“That doesn’t sound good,” Sasha murmurs, obviously close enough to hear him.
“It’s not,” I reply, the words rasping from my dry throat.
“Here,” Nathan instructs, pulling a small leather case from his pocket and unzipping it.
Carlo passes the offending watch to Nathan, who opens the case to display a mini tool set, yet another example of there being more to the doctor than meets the eye.
While he works, Kayden angles toward me, and me to him. “I’m not going to tell you this is a scare tactic,” he says for my ears only. “Though it may well be.”
“It’s a promise,” I say. “It’s him being bold enough to say he’s coming, and then do it.”
“We won’t leave this room without an aggressive plan to deal with him, which was already my intent.”
“You mean kill him? Because that’s the only way to stop him.”
“Yes,” he promises. “I mean kill him.”
“No bug,” Nathan announces.
The room seems to sigh in unison, only to have Matteo throw us all another punch. “But we have another problem,” he warns, looking up from his MacBook Air as all eyes fall on him.
“The client no longer exists,” Kayden supplies. “He’s been wiped away as easily as Ella was.”
“That’s exactly right,” Matteo confirms.
“Can you find an internet signature of who, where, and when?” Kayden asks.
“I’m trying, but unsuccessfully. Whoever did this was good. Really damn good.”
“This from a man who claims to be one of the best hackers on the planet,” I say, not secure with his claim that our security system can’t be broken into anymore.
“I am one of the best hackers on the planet,” Matteo snaps back sharply. “But you don’t go head-to-head with someone like me, unless you’re someone who can keep up.”
“What the hell is going on?” Carlo demands. “And how was I used to make it happen?”
Kayden’s response is to look at me in a silent question. Do I want to tell my story or let him? “Me,” I reply, as if he’s spoken. “I’ll tell them.” I inhale and glance around the table, then get right to the point. “Some of you know pieces of this. Matteo for sure, because he’s been helping look into my past. Adriel, because we just told him.”
“What the fuck is going on?” Carlo demands. “And how many times do I have to ask that question?”
“You really are charming, Carlo,” Sasha says. “A prince, in fact.”
“I’m your lead to finding the necklace,” I say. “That’s why Niccolo was looking for me. I wasn’t just some random person who was at the wrong place at the wrong time, as we initially thought.”
“Your identity being wiped out completely was a pretty good sign that something didn’t add up,” Matteo says.
“Obviously Niccolo believes you don’t remember where it is,” Sasha says, “or you’d be under lock and key.”
“She’s protected under Evil Eye,” Carlo reminds her.
“He’s fully aware that I have amnesia,” I say, “and, unfortunately, he’s using me to try to get Kayden to work for him.”
Kayden is quick to weigh in on that. “He lost that leverage when Alessandro led the private eye hired by Ella’s friend right to her.”
“But the PI did help jolt some of my memories,” I say, “which I hope will help me remember where the necklace is.”
Sasha asks, “Are you saying you actually had it, or just a lead on it?”
“I had it,” I say. “I’ll start at the beginning and tell the entire story, which is somewhat convoluted with chunks of my memory still missing.” I begin with David, the engagement gift, everything I told Adriel, and finally David dying in the alleyway and me calling Garner Neuville.
“You were staying with Garner Neuville?” Sasha asks.
“Yes. It didn’t take long for me to figure out that he wasn’t what he seemed, and that I’d been set up. I was his possession in his eyes, set up for the murder of my fiancée if I went to the police, my complete identity erased. I figured out he was after the necklace, but to my knowledge I never knew why or what it was worth. I just know that I hid it.”
“And that no one has found it,” Kayden adds. “They’re all still looking for it.”
Carlo narrows his gaze on me. “How did you get here, and why was Niccolo looking for you?”
“He claims I promised him the necklace in exchange for protection from Neuville,” I say. “There’s no way I’d have promised him that necklace. I’d have had a plan to avoid giving it to him.”
“In other words,” Carlo says, “he believes you have the necklace.”
