Page 19 of Vicious Temptation

Her expression tightens.

“You gave me a family of trained assassins with decades of blood behind them. They've killed some of the most dangerous people in the world and survived plenty who came after them in return. Whatever they know, they’re not going to share it with someone they met five minutes ago. Remi sure as hell won’t.”

“Fine.” Elena leans back in her chair and lets out a long breath, as though giving me what I need is already an inconvenience.

I bite back a response. Whether she likes it or not, I’ve made my point, and arguing with this woman isn’t going to get me anywhere.

“You’ll have your time, Operative. Until you don’t.” She plants her palms on the desk and rises. “But don’t let retirement and family dinners make you forget who these people are. The Cains have left bodies across continents. Some of them might have deserved exactly what they got, but that doesn’t change what they’re capable of.”

“I read the files.”

“Then you know I’m not sending you after regular civilians.” Her eyes hold mine. “Find the Ledger. Find out who still has access to it and what they intend to do with it.”

The Ledger is the entire reason I’m here.

According to Elena’s intel, it’s a record compiled over decades, containing names, operations, and secrets powerful people have gone to great lengths to keep buried. Helios believes someone in the Cain family either has it or knows where it’s hidden. My job is to figure out who before any of that information falls into the wrong hands.

“And if someone in that family becomes an active threat?” I ask.

“You neutralize them.”

I watch her for a moment, making sure there’s no room to misinterpret what she means.

“And if they don’t?”

“Then you bring me the Ledger, and no one has to die.”

Sloane’s Gun & Tactical stays open late on Friday nights. From what I know, Remi co-owns the place with her cousin, Valentina Cain, daughter of Derek Cain, Remi’s uncle and one of the most formidable names in their family. She’s out of the country for now. She also rotates shifts with a small staff, so I have a decent chance of finding her here tonight.

I got off work later than expected and didn’t have time to confirm whether she’d be here, so I’m taking a shot. If she isn’t, I’ll have to try again another night. I tell myself that’s the only reason I’m hoping she is. I admit, I want to see her in person again. She’s beautiful. That’s all there is to it.

The lobby is quiet, with a few customers browsing merchandise while others sign waivers and check in. A young guy I don’t recognize stands behind the counter, but Remi is nowhere in sight. So I pay for a lane instead of asking for her. If she is working tonight, I’d rather cross paths naturally than walk in asking for the woman who told me never to come back.

A few minutes later, I’m geared up and standing in a stall. I line up my shot downrange and squeeze the trigger, firing until the magazine runs dry.

“Thiago?”

I recognize Ryan’s voice.

“T, what are you doing here? Thought you said you were patching up some drywall at your place.”

Another night, another one of his invitations blew off, and now I’m standing ten feet away from the guy I lied to about why. Of all the places in the city, I didn’t expect to run into him here, especially when the precinct has its own range. Then the woman beside him loops her arm through his, and I understand why he came.

“I was,” I shout over the gunfire. “Messed some things up and needed to decompress.”

“Feel that.” He nudges his date. “This is my girl, Natalie, and that’s her sister, Desiree, over there, the one completely missing the target.”

I give them a polite smile while already trying to figure out how quickly I can get out of here. With Ryan around, finding an excuse to run into Remi just got a hell of a lot harder.

“You wanna hang with us, T?” He motions over his shoulder at Desiree. “She could use a good instructor.”

I’m about to turn him down when I notice the way she’s holding the gun. Her grip is loose, her finger is on the trigger, and her stance leaves her fighting the recoil instead of controlling it.

“Ryan—”

The gun jerks in her hands, and a shot cracks overhead. The bullet pierces the ceiling, sending debris raining down as everyone on the range turns toward her.

“Desiree, put it down,” Ryan orders.