Waving my hand without concern, I say, “A look…and possibly the tracker. Maybe poke around a bit.”
“No. No poking around. She’s going to have guards, with her position. And that means a tracker won’t be useful anyway. They’ll check for shit like that regularly.”
“Eh. I grabbed a special one from Hollis’s collection. Turns out, having a hacker extraordinaire and technological genius is extremely helpful. It’s supposed to be damn near undetectable. I overheard him talking about it to Leandro.”
I glance out of the window, watching as we travel through the city. Cecily is further out, but in the opposite direction of where we’re located. Thankfully, it’s still not far. Although, from the information I found, it’s only one of her residences. Which begs all sorts of questions… After all, LEOs don’t make that much money, even ones that are in charge.
Marcus’s hands tighten on the wheel. “I…have no words.”
“I know, I’m a genius myself. It’s fine. I don’t need the compliments.”
“That is not what I was thinking. At all.” I ignore his lack of respect, and thankfully, he changes the subject. “But, speaking of Hollis, explain what you meant by him being busy.”
“Ah, so many reasons.” I shake my head regretfully. “There’s the Carter situation, and taking care of Roman. Although, from what I hear, Ignacio is stepping in beautifully there, which still blows my mind. Then again, he’s always been the type to act as a caregiver, so meh, maybe it shouldn’t. You just wouldn’t expect it from him, you know?
“And then, of course, there’s Tennant and Cristian. Fuck, that situation is rough. So that’s two lovers hurting. And oh! Lio. Poor kid. Turns out, Allesandro is on suicide watch. I heard Dr. Ranlen talking to Doc about it over the phone. I’m not exactly sure how aware Lio is of the issue—hopefully, not much, as he’d probably be tempted to try and fix it, but I’m sure Hollis is worried. So yeah, three lovers struggling, plus trying to do his work is going to keep him busy. Which is why we’re helping by taking initiative.”
Marcus blinks rapidly, to the point I’m concerned about him driving, but he finally snaps out of it. “Uh, well…I’m actually surprised about Allesandro. And worried. That…no matter what, he saved my life.”
I sneer, anger bubbling up against any pity. I mean, fuck yes, Allesandro did a hell of lot for us Boys, but that doesn’t excuse what he did to Lio. I’m not sure I can ever forgive him for that. Still, I understand where Marcus is coming from. It’s…hard to imagine, and if I had to see it, I may think differently, but thankfully, I don’t.
“Luca is still in town. I’m sure he has it covered.” I shrug one shoulder, putting all thoughts of Allesandro to the side.
Marcus mutters, “Of course, he fucking is. We can’t ever get rid of the asshole.”
“Mmm… You may change your mind when you see the video. I’m currently a Luca fan.” I smirk at the memory, although I have a feeling Marcus cares too much for Allesandro to really appreciate Luca’s work. It truly was inspiring though.
He doesn’t bother to respond, or even ask how I managed to watch it already. They’ve been keeping that video locked down, but I have my own sources and abilities. I do agree with their actions, though. There’s no reason for Lio to see that right now—or possibly ever.
For the majority of the trip, we argue over music, and discuss random things. It’s peaceful. There’s been so much going on that I’ve missed my best friend. When the GPS signals that we’re closer, I become silent, letting adrenaline flow through me. Some say calm is the only way to approach being a ghost. For me? I need that extra shot in my veins, reminding me that I’m alive and could die if I fuck up. It keeps me on the edge, pulling me back from the sense of invincibility that skulking sometimes gives me.
Marcus slows as we pass Cecily’s house and whistles quietly, because fuck, that is one large house. It has to be two-stories—possibly more with a basement—with two sprawling wings on each side. I tap my lips, noting the guard shack in the front. I’m not seeing any roving guards, but that doesn’t mean anything. I did see some cameras though, which will make this more fun.
I point to the perfect spot for him to pull over, and I’m surprised when he does. I almost expected him to leave immediately. When he reaches for his phone and pulls up the camera app, it makes more sense. I open the glove compartment in the SUV and rummage around. Eventually, I pull out a baseball cap, shrugging as I look it over before putting it on. There’s no logo, or any type of marking on it, which is good. It’s a sunny day, so it won’t look odd to wear it. Neither will thewide sunglasses I grab next, shoving them on my face. The best disguises are usually the most simple.
Marcus cusses as I open the door and give him a salute, ignoring his protests. I walk toward Cecily’s house, like I don’t have a care in the world. However, I make sure to take in every detail there is, no matter how small. I carefully keep my face blank, even when I realize she’s having a party right now. So I don’t have to worry about making a distraction, as one is already going on.
A catering van pulls into the driveway, and while it takes exact timing, it’s easy enough to get in there. The guard is distracted by the van, and by the time I reach the driveway, I just need to make sure I’m hidden by the van as it goes through the gate. I break off immediately once we’re through, not wanting anyone to notice I’m in. Thankfully, as a rich fucker, she has plenty of landscaping, giving me all sorts of places to hide.
Thankfully, I grabbed a handful of the trackers from Hollis’s office—not just one. Since I’m far enough away from the guard shack, and there’s enough room to maneuver in the open, I only need to worry about cameras.
I take a moment and send a text to Marcus, asking for a distraction in ten minutes, even though I really want to take the time to look around.
By the time I’ve slipped all of the available trackers on the vehicles—only missing two—I’m able to head back to the entrance in plenty of time. I had only just made it to the outer gate when an ambulance comes screaming in. Followed by two more. Chuckling softly, I have to give it to Marcus. That’s one way of making sure they’ll actually open the gate. And with that much chaos, I can slip back out.
I hit the sidewalk as the last ambulance passes. Once I’m out of sight, I jog back to where Marcus is and open the door, slidinginto the SUV without a word. I turn toward him, smirking. I open my mouth just as a voice comes over the speaker.
“And don’t think we won’t be discussing this. If Hollis didn’t have every vehicle tracked, we would never have been alerted. Pizza? Really? You thought calling pizza places would be a distraction? You’re lucky Hollis stepped in.”
I wince, not only because they’re right, since the guards wouldn’t have opened the gates for a pizza delivery, but fuck, Lio sounds pissed. This is not good. Every bit of cockiness drains from me. Marcus gives me a withering look before putting the car in gear and pulling out.
“It really was fine.” I interrupt Lio’s tirade. “I’m back out safely, we were successful, and we’re on our way back now.”
“Oh, really, Antonio.”I gulp at Jude’s voice, and the use of my actual name.Holy shit. I may not have thought this through completely.“We will definitely be having a…conversation when you get here.”
Lio snorts as he mutters something we can’t hear, and after making it very clear we’re to come straight back, he hangs up.
“Uh, well, at least we were successful?”
