“Uninterested, so far as Thompkins tells it. Now she knows his face, so I can’t send him back. Which means?—”
“I’m up.” I tip my head back and stare at the ceiling. “What if she decides she’s not interested in me either? I do my best, try to slide in, but she throws up roadblocks. You still screwing me over despite our agreement?”
“Blow it on purpose? I’ll end your life my fucking self. Make a genuine effort and do the job I know you’re capable of, and I’m certain we’ll get what we need. I’m running out of men I trust for this, and I’m old enough to be the girl’s grandfather. So I’m counting on you to bring the fifth key home.”
“When?” I drop my gaze and exhale through my nose. “When do I need to be there? When’s the deadline for recovering the mystery fucking thing we can’t even describe? And have you considered that she may grow suspicious if I steal all her phones, USB drives, and the television remote? Even a blind woman would notice that shit.”
“I figure you can use that brain of yours, Linc.” He takes a long draw from his cigar, filling his lungs with black poison. “You’re not new to this. Swipe what you think is important. Leave the rest. The longer you’re there, and the more you take, the closer you are to discovery.”
And once I’m discovered, he’s taking me out and tossing Scarlett to the feds.
“I need you in town in under twenty-four hours. Her brother’s funeral is tomorrow afternoon. Go. Pay your respects and search for a way in.”
“Jesus.” I groan. “Hitting below the belt, don’t you think? You killed her last living relative, and now you want me to intrude on his funeral, too? What am I supposed to say: Hey there, beautiful. You look sad. Let’s go back to your place and fuck till you fall asleep?”
He snorts, exhaling a plume of smoke. “This is your show, Castro. But if it were me?” He shakes his head, the scratch of what I remember as a short beard scraping along the phone speaker. “I wouldn’t start with that. I’ll have a plane waiting for you tomorrow morning. Sunrise. Don’t be late. There’s a rental with your name on it near her house, and a car parked in the driveway, so you’ve got a way around.”
“Why not just get me a hotel?”
“Because, as already proven with Thompkins, she ain’t loose, no matter how smooth he is with her drinks. She’s not inviting you back to her place an hour after you meet, and she’ll probably be suspicious if you’re living out of a hotel for an extended period for no reason. If she thinks you live there, she’s more likely to let you in. She was raised by an Army Ranger, and her big brother was Special Forces. She’snot your typical damsel. So you’re gonna have to work harder.”
For fuck’s sake.
“I’ve sent over everything we have on her. And him. Read the files so you know your mark, then get me my fucking code. You have seven days. The faster you are, the more I’ll pay you.”
“You’re paying me?” I lower my feet to the floor and lean forward to click on my emails. I open the folders and watch as my security software scans them both, destroying the sneaky little trojans Aster attempts to include, then I move to Nova’s file and focus on her green-eyed gaze. “I thought this was one of those ‘Do it, or I’ll fuck you up’ jobs. Now you’re telling me there’s money involved? Well, shucks, Boss.”
He coughs out an emphysemic chuckle. “Smart asses are better than the kind who tell meno. I await confirmation that you’re on my plane tomorrow morning.”
And just like that, he kills our call and leaves me staring at Nova Nichols. Her brief says she has green eyes, but fuck, they’re so much more than that. They’re green with brown speckles, golden flakes, blue waves, and a whole fucking rainbow of color that draws focus long before her narrow nose. Her bow lips. Her soft brown hair, which may be closer to blonde.
Poor girl.
I roll my bottom lip between my teeth and shake my head. Because she’s got a target on her back and a price on her head, and her only crime is being related to someone else who is too dead to hand over a key.
“Sucks to be you, babe.”
3
NOVA
UNTIL I SEE YOU NEXT TIME
“Come on, sweetie.” Alicia, a lady I work with down at the bank, wanders through my kitchen and sets an empty cup in the sink before coming around to face me.
I sit at the counter and stare at… well, nothing. The bland tiles. The clean countertop. The world my brother no longer exists in. The future where I’m all alone.
Just me. This house. A million memories and just… nothing.
In the silence, she ducks lower and forces herself into my line of sight. “We have to go, Nov. It starts in a little over an hour, and the funeral director wanted to talk to you before guests arrive.”
Alicia Santiago is my colleague. My friend. But we’re notoutside-workfriends. We don’t hang out except during those thirty-eight paid hours a week. We don’t go to each other’s houses, and we especially don’t buy groceries or call each othersweetie. But I guess this is an all-new week, and with it, the beginnings of an all-new world.
Nothing is how it was before.
“Nova?”
“Yeah.” My voice is scratchy from disuse. My knees, wobbly as I slide off my stool and come around it to push it in. Nibbling on the inside of my cheek and twisting to consider what’s next, I feel the cold, heavy weight of my brother’s dog tag hanging around my neck, hidden beneath my dress. It’s only for me to know about.
