Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 91243 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91243 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
But the text told me I have to find a way inside.
Mostly out of desperation, I press my ear to the door. I close my eyes and steady my breathing. All I can hear is the thumping of my heart.
I knew this was a mistake.
I’m trapped here. Whoever’s on the other end of that phone can’t really have my best interests at heart. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be sending me a bunch of puzzles. Instead, they’d smuggle me a key and a gun baked into a cake.
My mind wanders to Mass and that night in Turkey again. I find myself wishing he was here with me right now. That way, I could just ask him straight out what’s in this room. I don’t even think he’d lie, but I’m not sure he’d answer either.
Curiosity keeps me in place. I’m ready to give up when I hear it.
The sound’s faint. It’s clearly coming from deeper in the room.
But it’s unmistakable.
It’s the sound of a man singing in Italian.
The song is shockingly familiar. My mother used to sing it to me when I was little, back before she really started to despise me. I loved that song so much I made her sing it every night until I was ten years old, at which point she finally snapped at me, you’re too old for this baby stuff, close your eyes and sleep.
But the voice in this room tugs at something. There’s a memory buried deep in my head. A man’s voice, like that one, warbling that same lullaby. Mama rolls her eyes but smiles a little.
Who’s singing? What’s he doing in that room? And why does it feel like I know him?
“Time for you to move on.”
I pull away, heart racing into my throat. I look around, but there’s nobody nearby. It takes a second before I understand. “Was that you, Lady?”
“Yes, Allie, it was me.” The house AI’s voice is pleasant and emotionless. “The guards are on their way. I suggest you go elsewhere.”
I frown slightly. “Why are you warning me?”
“Because I’ve been instructed to prioritize your health, safety, and comfort above all else by Dragon Massimo.”
Interesting. I didn’t know he’d given her that instruction. “Thanks for the heads-up, Lady.”
“Anytime, Allie.”
I hurry away from the door. Memory still itches at the back of my head. The lullaby’s haunting melody dredges something old from deep in my past.
But as soon as I reach for it, I feel the half-remembered images fade like an old dream.
MASS
Lucy sprawls on the chair across from me. She’s not typing on her phone, which is a very bad sign. “Should I come out with it?” she asks.
“You know I prefer bad news straight.”
“That’s half your life these days.”
“My job is to deal with problems.”
Lucy smiles weakly. “Medved hit a safe house in Brussels, a warehouse in Bordeaux, and three of your brothels in Lisbon.”
I stiffen and push back against the frustration burning in my stomach. “Casualties?”
“Extensive. Honestly, the one whorehouse—” She whistles, shaking her head. “Outright slaughter. That was before our security forces could show up.”
“The girls are all dead?”
“Dead is putting it mildly. Want the details? I can send you the report. Medved’s people were extremely thorough.”
My jaw tightens and I shake my head. “He’s taunting me.”
“How’s that?”
“He knows I got married. He’s killing the girls as a message.”
Lucy’s eyebrows arch. “Sounds like a stretch.”
“I know him. I know how he works.”
“Or maybe you’re a little too wrapped up in your new wife to think clearly.” I stare at her for a long moment. Lucy sighs. “Okay, fine. Regardless of the message, he’s escalating. Turkey was just the start.”
She’s right. It bothers me deeply. Medved’s been pushing at the fringes of my operation, but hitting positions directly in the heart of Europe is disturbing.
He’s always been strong in Asia. Medved’s deeply embedded in China and most of Russia. My people in Europe have been safe from him for a long time, at least until now. That means his reach is getting longer and he’s beginning to flex his muscles.
“How does he even know about these places?” I say softly, glaring at the wall, trying to think. My head feels like sludge. All I’ve done since coming back to the Fortress is put out fires. I’ve barely spent any time with Allie and Rosie.
I crave my wife’s touch. I want to hold my baby daughter, at least for a few minutes.
Instead, I’m here in my office, trying to keep the sky from falling.
It’s tumbling down anyway.
“That’s what I’ve been asking myself.” Lucy taps at her phone, chewing on her lip. “The brothels, those aren’t hard to find out about. But the warehouse was tightly guarded, and the safe house was a straight-up secret.”
She stares at me and I stare right back. I’ve known her for a long time now, and she doesn’t have to say it out loud. I sigh, leaning back. “You think we have a leak.”