“He’s aware of my amnesia,” I say. “But yes, he believes I’m the key to finding it and he’s right. I had it the night I called Neuville for help, and I remember the night I overheard Neuville talking to his bodyguard about me having it. My thought was—it’s hidden; you’ll never find it. But I didn’t remember that until two days ago.”
“The good news here is that she hid it well enough that no one has found it,” Nathan offers. “It’s bought us time to remove some of the players.” He glances at me. “What’s the story behind the watch?”
“It’s Garner Neuville’s watch,” I explain. “It was him telling me that he’s coming for me, and that he can get to any of you to do it. He wanted to own me and the necklace. He doesn’t have either, and when I left, per Niccolo, I held a gun on him in front of a crowd. He’s obsessed with me.”
“You humiliated him,” Sasha says. “Which the bastard deserved, but he won’t let that go.”
Carlo looks at Kayden. “And now we know why you invoked Evil Eye.”
I feel those words like a slap.
“I invoked Evil Eye because I want Ella by my side,” Kayden corrects. “I needed a solution that sent an off-limits message to Neuville and Niccolo, long term. Otherwise, I would have hidden her away until this was over.”
“Evil Eye won’t keep him away,” Sasha says softly, her hands flattening on the table as if she’s bracing herself for a fight.
My gaze goes to Kayden’s, a silent push to remind him that this is exactly what I’ve said, as well. He gives me a small nod, while Adriel offers Sasha the same response Kayden gave me earlier tonight. “He’d be crazy to risk Evil Eye,” Adriel says. “Not even Alessandro is that foolish.”
Her gaze snaps to her sometimes lover. “You don’t understand who and what that man is,” she says, and I realize that she’s set her hands on the table because she’s trembling.
I’m reminded then of the night of the party, and her mentioning that she’d fled Paris after crossing Neuville. I can easily imagine the many ways he might have created the anger—and the fear—radiating off her now.
“Let’s step outside, Sasha,” Adriel says softly, a tenderness in his voice that tells me their relationship might contain a real connection that neither has allowed the other to explore.
“No,” she says, twisting to direct an appeal to Kayden. “Please listen to me.”
“Carlo’s right, Sasha,” Nathan argues. “Evil Eye—”
“Won’t matter,” she bites out, keeping her attention on Kayden. “I experienced that man’s capabilities, and he just saw me as a fling. He sees Ella as a possession that you took from him, Kayden. He will come for her.” She looks at me. “He will come for you.” She gestures around the table. “He will come for us. He will kill us all, if we let him. Do you all hear me? He will kill us. And then what damn good is Evil Eye? Tell me!”
The room goes silent, everyone staring at this strong, bold woman who is no longer able to hide her trembling. I want to grab her and hug her and tell her I understand, but I know that isn’t the answer. Not here and now.
“We’re going to kill him, Sasha,” Kayden promises, his voice soft, strong, and
absolute. “We’re going to make him pay for his many sins.”
“When, Kayden?” she demands. “When is someone finally going to kill that man?”
“We are going to end him now. But you need to go take a breather with Adriel. We’ll detail a plan when you get back.”
“Respectfully, no,” she says. “I’m here. I’m fighting.” She shoves fingers through her brown hair, still a mess from the rain. “And I’m perfectly composed. I just needed to get a point across.”
“At the risk of sounding like the sane one here,” Nathan says, “I’m going to be the voice of reason. If we kill Neuville, his entire operation will come after us. And both his second and third are problems.”
“Which is why it can’t look like we did it,” Kayden states. “And they have to die with him.”
“If we didn’t do it,” Nathan asks, “who did?”
“Raul would make a damn good fall guy,” Adriel suggests. “Pit him against Neuville. He’s brutal and he’s hungry to expand his power here.”
A buzzer goes off, and Kayden picks up a remote control to bring one of the dozen monitors on the wall to life, revealing a person in a raincoat at the street door of the store. “That should be our delivery.”
“I’ll get it,” Adriel says, already on his feet and moving toward the door.
