Autumn Karr - Vendetta

“Is there a problem?” I ask, really confused.

She sighs a heavy sigh. “He's a client.”

“Yeah, a client,” Colin mimics her words in this high-pitched voice.

I palm my face. Just what I needed. “For fuck's sake, can we not do the whole secret lovers thing? Lives are at stake here,” I say, slamming my fist on the table.

They break off their angry stare down contest to look at me.

“Sorry, man,” Colin says, glancing at Soraya again. “Sorry, Amber.”

“Thank you,” I say, exasperated. Soraya just nods sadly.

“So, what's this all about?” Colin asks me, leaning on the desk next to her. She moves away slightly, but doesn't say anything.

I'm wondering why I'm about to trust the biggest gossip I know with this sensitive information. Probably because Colin, he has that something other people in our circles don't. He still has a sense of justice, of fairness. He has a heart.

“Colin, what I'm about to tell you, it can't leave this room.” My gaze strays toward Amber, making a subtle threat. Yes, he has a heart, and that's exactly what I'm counting on. I watch his Adam's apple bob, and then he nods with determination. “It's about Leighton Moore,” I say after a beat, easing them into the story. If I want their cooperation, I'll need to tell them everything. “I know where she is.”

* * *

Colin sits on the floor, stunned speechless.

“Wow,” Amber says, although I'm sure the story means nothing to her.

“Holy shit,” Colin finally manages. “And all this time . . . you and the Moore girl? Holy shit.”

“Leighton,” I correct him, the sound of her last name making me feel sick. I can't believe I'm fucking doing this.

For so long I've held onto this one tiny shred, the justice I'll get for my parents and brother one day when I see them all on their knees. Instead, I'm failing them by saving the daughter of the man who killed them and running away with her. Betraying my own name for the sake of love.

What kind of person does that make me?

“A person in love,” Amber says, her face taking on a dreamy look. I must have said that out loud, and for fuck's sake, I am so not in the mood for girly dreamy sighs.

“Are you in or not?” I ask Colin.

He nods without giving it a thought and Amber looks at him, frowning. It's clear she cares about him and he's not just a client. What is she doing here if he loves her? Why doesn't he take her away from this godforsaken life when they can freely choose where to be and what to do?

“You don't even know what the plan is,” she tells him, her voice more authoritative than worried. He shrugs, and she shakes her head at him, clearly annoyed. “Will he be safe?” she asks me, still looking at him.

“All he has to do is take my car,” I tell her honestly. “Just drop it off at a certain location and leave it there. When he does, he needs to call me and let me know. And that's all.”

“And why?” she asks.

“Because tonight, Leighton Moore and Devon Andre are going to die.”

The look she gives Colin is doubtful. “You think you can pull that off?” she asks me, still looking at him.

“I’ll have to.”

* * *

A black sedan pulls into the warehouse, grabbing my attention. I exit the office and approach the car as the door opens and a blond, broad-shouldered man steps out. He pulls off his shades, revealing his brown eyes, and puts them in his shirt pocket.

“Justin,” I say in greeting.

“Devon.”

“How's Martha and the babies?” I ask him. He shifts on his feet nervously, looking around to see if we're alone. After a few moments, he approaches, slapping me on the back and pulling me in for a manly hug. I went to the same school as Justin, who is now a detective, my police contact. He's a few years older than me, but we used to be good friends. Back in high school, he was one of the few real friends I had: normal kids stayed away from me because their parents know who I was.

No one in my family knows we still keep in contact, if you can even call it that. I would never call him in, if I had a choice. He has a wife and two kids on the way, and I would never jeopardize his job or their lives.

“Hormonal,” is his short answer, but he laughs. She’s due any day now. “It’s been a while, Andre. How’s the business?”

