I shrug. “These days, everyone has skeletons in their closet. I’m about to add some to mine.”
He stands and comes around the table so suddenly, I flinch. When he jerks my chair out from under the table and turns me before leaning down in my face, I stiffen, my hands curling into the wood of the chair.
“No skeletons need to be added to your closet, Boba_Juliette,” he says, staring at me intensely. “We can handle that.”
“It feels wrong not to participate,” I whisper. “After all, you’re all here because of me.”
He kisses me, his lips moving over mine in a slow kiss that makes my toes curl. When he pulls back, his eyes swirl with emotion. “I’ll hurt him for every time he’s ever hurt you, Ava.” He straightens. “I may not be capable of what Wylan is, but I can hurt him every other way that matters. I will. I am.” He sits down. “Just as soon as I can find him again.”
I frown. “You can’t find him?”
Felix hums. “He’s gone into hiding. Apparently, he’s been getting death threats and companies are trying to serve him for lawsuits. None of the servers can find him. Not for the last week.”
“You think. . .” I start. I’d been about to ask if he thought he wasn’t going to act at all, but that’s silly. I already know their answer. Still, Felix answers me.
“I think he’s gathering his resources, as few as he still has, to act,” he says, his fingers moving over the keyboard again as he takes his seat. “We stay alert, and if he makes a move, I’ll find him.”
I stare at the hacker, really study him, and I realize that Dagen and Wylan aren’t the only monsters I’ve found. Felix may not look it, not with his fake UPS uniform and glasses perched on his nose, but this man will tear down the digital world for me.
There’s no one better to keep me and Elsie safe than the three brutal men I’ve somehow given my heart to.
Even if they all end up leaving me in the end.
Forty
Ava
When I step out of the private elevator, I nearly fall over at the sight of the luxurious room before me. An intricate crystal chandelier welcomes me as I step onto black marble with golden veins and stare around in wonder. Furniture worth more than I make in a year sits expertly placed around the area, making me feel too dirty to actually sit on any of it. As a mother, that white couch makes me nervous. As a woman, I’ve never seen something so lush.
Dagen’s penthouse apartment is at least four times the size of my own condo, each room more massive than the last.
“In here,” Dagen calls from what I assume is the kitchen.
I say “assume” because the room I walk into feels more like something you’d watch a famous chef cook in on the cooking channel. The island is larger than my entire kitchen and that’s where I spy Dagen sitting, papers in front of him as he finishes up a phone call. Felix is sitting at the other end of the island, his laptop open in front of him. He smiles at me and waves, but doesn’t stand up. Wylan is sitting on the marble island crisscross-applesauce, his combat boots resting there. I wince at the thought of his boots getting this squeaky-clean place dirty, but he doesn’t seem to care.
“Morning, crumpet,” he calls when he sees me. He leaps off the counter and comes over to lift me into his arms. He swings me around, making me giggle, before he puts me on my feet again and tugs me into a tight hug.
A hug that feels like it could be the last one at any moment.
“Foxxie is just finishing up some business, apparently. There’s a fancy cheese tray in the fridge if you want something to eat.”
“It’s a charcuterie board,” Felix corrects. “Not a cheese tray.”
“It has cheese on it, mate. That makes it a cheese tray. Doesn’t matter what fancy word you call it; it’s still just cheese.”
I shake my head and move over to give Felix a kiss on the cheek. “What are you working on? Still trying to find him?”
He nods. “He’s hiding well. Not a single sighting. If he moves, I’ll find him, but until then, we’re going to have to wait.”
Part of me worries that we can’t find him. Ric is resourceful, and though we’d taken away much of his resources, there has to be at least one person out there still willing to help him. I just don’t know who that would be, and clearly, Felix doesn’t either. Another part of me worries that we will find him, because of what happens after that. My stomach still hasn’t adjusted to the thought, and I’m not sure it ever will.
At least Elsie is safe and unaware. She’d gotten a perfect score on her science test yesterday. So today, she gets to join in a schoolwide pizza party. She’d been so excited to tell me about it, that and her new friends celebrating with her. She’s thriving here, and I plan to keep it that way.
“Sorry about that,” Dagen apologizes when he hangs up his phone. “Just a bit of business that couldn’t wait.” He comes over and presses a kiss to the top of my head. “Welcome to my home.”
“Home or museum?” I joke, looking around. The walls outside the kitchen area are covered with paintings I’m certain are actually priceless antiques instead of copies. A few artifacts are displayed on pedestals around the open floorplan room from what I can see, and that doesn’t include the trinkets on shelves and in display cases. Dagen is a collector, but then again, I suppose most rich people are.
Dagen laughs. “I suppose it could double as both to the right person.” His hand travels down my hip and squeezes. “I can show you around.”