Kayden eyes Matteo. “Go with him for backup.”
As Matteo follows Adriel, Kayden’s phone rings. He pulls it from his pocket, glances at the number, and heads for the door, leaving only Sasha, Nathan, Carlo, and me at the table.
“Any drugs you can give her to jolt her memory, Doc?” Carlo asks, talking to Nathan but looking at me.
“No,” Nathan says. “But I have a few to shut you up.”
Carlo ignores him, fingers thrumming on the table. “So, let me get this straight. We’re supposed to believe you were a schoolteacher who eloped with this doctor, but you can fight and handle a weapon as well as any of us?”
I tell him about Blake Walker. I tell him about my father. “He was covert CIA. He trained me from a young age.”
“My experience is that the CIA is a shady operation,” he comments. “Most of the agents, especially the highly covert ones, feel they have no rules or boundaries to follow. In my experience, the dirty agents outnumber the good ones.”
“You’re such an ass, Carlo,” Sasha says. “This is her father, who was murdered on the job.”
“Why was he murdered?” he asks. “And by who?”
That’s the question. Why? By who? And the word dirty is grinding through my mind with dogged insistence. Was my father dirty? Is that why he was killed? Was I an agent? And was I, am I, dirty?
“What about you, Ella?” Carlo asks, as if reading my mind. “Good agent or bad agent?”
“Schoolteacher,” I say. “No one has found any proof I’m an agent.”
“Let it go, Carlo,” Nathan warns.
“Yes, Carlo,” Sasha says. “You really are a piece of bad work. Tell me why you’re here again?”
“To take down The Jackals,” he says, never missing a beat. “Who have been known to have a few CIA contacts of their own. As does Niccolo.”
The obvious accusation hits a nerve. Anger comes at me hard and fast, and I don’t even know what root it’s sprouting from. “This from the Jackal himself?”
“I’m no longer a Jackal,” he snaps.
“No?” I challenge. “Because once a bottom feeder, always a bottom feeder.”
“Don’t push me, Ella,” Carlo warns.
“What are you doing to me?”
“Trying to get you to get your fucking memory back,” he snaps.
“By being an asshole?” I demand. “That’s been tried. It fails. All it does is piss me off. So let me tell you what I know, Carlo. I’m loyal to Kayden, which means I’m loyal to The Underground. I will fight for it. I will kill for it, and it would not be the first time I’ve killed. I will protect your back and your life, but if you come at mine with bad intentions, you won’t like the outcome. Because I am my father’s daughter, and he taught me to win—and that means other people die, not me. And not the people who I’m protecting or standing beside.”
I inhale, realizing then that I’ve leaned forward in an aggressive stance, and I force myself to ease back into my seat. Adriel and Matteo have returned, standing behind their seats, while Kayden stands in the open doorway, his presence sucking all of the air out of the room, a force to be acknowledged. Our eyes lock, the connection stealing my breath. We stare at each other for several long beats, and I see amusement curving his lips.
“I see you found out Ella’s no pushover, Carlo,” he says, moving forward to stand between the seats Adriel and Matteo reclaim.
“I guess you could say I did,” Carlo confirms, his gaze meeting mine. “It’s my way to test people. And believe it or not, it makes me a damn good Hunter.”
Thinking of the nerve he hit, I say, “Actually, I do believe it.”
“Truce it is, then,” Kayden declares, drawing our attention and holding up a folder. “Alessandro stole three million dollars from Neuville.”
“He’s officially insane,” Sasha says, echoing the words in my head.
“He’s a dead man walking if Neuville finds out,” Carlo replies. “I fucking love it.”
“He’s going to find out,” Kayden says. “Because you’re going to make sure he finds out.” He slides the envelope across the table to Carlo, who catches it easily. “Get that to the Jackal you know will sell out Alessandro and go to Neuville, preferably in Paris, but don’t let yourself be the source. When Alessandro falls we’re breaking up The Jackals. The existing members will have these options: follow my rules, leave the country, retire, or suffer great consequences. They’ll report to me through you.”
