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"We won't force anything, honey. Walk away right now if you really want to. And I promise there are no bad feelings after your little stunt in the parking garage, 'kay?"
I take a step away, and Ace nods at the woman standing behind me. "That wasn't just a ruse, by the way, Loren. You owe this woman money. Tell you what. Get in to talk, and we'll pay off the several grand your old man owed her organization. Right here, right now."
It's a bribe. I still think about the endless bills my mother and I have been drowning in since my father offed himself, and the idea ofmoreoutstanding payments with insane interest rates makes me almost want to weep. We're barely surviving as it is, and I need to start getting Evelyn into speech therapy before she's old enough for school.
That thought has me reluctantly opening the door, gritting my teeth as I slide in next to Ace. I don't recognize their driver, but Chloe gives me a shark smile as Ace makes some digital payment on his phone that has the debt collector woman nodding and leaving quickly, not looking back at the car.
The Wild Seven's car pulls away from the curb and meanders through the city in no rush, seemingly with no destination.
"So. Working with a Caputo now, are we?"
I don't answer Ace. Instead, I stare forward, tense and itching to open the door handle and fling myself out. But they haven't hurt me yet. They paid what I'm sure was a shit ton of money just now to talk to me, and surely they wouldn't do that if they were just going to kill me. Right?
"We've decided something," Chloe says chipperly from the front, pulling out a knife to clean under her manicured nails. "You working in security attheGolden Flame Casino, of all places? It's a pretty fucking big break for us, you know?"
"Could be for you, too," Ace notes, his eyes trailing over the buildings we pass in something like boredom. "Right now, you're a wild card, Loren. You're no security expert, and you're no longer really a hacker. But you could be very useful. Hope you've given some thought to our generous offer for you to join the Wild Seven again."
I fold my arms. "Pretty sure that offer was revoked when Roulette and Twilight came for me in that fucking parking garage."
"Their choice. The rest of us had nothing to do with it. The offer still stands."
I'm about to scoff when Chloe turns around with a bright smile.
"Oh, come on, Miss Lucky Loren. Don't you remember how good it felt? Getting into trouble, talking yourself out of it, winning big, and fleeing before anyone could pin you with shit? You were fuckinggolden, honey. We've never had a slot hacker before you, and no one does it like you, either. You could be unstoppable like that again with our protection."
Ace finally turns to look at me again, his gaze unnerving as ever but his tone even. "All your father's debts. If you ran with us again, with a contract to stay, your family's financial burdens would be gone."
That's a temptation I wasn't expecting. I try not to let my face show how much he's piqued my interest. But deep down, I imagine a world where my mother isn't stressed to the point of physical pain and where I can pay for Evelyn to have nice things and go to nice schools. A world of financial security, not wracked with constant bills from the father who used to come home drunken and angry, throwing fists at anything that moved—including me.
I want to leave that behind. Those memories. The debt.
Get your heads out of the clouds. This is the Wild Seven, Loren.
Sure, they abide by their contracts, and they have the means to wipe out my debts if I join their side again. But breaking their rules equals them breaking bones. Crossing them means crossing all your family members, putting them in the target of the dangerous hacking team. They're trouble, just like I used to be trouble.
"Your father build quite an empire of debt," Ace drones quietly. "The interest alone would bury a normal citizen. But we're not normal, are we, Loren? You and me, people like us, weneedto scam the games that scam everyone else. It's not just about the money. It's the revenge. You won't get that anywhere but with us, Beautiful."
I sit in silence, a weight on my chest. He's right about the revenge. It's something I used to need, like I need air. I couldn't stand the idea of the establishments that ruined my father and turned him into the drunken tragedy that he was—I wanted to make them pay in the same ways they make everyone else pay up.
And Chloe was right about how good I was at it. It had been thrilling, running with the Wild Seven. In their good graces, I was under protection. Unstoppable. Slippery. No casino could pinpoint me, and the money rolled in every night, soothing my family's financial problems at the time.
But that was then. This is now.
Now, I have Evelyn to think about. What if I did get caught? I'd go to prison, my mother would be left with the mountain of debt, and Evie would be left without a mother.
And Domenic…I can't stop thinking about that gorgeous man, not even now when my heart is racing in the back of Ace's car. He's dangerous in his own right, and I know I'd be wise to run the moment I can, but Domenic makes me feel secure in a way I've never felt before. He makes me feel wanted, needed and protected. He's cold to the world but so warm and tender with me sometimes that I can't help wishing I could always be with him.
But that's a daydream for another time. Right now, I must extract myself from this situation without pissing off Ace or Chloe.
"I want more time to think," I tell them.
Chloe's shark smile turns into a glare. "What's there to think about? He's offering you fucking everything. You think Ace has promised to pay off all my debts? You're getting the princess treatment, bitch. Take it."
"You're right—it's a really generous offer," I say quickly, trying to put on a convincing smile despite being unable to meet Ace's eyes. "I just…need to figure out if I'm still practiced enough to be useful to the Wild Seven. I'd hate to get the princess treatment and then be a dud. I haven't been doing as much hacking, you know? Security is boring as shit. I just need to try my hand somewhere, see if I'm still good enough for you guys."
Ace's eyes narrow on me. "The Golden Flame. Scam it and bring us the winnings, and we'll call it a day."
I'm shaking my head before I can think better of it. "I—no, not that one. I'll find somewhere else. Can't I just—"
