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“Of course,” I say, giving him my word. My word is my bond.
Nikolai’s lips press into a hard line, his heart on his sleeve. He takes a breath, knowing the next words out of his mouth will be nothing short of a death sentence for a brother who has stood by his side as a member of The Circle for twenty-odd years. But what choice does he have? Either let this fight continue and allow Oakley Quinn to rise as our leader and burn everything we’ve built over the centuries to the ground, or save us all? “The name you’re looking for is Aleksander Torrini.”
And with that, I rise, clutching the manilla folder in my hand. Without another glance toward Nikolai, I stride out of the office and back through the front door. My phone is already in my hand and my thumb madly roaming over the screen, a new text sent off to Dalton and Sawyer before my feet leave the final step of the property.
Zade - Meet me outside the Torrini estate in 30. Leave Oakley with Cross.
Themoonstillshimmershigh in the sky when a black SUV comes flying over the hill, hurtling toward me. It pulls to a stop beside my Escalade, and as Dalton and Sawyer step out of the car, we each look up at the Torrini mansion.
It’s not as grand as the Thorne estate, but it’s also nothing to sneeze at either. “You ready?” I ask the boys, glancing back as they stride toward me.
Dalton grins, a gun already in his hand, though we both know he won’t be needing it. This one is all mine. “Fucking born ready.”
Sawyer nods, and without hesitation, we take off toward the house. “Who squealed?” he questions, glancing my way.
My jaw clenches, holding up my word of keeping this confidential, and Sawyer just grins some more. “Ahhh, my old man, huh? I knew he’d crumble.”
Getting closer to the house, I go to the front while Dalton takes the left and Sawyer heads to the right, covering all bases. Although, it’s barely 4:30 in the morning. I doubt anyone will be awake inside, but either way, we need to make this quick.
Aleksander lives by the bay, the shore practically on his front doorstep, and soon enough, the street will fill with early morning joggers and surfers trying to start their day off right. Despite how I had wanted to take my time with this, we need to play this smart. In and out. Get the job done and make sure no one sees us.
Making my way up the steps, I move toward the front door and hover in front of it. Aleksander has one hell of a security system set up here, just as all The Circle members do. I won’t risk touching that door until I know we can get in undetected.
I wait barely thirty seconds, watching the red light on the front of the automatic locking system on the door. There’s a soft whirring sound before the light turns green.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I take it out, my lips pulling into a sly grin.
Sawyer - All clear.
Fuck yeah.
My hand closes over the handle, and I’m in.
Striding through the house, I notice a soft strip of light shining from beneath a closed door just as Sawyer comes in from the back. I nod toward the door, and his brow arches just seconds before a grin pulls at his lips. As he glances back at me, I have to resist laughing.
This fucker is always on the same wavelength. Besides, there’s nothing like a good trap.
We wait barely twenty seconds before Dalton shows his face in the hallway, each of us blocking every direction. I don’t even get a chance to tell him what’s going on before he notices the light under the door and rolls his eyes. “Fuck, man,” he whispers. “I’m still paying for the last trap I set.”
“Stop being such a fucking pussy,” I tell him.
Dalton has the audacity to look offended as I search the room for something to use to our advantage. Something that will make just enough noise to alarm whoever’s in that room, but not enough to wake their sleeping family upstairs.
I find nothing but a glass vase and cringe, knowing it’ll have to do before Sawyer shuffles further down the hall and crouches down to a mini robot vacuum. He glances back at me, his eyes dark, sick, and twisted. Perfect.
Giving the nod of approval, Sawyer scoops up the robot vacuum and brings it out into the foyer. He positions it directly between the three of us so that whoever’s in there doesn’t come running out and head in the wrong direction. What fun would that be?
He hits the big red button in the center, and like a good little robot, it beeps three times before getting to work. The soft whir of the machine is like music to my ears.
Sawyer quickly shuffles back into position, and just as he gets there, the door whips open, sending the light spilling out into the foyer. Aleksander comes barging out, his eyes wide and in a panic. As he sees me and notices his escape routes are gone, his stare only becoming more frantic.
Without saying a word, he knows what this is about. He knows his time is up.
“Let’s make this fast, Alek,” I say. “I don’t want to be here longer than necessary.”
His gaze shoots around the hall, searching for some way to try and help himself, and when he glances toward the stairs, I let out a heavy sigh. “Don’t be foolish. I don’t want to include them in this, but if you push me, you know damn well I’ll line them up across the wall and have them watch.”
Regaining a little composure, Aleksander strides closer, putting himself directly between the boys and me. “Assuming this is about your little performance at Nikolai’s estate, then you have your wires crossed somewhere,” he states, not bothering to tell me to leave his family out of this, simply jumping to the defense. “Who gave you my name? Was it Abrahms? Harvey? Those bastards are just out to save themselves. It’s their home you should be breaking into, not mine.”
