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My cheeks heated from the memories, Gianni chuckling. “I know that blush, Reeses. Stop smiling like that. There’s nowhere to land this fucking thing and fuck you if I’m going to be hard for the rest of this flight.”
“I could fix that,” I shrugged playfully, wanting out of my head. My eyes dipped to his crotch, a prominent bulge thickening between his thighs.
He grunted, reaching down to adjust himself. “Roadhead is a great thing but this isn’t my version of the mile-high club. Get some sleep. You’ll need it.”
“Do we have a plan?”
“We will, Rhys. I can promise you that.”
It wasn’t exactly what I wanted to hear but it was enough for me to snuggle into the chair, stealing his jacket for a bit of warmth. I didn’t believe for a second that they would have been on their way to France if I hadn’t fucked things up. No pretty words would change my mind. Granted, without a boyfriend who was as crazed and obsessive as Owen, I would have never found my way into Gianni’s house.
Chapter two
ADA
I had been cultivatingmy position for years.Years.Finding Ernest had been a stroke of luck, giving me access to a world where I could strengthen what I was good at–control. Recruiting Liam had been easy enough, both of us working together to gather the information that Hawk International required. We were merely scouts, agents for a cause. Until this one project, which required a certain statistical program built.
Numbers weren’t my game so naturally, I looked to Rhys. He would have never agreed if he knew it had been for corporate greed, however, for a while, we were all happy. It was a family affair. Until those bastards from the Kolas crew ruined it all. No, that wasn’t true.
Owen.The fucking traitor of a man who couldn’t stay on track with the plan. He had to fucking fall in love with my brother and now, the father of my child was dead because he couldn’t figure out where his loyalty lay. Tragic, really. Not entirely. Owen had been a waste of space to begin with but one night gone wrong produced the brightest light in my life. I hated that Tia shared 50% of her DNA with that man.
The worst part of this situation? I was now stuck with a program that might not even work.
Dad hadnofucking right to steal my goddamn child. What, he read a few classified documents and thought to take my daughter on a little vacation? I wasn't even entirely sure what happened–just that I came home to a mess of paperwork that had been locked up and my baby girl gone in the place of a note.
His phone was off so the next best choice was badgering my mother for answers. Mom rarely checked her phone, so I actually had to drive over to their house.
”Fuck! Dad stole my fucking child!” I yelled into the night air as I climbed out of my car and threw the door closed, huffing in anger. I stalked into the family home I used to love or at least used to be proud of. Owen’s blood seeped into my suit, bringing discomfort and the memories of killing that man in the Kolas crew’s basement but I didn’t care. That little shit deserved to die and I didn’t have time to change.
Bursting into the house, the door smashed against the wall, the sound echoing through the open floor plan. “Mom?” I asked softly, knowing that if she was here, she would have already been in the foyer to see what the commotion was. The usual burning candles or decorative smells flourishing through the living room were absent. Dad must have gathered them both up and whisked them away.
The problem was that telling the authorities that Tia’s grandparents had stolen her wouldn’t yield many results. Itwould also allow them a reason to start digging into my background and that wasn’t a fucking option.
“Fuck!” I upturned one of the antique wooden tables Mom had collected over the years and threw it across the living room, relishing the way the wood splintered across the opposite wall. Hawk International still had me on the hook for that program and dropping off the disk at headquarters so that it could be assessed was my last hope. I needed this to work and then I needed my fucking daughter back.
Unable to wait a second later, I whipped out my phone and dialed Xavi. He was one of the few employees I liked and nearly as smart as Rhys in some aspects. “Give me good news,” I hissed.
“Bitchy much? Calm down.”
I sunk into one of the armchairs. “Tell me what you have.”
“It doesn’t work.”
My brain short-circuited. Rhys was a fucking genius. I knew for a fact that he had completed the project because his advisor had told me so. I had also been keeping up with his updates to Ernest, the face and CEO of Hawk International. Rhys had never figured the connection–maybe because he didn’t want to but there was no denying that the program had beenfinished.
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m saying I’ve tried everything. Played around with the code a bit. I might not be a genius like your brother but there’s definitely a string or two of code missing. Unfortunately, I couldn’t tell you what goes where to make it work.” He sounded annoyed but I didn’t have time to make him feel better. I was without a program, my daughter, and the life I was promised. Not waiting for Xavi to deliver me additional bad news, I hung up and threw my head back against the cushions.
Rhys has outsmarted me. My little brother, the sweet little kid who only knew about numbers had trickedme.Anger bled through my veins as I tried to rein in my emotions and failed.This couldn’t be fucking happening. Quickly, I dialed Ernest. “Did you find Rhys?” We had split the moment I realized Rhys was no longer at his house, which meant that the Kolas crew had him.
“No. But you realize it’s like 2 am, right?”
“I don’t fucking care! Dad has my kid and Rhys is not where he’s supposed to be. That kid is as predictable as a fucking clock, Ernest, and one little mishap and he just picked up his entire life and disappeared? I don’t believe that shit for a second.Find him.”
I had been watching my baby brother foryears, what he liked and disliked, what he craved, and what he avoided. The moment Owen told me he had this shit handled, I knew I needed another set of eyes or three.
After having Rhys followed, I was shocked to see how trusting he was of some of the most lethal men in the business. That stupid outing at the park was dangerous as fuck and their little runaway to the airport was anything but discreet. Well, if you knew what you were looking for.
