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“DarknessSettlesIn”—FiveFingerDeathPunch
The door opened, and I pulled my headphones out of my ears and stretched. I’d been doing some research on the computer Facet had cleared for me to use. One of these days I was going to find out who killed my parents. I’d buried myself in the work and had lost track of time. A smile lifted my lips as Lucian stepped through the doorway. He took my breath away, and I needed to be close to him. When he closed the door, I stood and met him halfway.
“Am I going to wake up and find out this was all a dream?” I asked as I wrapped my arms around his waist and looked up at his handsome visage. That’s when I realized something was wrong.
His troubled blue eyes stared into mine, and his hands cradled my face. “We need to talk.”
“That’s never good when said like that,” I said cautiously. My gaze bounced from one electric blue eye to the other, seeking a clue as to how bad it was going to be.
“We need you to contact your agent. There are some things we found out that we need to see if he’s aware of, but you need to ask them very carefully.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The two men who killed your parents are dead.”
“But that doesn’t make any sense,” I argued with a confused, but humorless, laugh. “Maybe your information is wrong.”
He sighed heavily. “Trust me, I know.”
“Okay. I can reach out to him. He knows I dabble in the dark web a little. I can say I found out they were killed. Would it be best if I try to get him to meet me?” I asked as I tried to swallow, but my throat seemed to have stopped working.
“What’s he like?” he asked. “What kind of vibes do you get off him?”
“Honestly? I’ve never met him in person. My initial case agent retired, and Ryan took over,” I explained.
“If he agrees to meet in person, I’ll go with you, but he won’t know I’m there. If I get any weird feelings, I’m pulling you out.”
“Sure,” I said.
“There’s something else,” he hesitantly added.
“There’smore?” I asked, giving him awhat the fucklook.
He appeared resigned and briefly rested his forehead against mine. Then he leaned back, and his piercing gaze locked on mine.
“You stumbled into the workings of something bigger than a missing person case. The girl you’re looking for is likely involved with the people you inadvertently hacked. We don’t know in what capacity. Facet worked his crazy magic and found out they are into some seriously illegal shit. When he started peeling back the layers, it got worse and worse. He thinks they are involved in more than porn and high-end prostitution like they told us.” He was holding something back.
“Venom also wants to essentially use you as bait. We think they are part of a human trafficking ring we’ve been tracking,” he said with a clenched jaw. And there it was.
My heart hammered at the thought of people like he was describing getting hold of me. I’d spent damn near half my life hiding from “the bad guys.” The thought of being taken out because of my own stupidity really pissed me off.
“What are the odds I wouldn’t be safe?” I asked in a tremulous tone.
“I can’t say. What I can say is that I will do everything in my power to protect you, and I will not leave your side for a second,” he vehemently promised. That was the second time he mentioned being with me during a meeting and then this scheme to get at the shell company I hacked.
“How exactly do you plan on doing that?” I asked in disbelief.
“There’s something you don’t know,” he said with a cagey expression. My eyes narrowed, and I started to pull back, but he gripped my shoulders and held me in place. Mind whirling, I had no idea what he could be talking about, but it didn’t sound good.
“What?” I asked in a lower octave.
He sighed. “Don’t freak out.”
“Saying that is almost guaranteed to make me do exactly that,” I deadpanned.
He stepped back and wet his lower lip, then he was gone. Like fucking disappeared.
My chest caved, and I couldn’t breathe. “Lucian?” My eyes darted around nervously, and chills skated across my skin.
