“Alright, what are we looking for?” I asked as we started making our way toward the main entrance before deviating to the left, pulling on our matching black blazers like a couple of secret agents.
“Who.Whoare we looking for… Are you—you know what, no, not right now. I’ll ridicule you for that one later.”
“Oh, like you trying to explain—badly, I might add—to Tessa what the fuck we—”
“Not.Now. Lucas.”
“Right… Only when it serves you and your fucking ego…” I grumbled, rolling my eyes as I swiped the MUR’s white, all-access key card across the security panel to unlock the side entrance that led directly into the main observatory, and then swimming through the sea of elegantly dressed individuals like a pair of sharks on the hunt.
“Just—There.” Levi urgently gestured to a man dressed in a deep navy suit who was crossing the center of the massive room, just as he disappeared into another swarm of attending guests. “That’s him. Let’s move.”Well, that was faster than I anticipated.
“Levi.” I hissed as I kept up with his long strides. We didn’t run to avoid suspicion, but our pace was quick as we navigated through the crowd in search of a single man wearing dark blue. At least it wasn’t black.
We had made a quick pit stop at home before heading to Luminary for Tessa’s assignment. Changing into sharp, all-black suits that would allow us to imitate someone in security or of a high-ranking status, so that we could lure our target somewhere secluded with no suspicion.
The goal was to isolate, restrain, and leave no room for error. All our girl would have to do in turn was aim and pull the trigger at the sorry asshole’s head. Thank fucking god for the ability to assist in her test, just as Dane did with ours.
“Mister Henderson.” My brother called, and the target stopped in his tracks before pivoting to face us.
“Yes? What now?” He exhaled, tilting his head with an agitated tick of his jaw as if this wasn’t the first interruption he’d had thisevening, and most likely he expected that this wasn’t going to be the last.Who was this guy?
“Juniper Conrad is requesting your presence in the Taylor suite upstairs. She sent us to escort you.”Damn, Levi coming in clutch with the information overload on this one. How did he manage to figure out all these moving pieces before arriving?
“For fuck sake, Juni…” He spoke with a gravelly tone. “Can’t it wait? I could swear I just spoke to her no more than fifteen minutes ago.”
Oh shit.
“I understand, and I apologize for the inconvenience, but she said it can’t wait; thematterneeds to be discussed in person.”
And this is why my brother always handles business matters instead of me. I don’t know how the hell he manages to successfully bait these idiots every single time. He doesn’t even have to get creative with it anymore. It’s always the same blanket fucking apology.Morons…
“Fine, fine. Let’s get this over with before the next interruption presents itself to fuck up the rest of my evening.”
My brother bowed his head, gesturing a hand to guide the man toward the main exit, and we followed closely behind.
Luminary had three levels, with the suites located on the second. I pulled Levi back gently by his arm, giving a little more distance between us and the target as he cut around the corner, heading straight toward the escalators.
“What the fuck was all that about?” I hissed under my breath, still dumbstruck from what had just unfolded before my eyes, like a scene from a spy movie.
“Malik Henderson. Known for insider trading, corporate fraud, and as of most recently, antitrust violations. Juniper Conrad is a well-known business partner of his and also, apparently, his current Mistress.”
“And you know all of this within a matter of hours… how, exactly?”
“Running Pulse, I’ve heard Malik’s name thrown out a couple of times. It wasn’t hard to put the pieces together once Dustin named him. Juniper, on the other hand, took a little more digging, but we only needed her name for association.”
“The way your mind works…” I muttered, more to myself than him.
“Eh, I wouldn’t think too hard on it, little brother.” He slapped me on the back of the shoulder as we rounded the final corner that led to the suite, still tailing a couple of paces behind Malik. “Now come on, we’ve got a man to tie up for our girl.”
“In any other context that wouldn’t sound right…”
“Shut up.” Levi laughed playfully as he pulled a black taser from his back pocket and pressed the button a couple of times to ensure it was functioning properly. “Let the fun begin.”
