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“Well, don’t take this the wrong way, Lilah, but the Boss can’t make decisions based on your biased instincts regarding your kin. She makes decisions based on factual information. And this is what we know to be fact…” She leans forward. “Fox is missing. Dante is missing. And Spencer is dead.”
Spencer. He was with Dante in Chicago for his undercover assignment in the Zappia family. The morning Snake Eyes was exposed, Spencer tried to kill Lucy and tie off a rather small loose end.
Dante disagreed with that.
“He is?” I ask, lying.
Myra studies my expression. I pump as much genuine surprise into it as I can. This is the first time I’ve heard this news, after all…
I have to act like it.
“Yes,” she says. She lays a finger along her own throat and slices. “Cut open from ear-to-ear with a garrote. Sounds an awful lot like Dante’s specialty, right?”
“Yeah, but…” I shake my head. “Spencer was his mentor. I can’t imagine he’d even consider—”
“I sincerely hope that’s true,” she says, unblinking, “because it looks like Dante burned every bridge he had that morning and made a rather clean getaway. Almost as if he knew what was coming.”
Heat fills my cheeks. “He didn’t know.”
“Prove it.” Her face softens. “Lilah, I came to you personally because I respect the value you and your family brings to this organization. I’d hate to lose you.”
There’s only one way to interpret that last part. I try to keep my eyes steady on her, but they end up falling to the floor between us instead.
Myra slips a hand into her briefcase. “As of this moment, your entire family is under suspicion of treason. You and Elijah included, as the two of you seem to be the only agents who have gone after Fox to come back alive.” She gives a calm smile. “You can imagine how that looks from my Jimmy Choos.”
I bite down, refusing to speak and risk incriminating myself even further. Not that the United States Constitution matters much in this situation but I, at least, want to increase my chances of walking out of this bathroom.
“It would be in your best interest to find Dante as soon as possible and clear his name,” she continues, retrieving a thin file from her case. “The truth will come out and the more loyalty your family exhibits, the better off you all will be.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Now, that said…” She holds the file out to me. “I have a mission for you.”
I blink. “A mission? What kind?”
“Just another one of the Boss’ various loose ends,” she says. “Tying up as many of those as possible these days.”
I open the file and a familiar face looks back at me from a photo. Thick, blonde hair. Shiny, blue irises. A chiseled, fairytale prince face I’ve beaten on before.
I roll my eyes. “Archer.”
“You know him?”
“I’ve bumped into him once or twice. Last I saw him, he was in LA. Any idea where he is now?”
“Oh, he’s here, actually.”
I look up from the file. “He’s here? Why?”
“From the looks of it,” she muses, “he’s trailing you.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. But find out why and shut it down. We don’t need bounty hunters tracking our agents. Mr. Allen has officially overstayed his welcome in this world.”
I close the file. “I’ll take care of it.”
“I know you will. Make it fast.” She pauses by the door. “Or slow… whichever is more fun for you.”