“Understood,” Carlo says, all of his cockiness remarkably, if only momentarily, washed away. “I won’t let you down.”
“Then hear me, and hear me well, Carlo. Alessandro does not die until Neuville and his second and third are dead, and it’s assumed to be retaliation. Do not get trigger happy and blow that. You communicate with me. We’ll design the timing. When he leaves for Paris, you and I will, too.”
It’s what I expected him to say. He wants to end this. I knew he would. Adriel, however, isn’t pleased. “You can’t get anywhere near this.”
“I’m ending this,” Kayden says. “One way or the other.”
“Aside from incriminating yourself,” Adriel argues, “this is dangerous as fuck. You’re too important to the stability of Europe to take that risk.”
Adriel convinces me he’s right and I open my mouth to agree, but somehow, some way, I remind myself that for now, at least, Kayden needs me to argue with him behind closed doors.
But Nathan doesn’t stay silent. “You can’t risk being connected to this.”
“I can back up Carlo,” Sasha says. “I know it leaves Gallo exposed, but Alessandro will now have other things to worry about. And I know Paris, and Neuville’s people. And I’d be happy to kill any or all of them that survive Alessandro.”
“You can back us both up,” Kayden says, his gaze warning me not to debate my role in this in this room.
A concern outside of Kayden’s safety hits me, and I speak up. “Niccolo will know that you released the information he sent you.”
“Here’s the piece of the puzzle you need to put it together,” Kayden replies, to me and everyone else. “Niccolo didn’t give me this file to satisfy me, or to offer you protection. He’s not that honorable. He knows what Neuville did to Ella. He knows I want Neuville dead. He led Alessandro into crossing my path and endangering Ella. He wanted me to use this to get rid of a stepbrother he wants dead.”
“Without starting a mob war,” I supply.
“Exactly,” Kayden says. “But we aren’t doing his dirty work,
leaving ourselves that exposed. We’ll clear the path for him or someone he trusts to do the job. And that’s what I’m going to tell him in person tonight.” Kayden considers a moment. “In fact . . .”
He glances at Adriel. “Contact our man inside Neuville’s operation. This is starting to read like a setup by Niccolo. I’m betting Neuville’s still wearing his watch, and the gift to Carlo was a plant, meant to hit a trigger with Ella and make me go after him.” He looks at me. “Niccolo knows you were running from his stepbrother.”
“We can’t assume it was Niccolo,” I warn. “It could have been Neuville.”
“It fits Neuville’s style of manipulation,” Sasha says, quick to support my worries.
“I’ll tell Niccolo I’m going to kill Neuville, which is what he wants,” Kayden says. “If he did send the watch he has no reason to deny it, and will likely gloat about how brilliant his plan was.”
“I’ll look for a connection between the customer who gave it to Carlo and Niccolo, just in case he tries to play coy,” Matteo says.
“Do that,” Kayden says. “And I need a final word on Blake Walker and Chris Merit tonight.”
“You’ll have it,” Matteo assures him.
Kayden looks at Sasha. “Deal with Gallo until we’re ready for you.” His attention shifts to Nathan and Adriel. “You know what you have to do.” He then scans the room. “Any questions or input?” After several beats of silence, he says, “We’re done, then.”
Everyone stands, including me. Only, as they disappear out of the War Room, I close the space between myself and Kayden, him watching my every step, his expression unreadable, those pale blue eyes hooded. Ridiculously, in those final few steps as he turns to face me, butterflies attack my stomach, ridiculous when this man is my soul mate. My shelter in every storm I will ever face, and in all the ones I now relive.
He doesn’t reach for me, standing there, all power and masculinity, his gaze sharp, unreadable. “I’m going to be a few hours. Maybe longer.”
I want to ask where he’s going, aside from seeing Niccolo. I want to tell him to be careful. But this is one of those moments where I must ensure that one of the fears I voiced doesn’t become reality. That I don’t become a distraction, one that changes how he makes decisions, and places him and the others in danger.