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“Well, first of all,” Felix grins, sipping at a snifter of whiskey and making himself at home. Which, I guess, is accurate. He owns this motherfucker, too. “I would take offense to the ‘second most powerful’thing, if not for the fact Cordoza is number one, and he’s good to me.” Bringing his leg up, he settles his ankle on the opposite knee and smirks. “Second of all, we’re discussing Vallejo. Not the girl. Who…” He leans in his chair and looks past me to Rory, sitting by a massive grand piano like she knows how to play it. “Is pretty brave, if the intel I’m getting is true. You called them out, little one?” He takes another sip and chuckles when her cheeks flame red. “Saw a man’s execution, but instead of running away, you walked forward and told them to cut the shit?”
“Stop speaking to her.” I place myself between his eyes and her body, cutting him off. “Where are you getting your intel?” Then I look to Archer and snarl, “Call me a cynic, but I’m starting to think you’re a fucking liar, Malone.”
“I didn’t lie.” He rolls his eyes to the ceiling and reclines back in his chair. “Lix is my brother. You already knew that. I don’t, however, feed him intel. Wherever he heard that about her has come from the street. Not from me.”
“Indeed.” Felix bounces his foot and draws my attention back his way. “I have ears all over this city. I heard Vallejo has made his return, and the illustrious Archer Malone caught the case. That same cop won’t return a man’s phone calls, by the way.” He casts a side eye at his brother. “Doctor Delicious told me she’s not discussing it.”
“Delicious?” I look to Archer. “Who is Delicious?”
“No one y—”
“Oh, my bad,” Felix laughs. “DoctorMayet. My sister-in-law. Who is too stubborn to change her name now that she’s married.” He raises a taunting brow for his brother. “How embarrassing.”
Archer sits forward in his chair and presses the pads of his thumbs against his eyes. “Shut the fuck up, Lix. Swear to god.”
“So here I am,” Felix continues anyway, “I own most of this city, and a large chunk of New York, too. And Vallejo just wanders back in and sprays blood on my streets? On the very streetthreeof my brothers regularly sleep?” He settles back with a shake of his head and swirls his whiskey. “That sounds like a direct threat to me. So yeah, I’m interested. I’m listening. And I’m looking.”
“Not everything has to be about you, Felix.” Dropping his hands, Archer waits for his vision to clear. “This is a case that connects to someone weused tohave beef with.”
“And the DEA too.” Felix looks straight at me and burns me with his stare. “Welcome back, Special Agent Drake Banks. No longer using the name Daniel, I see? I’m offended,” he presses a hand to his chest and chuckles, “I thought we were friends.”
“I was doing the job.” I stare right back andknowI’m sitting in the fuckin lion’s den. Fifteen years ago, if I was with these men and using my real name, I’d be a dead man. “You think Vallejo is here for you?”
He wrinkles his nose and shakes his head fast, side-to-side. “Probably not. I’ve yet to see proof he’s alive. All we have is his name being thrown around. Now my baby brother is running a case and no doubt intends to stop a bullet with his body before it hits the girl. I care that he lives, that’s all. Vallejo popping a man on the same street Archer lives on is interesting to me. That’s as far as I’m involved thus far.”
“So why are you here?” Rory leans in her seat so the old timber creaks with the shift of her weight. Slowly, three men turn to face her, which results in her cheeks flaming. “I mean… specifically. Why are you here? What do you intend to do?”
Felix swirls his whiskey and studies her like she’s a tasty little snack he intends to sample soon. “I don’t like being left out. What areyoudoing to make this issue go away?”
“I d— I don’t know.” She places her hands on the piano’s keys so sounds tinkle and emanate from the massive instrument. “I’ve been a little lost since this all began, to be honest. Men were chasing me, they came to my home, and now I’m here. Living in—”
“My house,” Felix smirks. “I trust you’re enjoying the accommodations.”
“A Malone house,” Archer bites out. “Family property.”
“I am the fuckin’ family,” Felix counters smugly. “You can stay here as long as you like, sweet Aurora. You make the place look prettier.”
I swing around and catch his eyes, cracking my neck to the side and fingering the handle of my gun. I could start a war today. If I don’t die, I’ll go to prison for life. Since killing a man is still killing a man, even if that man is a wanted criminal.
“How many active warrants are there in your name, Felix?” I turn my body and face him front on. Shielding Rory and preparing to fall in the line of duty. “I haven’t looked into your family much lately. But I’m pretty sure I saw a few actives just last week as your name was floated through my precinct.”
Felix is an arrogant man. Unbothered by menial threats such as prison time. “My name is Oliver right now.” He tips his whiskey back and empties the glass with an audibleahhhh. “Surname: Twist.”
“Fingerprints might say otherwise,” I snarl. “Wanna come down to the station and give it a spin?”
“Touchy…” He lowers his glass and chuckles. “Interesting.” Then he leans in his chair to look around me. “What are you gonna do to regain your independence, Aurora? You’re stuck inside this very large, wealthy man’s mansion until your threat is neutralized. So…?” Setting his feet on the floor and leaning forward, he places his glass on a small table a few feet from his chair. “What are you gonna do about it?”
“She’s gonna stay inside this house,” I bite out before Rory can, “and stay alive while Malone and Fletcher work the case.Theywill neutralize the threat. And when they’ve done their job, she gets her independence back.”
“Sounds kinda passive to me.” He flashes a seductive grin and winks when Rory blushes. “Personally, I’m a walk inside that fucker’s house and put a bullet in his temple while he’s busy pulling his own dick kinda guy.”
“Good plan,” Archer drawls, “except we’ve yet to locate Vallejo, and none of his contacts are squealing. They’re all following the ‘Vallejo is dead’party line, which makes it kinda difficult to pin him down.”
“And you’re sure he’s not actually dead?” Felix questions. He looks at me and tilts his head, “Word on the street is that Special Agent Drake Banks was the gun that took him down. Now he’s head of your security team and feeling a tad protective of the pretty witness? Seems like a conflict of interest to me.”
“Right,” I snarl in response. “And your interest is far superior. Can’t have anyone wanting a slice of your pie.”
He chokes out a laugh. “At least I own my intentions. I’m honest. Well…” he sits back in his chair and reaches into his jacket to pull out a pack of cigarettes. “Not about the Oliver Twist bit.” He lowers his voice and mock-whispers, “That’s not really my name.”
