"He loves you, Rhea. Let him be here for you."
Tears welled in her eyes. “Am I going to be safe at your house? I don’t want them coming for you.”
“Like I said, you’ll stay in the safe room. Can come topside when either Harley, Gavriel, or I are there.”
She huffed. “Why do I find it surprising for a moment that you have a safe room?”
“You think Dad would have allowed me to have my own place without numerous protections involved? They are nowhere near the level he had at his place, but shit. It was a battle just get him to let me move out of that house.”
I started thinking about that. If Rico was going to be awhile, maybe she needed a more locked down location. Somewhere she could stay long-term. The door opened, breaking me from my thoughts as Gavriel returned, and Rhea stopped talking immediately. I watched the silent communication between them—the question in his eyes, the plea in hers. Family secrets and unspoken truths hung in the air like smoke.
For a moment, I thought he might argue. Then he looked down at his sister and sighed. "Please, Elin. I need your help tonight. Both of you."
The vulnerability of his request caught me off guard. I nodded and reached for my phone to cancel my appointment at the Lounge. As I did, it buzzed with an incoming message from an unknown number.
Unknown: Tell Rhea I know where she is. This isn't over.
I stared at it, my finger hovering over delete. Instead, I turned the screen toward Gavriel. "We have a problem." His eyes narrowed as he read it, jaw tightening. Without a word, he locked eyes with Harley, who nodded once and slipped out the door. "Where's he going?" I asked, watching Gavriel's face harden into something lethal.
"To make sure your place isn't swarming with Juarez's men and to put some feelers out to see who sent this."
"Alright," I said, putting my phone away. "I'll make us some tea. And then we'll talk about how to get her to the safe room at my place."
Chapter 39
Thecostofanew life was exactly sixty-eight thousand dollars, cash only. No discounts for family emergencies.
I drummed my fingers against the wooden table, counting the seconds between each of Rico's theatrical sighs. The man had a flair for the dramatic that would have been amusing if Rhea's life wasn't hanging in the balance.
"This timeline is impossible," Rico said, sliding his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Two weeks minimum for quality work. You're asking for miracles, Azzaro."
"I'm paying for miracles," I countered, pushing the duffel bag closer to Rico's side of the table. "A premium."
Rico's eyes flicked to the bag, then back to my face. The café buzzed with morning activity, so no one paid attention to two men with coffee cups and laptops.
"She'll need a complete digital footprint. Social media history, credit score, educational records. It's not just about the physical documents anymore."
"I know what she needs." I tried to keep my voice down despite the urgency clawing at me. Every minute I spent here wasanother Rhea was at risk. Even at Elin's place, with its state-of-the-art security system, I couldn't shake the feeling of being on borrowed time. "Can you do it or not?"
Rico's fingers tapped his laptop keys, his expression unreadable. "What name do you want for her?"
"Claire Maddox. Twenty-six years old. Born in Phoenix."
His fingers moved across the screen of his smartphone quickly as he took notes. "Background?"
"College graduate. Accounting degree from Arizona State. Quiet life, minimal social media presence, no red flags."
Rico nodded, typing notes. "Photos?"
Reaching into my pocket, I grabbed the USB drive and handed it over. "Everything you need is there. Recent pictures, specifications, biometrics."
"And where is Claire Maddox planning to disappear to?"
I hesitated. The fewer people that knew Rhea's destination, the better. But Rico needed enough information to create a convincing history.
"Seattle. She has a job waiting. Remote work."
Rico raised an eyebrow. "You've been planning this for a while."
