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“Illyria Valentinetti.”
The man said nothing more as the guard next to him typed my name into a computer. When he nodded, the guard standing reached for a thumb pad. Not needing to be told more than once, I removed my gloved hand and pressed my thumb to the pad.
“Thank you.”
Another guard walked around the desk with a hand-held device in his hands. “Please remove your sunglasses.”
Quickly doing as he asked, the man held the device up to my eyes as a green light flashed. Blinking several times, I winced. “My apologies, ma’am.”
“She’s clear.”
“Ms. Valentinetti, welcome to the Harbor. My name is Matthew Law. I am the head of security for the building. The men beside me from left-to-right are Shane West, Zach Walsh, Jonathon Savage and Ace Franks. We are the owners of the Harbor. We prefer to meet all the new residents before they move in. However, we’ve made an allowance in your case, as you well know. I want to assure you that no one will be able to enter this building without getting past us.”
“Thank you for that, Mr. Law.”
“We’ve provided you with all of your requirements. Will there be any of your family members allowed into the building?”
“No.”
“Associates?”
“No.”
“Very well,” Mr. Law nodded, adding. “Just so we are crystal clear, Ms. Valentinetti. I know who you are. I know about your family and your affiliations. The Harbor is a highly exclusive building. The other residents will never know you are here. The elevators are designed to take you directly to your penthouse. Once you enter the destination on the keypad, the elevator will not make any stops until it reaches your penthouse. You will have complete anonymity while you are in the building. The building is completely off the grid. My security team controls all servers and wipes them clean every twenty-four hours. If anyone other than you or your guest upstairs tries to gain access to your penthouse, the building will go on lock down. No one. Let me reiterate that. No one will be permitted to enter or leave until my security team removes the threat. If that happens and you are not in the building, I will notify you.”
“I understand.”
“Ms. Valentinetti,” Mr. Law said, motioning his arm to the side for me to follow him. Away from the others, he whispered, “I’m very good at my job, ma’am. Some would say, I’m the best. So, I feel obliged to inform you I know who you have upstairs. In case of an emergency, if something were to happen to you, who would you like me to call?”
Shit.
I hadn’t thought about that.
Mr. Law was right. If something happened to me, I needed to be prepared for every inevitable outcome. I didn’t want to think about any other recourse. I couldn’t but I needed to pick someone. Someone who wouldn’t think twice about killing everyone on the planet and smile doing it. There was only one person who fit that bill. My only problem was that he was the one person I hated the most.
Sighing, I knew there was no other choice.
“There is someone.”
Mr. Law handed me his tablet, and I entered the name and personal number. When I handed it back to him, Mr. Law looked at the name and quirked his eyebrow at me. “Are you sure?”
No, I wasn’t.
I silently nodded.
“Very well, ma’am. I’ll enter his name into the system.”
“Thank you.”
“Now, if you follow me, I will walk you to the elevator.”
Chapter Nine
Illyria
The sun was rising over the city as I stood before the wall-to-wall windows overlooking the city. For the first time in my life, I felt safe.
I couldn’t explain it. Maybe it was this building and knowing that no one cared that someone like me was living here, but it felt freeing. From the moment of my birth, I’d been surrounded by men who sheltered me, protected me, ordered me to do this or that. Standing in this penthouse, knowing no one gave a damn about who I was or who my family was, was liberating. I could be anyone I wanted. Do anything I desired. I never had that option. I knew from a young age what my role in life would be. All because of the family and life I was born into.
