“You could stab them.”
She laughs under her breath. “I might. Milo’s been telling me the best place to stab them, so they shut up quicker.”
Aoife turns to me when I burst out laughing, trusting Milo to teach her the kill way first.
Silence falls for a beat. The kind that wraps around you, not awkward but knowing. Like even the wind understands what we’re not saying.
Then her phone buzzes.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
She stiffens, and I glance over. The screen lights up with blocked numbers.
Unknown
They will attack.
Unknown
Watch your back. They have a plan.
Unknown
They are watching everything!
My cigarette hitsthe floor and I snatch the phone from her hand and start typing.
Aoife
Who is this?
A beat.
Unknown
Aoife never asked who I am, so hello Matteo.
I’m someone who might ask for a favor one day.
Your family is very powerful, and one day I may need you.
I go to reply,but when I look back down at the phone all the messages vanish. Wiped. No trace.
I stare at the screen. “What the fuck?”
“Who the hell?—”
“This isn’t just some hacker. This is someone smart. Marco-smart. Father and Grandfather had paranoid levels of training for him. They made sure he knew every hacking system in the world.” I think about this and need Marco to figure out who this is.
Aoife is shaking beside me, not from the cold. I tuck her into my side, one arm tight around her. “They won’t touch you,” I say. “Not while I’m breathing.”
The sound of thunder finally cracks the sky.
I draw a deep breath and kiss the top of her head. “Let’s get back, I need to tell them about the messages.”
