let her go out
and date some random guy. Get married. Have kids.”
A low, dangerous rumble slipped from Sebastian. Not a growl. Much, much rougher. Primal.
Antony paid no attention to the rumble. He waved vaguely to Winston, as if they were just having a grand old talk, and added, “Because you know, it will be fun when he shows up for holiday parties and he gets to watch Alyssa with her husband and kids, and no way will Sebastian ever think… ‘That could’ve been me. That should have been me. That could have—’”
Sebastian shoved past his friends. “I’m stopping Dex.”
“Yeah, and while you’re off being such a badass, be sure to tell me sister that you’re done with her. Tell it to her face! I dare you!” Antony called as Sebastian yanked open the door.
Sebastian didn’t answer him. He was dealing with one fire at a time.
Fire one…
Dex.
You are not using her again.
***
“I don’t think that went well,” Winston announced.
Antony’s shoulders dropped. “He’s always had that stupid martyr complex. Thinks that he has to do the right thing. That he has to save people from themselves. Gets old, real old.”
Winston glanced at the open door. “You don’t think he’ll be able to tell her goodbye.”
“Hell, no, he won’t. You are right, he is scared. But the whole reason he wasn’t going in there to see her? It’s because the moment he takes one look into her eyes, he’s done. He’ll probably drop to his knees and propose to Alyssa then and there.”
Winston didn’t look convinced. “He doesn’t want her in danger. He’ll put her safety above everything else.”
But you couldn’t protect someone from every single danger in the world. “Life is unpredictable. That’s a problem for Sebastian. He wants to control everything because when he was a kid, he could control nothing. No, scratch that. He could control numbers. Coding. That’s why he hacked.”
Winston let loose a low whistle. “Didn’t ever look at it that way. From the outside, control seems to be the last thing Sebastian wants.”
“The Bad Boy of Tech.” Antony shook his head. “Control is what he wants most. But with Alyssa, I think it’s the thing he has the least. He wants to control every threat to her.”