The air shifted, just enough to tell me she heard every syllable. I let the silence stretch. Let her feel my certainty. Let her wonder what place she held if Alessia didn’t occupy that space. “Are you ever going to tell me who you are?” Silence. “Or what you want?”
Slowly, I turned around. Empty except for the stir of air remained, the wind and the city lights. I smiled anyway, the earlier pressure on my shoulders vanishing as suddenly as it had arrived.
I stayed there for a while, smoking until I headed inside, leaving the doors open, certain she’d return. Joey and Tony stood guard at the main door. “What the fuck are you two doing?” I hadn’t even heard them come in.
“Boss’s orders, sir,” Joey said.
I scoffed. “Well, if you want to stay, then stand the fuck outside or sit in the apartment across from me. Keys are on the counter.” The penthouse suite while massive was divided into two separate apartments, more for safety that occupancy
They looked at each for then at me and nodded.
I left them there and headed for the bathroom, craving a hot shower the warehouse hadn’t provided.
My phone rang.
“Renz?” I placed the phone on the vanity, putting the call on speaker.
“Duke’s gone.”
I paused with my tank half off and glared at my phone. “What the fuck do you mean Duke’s gone?”
“Rayden brought him back from a run, and after we showered, he went to feed him, he wasn’t there. We searched the building, can’t find him.”
“The fuck.” Growling, I pulled my shirt back on and picked up my phone. “Duke’s chipped, give me a sec.” I checked the tracking app and frowned, my blood past midline to boil. “What the fuck.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Duke’s not on the radar and unless it’s cut out of him, that’s not possible.”
“I sent the men out to look for him. You want me to fetch you?”
Cursing, I dragged a hand through my hair and just as I turned to walk out the bathroom, my phone pinged. “Hang on.”
I opened the message and gaped at the photo. Katana with the yin-yang mask and red eyes, sat on a leather chair; her sword held loosely in one hand with Duke at her heel and his head on her lap.
“Remo?” my brother called out the same time another message came through, this time a text.
Unknown: Threats don’t work on ghosts, Remo. But I do like proofs of concept. Your brother’s security is weak. I’m not. Duke’s safe.
“Fuck.” The word tore out of me before I could stop it, my grip tightening on the phone until the plastic whined. “She was in your apartment, Renz.”
A beat of silence. Then, cold and controlled, “who?”
“My stalker. She has Duke.”
The line went quiet. I could picture him in his study, the amber liquor untouched in his glass, his eyes going flat and dangerous. When he spoke again, his voice was low, deadly. “How the fuck did she get past security with a hundred and twenty pounds of muscle that doesn’t exactly whisper?”
I didn’t have an answer. That was the point. “She didn’t fight them,” I said slowly, the realization settling like ice in my gut. “She didn’t trip alarms. She just walked in. Took a photo on your leather chair, took him and left.” Incredulous laughter filled my bathroom.
Another pause. Longer this time. I could hear the unspoken question hanging between us. Who the fuck was this woman?
“Send me the photo,” Lorenzo said finally, his tone shifting from brother to Don. “Every detail. And Remo?”
“Yeah.”
“If she’s intent on playing this game.” I heard the promise in his voice, the violence coiled underneath. “Tell her she just made herself the only prey worth hunting.” The line went dead.
I looked down at the photo gain, shaking my head. Clearly, I underestimated her. Turning, I undressed, needing that shower.
