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7
Devani
My car pulledup outside the glass-and-steel building where I lived.
Weeks of playing this role to perfection, of being the picture-perfect Queen of Diamonds with all its fakery, were taking their toll. Every inch of my body hurt from lack of proper sleep and exhaustion.
Relief washed over me, knowing I wouldn’t have to constantly watch my back in the safety of my own place. Right now, all I wanted to do was shower, grab a bite to eat, and clear my mind with an extended meditation session before I slept.
Tonight was supposed to have been easy. I would listen, collect information, and report my findings.
However, Sam’s appearance at the fundraiser had completely shot my concentration.
Why the fuck had he shown up? He wasn’t even on the guest list.
No. I wouldn’t lie to myself. My irrational reaction to Jesika had fucked with my ability to focus.
Releasing a deep breath, I pushed those thoughts back and looked up at the high-rise before me.
I owned every square inch of the building. Technically, Danika and I owned the property as part of a joint venture. However, since the world thought we were enemies, we kept that bit of news to ourselves, locked under a multitude of trusts and subsidiaries.
Danika understood my need to have a space where my uncles or their spawn had no access, where I felt like I could have a sense of peace from the world.
So with her help, we rigged this place with every high-tech gadget possible. I occupied the top two floors as my residence. And Danika and I used the rest for the headquarters of various businesses we owned, except for Maya Ratna Holdings.
I kept as much distance from that monster as possible.
It always surprised me how Danika and I meshed so well together. We were so different, from opposite backgrounds and upbringings.
She’d spent the beginning of her life in one of the poorest neighborhoods in NYC. That’s where she’d first met Nik, Kir, Rey, and Sam. They were her family when she lost her mom, and her father worked like crazy to support them.
I couldn’t say I knew what it was like to want anything. I’d grown up with the best of everything—food, clothes, toys, and definitely jewelry.
Maybe what drew us together was that soul-deep longing for connection—two orphaned girls who’d lived through the same heartache.
We met during her first year at Columbia when I’d approached her for an under-the-table job with Solon.
I still remembered the doe-eyed expression she’d given me when I’d cornered her between the rows of the library.
We’d both been eighteen but so different. Danika radiated innocence and a deep desire for escape, learning the ropes of her first year in university. On the other hand, having joined the organization at thirteen, I considered myself seasoned, anything but pure. I couldn’t understand why anyone spent so much time in a library. The thought of going to college like any normal kid never crossed my mind.
To this day, it surprised people that I’d never sought a degree past high school. What I’d learned in Solon many would consider doctorate-level assassin training, but it was beyond unconventional.
Who was I kidding? I’d technically joined a cult as a child through a teacher at my boarding school. She trained me to become a walking hit woman with unlimited access to money and weapons. Then, when not actively on assignment, I spent hours upon hours learning how to run international corporations from other agents who ran businesses around the world.
Then again, I had no regrets.
Collette had saved me. If it wasn’t for her no-bullshit stance or her support, I wouldn’t have survived the loneliness or the fact I’d never fit in to the old-money, elitist school where I’d spent nearly every moment of my childhood after my parents died.
“The front security team is waiting for you outside. Will you need me again tonight?” Monti, my driver and bodyguard, asked.
“I plan to stay in. It’s been a long time since I spent a night at home. I want standing orders that no one is allowed to come up. I don’t care if a nuclear explosion is imminent.”
He smirked at me through the rearview mirror and nodded before signaling the security crew outside my door to escort me inside.
Ten minutes later, I crossed the threshold into my two-story apartment. Just as I dropped my clutch onto my front entrance table and leaned down to slip off my shoes, my gaze landed on the only picture I had of my parents and brother with me.
A sense of loneliness washed over me. I’d gone from so much laughter, joy, and freedom to manipulation and having to watch every step I took.