I laugh nervously, though I was never afraid of Justin busting my ass. It’s just my natural instinct; he’s still a cop and I’m a criminal. I motion for him to follow me to the back office. He sits in the chair while I open the safe and pull out the bag I filled earlier from it. I sit opposite him, emptying the contents of the bag on the large table in front of us and look at him expectantly.

It’s a hundred grand in Benjamins.

He gives me a dubious look. “So, we’re talking business?”

“Unfortunately," I say.

“What’s going on?”

I run my hand through my hair, wondering if I should just spill the whole story to him as well, but decide against it. “I need to disappear. There’s—”

“Yeah, I’ve heard,” he cuts me off.

I frown. “Heard what?” If anyone knew about Leighton being at our house, she’d be gone already, safe home. And I know they have police contacts as well, it’s a no-brainer. If Justin knows, their people know it as well.

“Gino Fermi?” he says, referring to one of the bosses. When I shake my head because I have no idea what he’s talking about, he continues, “Heard the kid—” he gestures with his hand, snapping his fingers, “What’s his name?”

“Angelo,” I help him.

“Yeah. Heard he took over. The old man’s nowhere to be found. That’s just the word on the street; no one is actually saying anything. Bet ya he’s at the bottom of Mystic.”

“Huh,” I say. I had no idea, but someone in my family must have. Frank and Stevie would have known for sure. Why didn’t they say anything to me? I mean, this is not a small thing. “Didn’t he just turn eighteen? That’s a big step for a kid.” It’s a huge step, actually. And Angelo Fermi isn’t that smart either, so he probably won’t last too long.

“You really didn’t know?” I shake my head, though I hate to admit I was being kept in the dark about it. “And that’s after someone car-bombed Anthony Potenza,” he says.

I nod, because this I do know. Only his driver died, so it wasn’t a big deal. Word was he dealt with it, but I know these things are said just to keep the pretenses of being in control. I didn’t think much of it then, but if two bosses have been targeted, something is going on.

“I think we have a mob war on our hands,” he continues, the implication in his voice obvious. Immediately I think of my uncle and Stevie and our conversation the other day.

I put up my palms in surrender. “It wasn’t me,” I say, laughing nervously, and hoping he doesn’t see right through me. I had nothing to do with it, but if my family is behind it I’m as good as guilty, despite not knowing anything.

“Okay.” He leans his elbows on the table between us, his eyes calculating. He points at the money in front of him. “I don’t want that.” I go over the list of other things I can offer him. I’m about to open my mouth to ask what’s it going to cost, when he says, “No, man. I don’t want it. We’re friends.”

“I know you could use it.”

“Frankly, I’m insulted,” he says, crossing his arms against his chest. “Okay? So just tell me what I have to do.”

I smile at my friend. “I need a John and a Jane Doe, and that's it.”

LEIGHTON

I stiffen the moment he walks through the door, his eyes pinning me as soon as he locks it shut. He’s carrying a bag of food in his hands, and places it on the table along with his car keys as he makes his way over to where I’m sitting on the chair. He smells faintly of cigar, mixed with his spicy cologne. Even with all the mixed emotions I’m feeling right now, the anger and the pain, I still want him. I’ll always want him.

“I brought something you will definitely like this time,” he says in greeting, flashing me a grin. His mood seems lighter than before he left, which makes me even madder because there he is, grinning playfully while I'm hours away from being taken away.

He pulls out his phone, then quickly checks the screen and shuts it off, putting it back in his pocket. I've never seen him bring a phone in here before. A plan starts to form in my head. If only I could get my hands on that phone, everything would be so much easier. I could call someone to let them know where I am, to come and get me while I'm still here.

“I’ll eat later.” I stand up from the bed and take a step closer to him. I place both of my hands flat on his hard chest, and give him a sultry look. “I have something else I want right now,” I say, looking pointedly down his body.

His green eyes narrow to slits, turning heavy-lidded. “Is that right?” he asks, already pulling his shirt off with both hands, sliding it over his head and revealing his sculpted abs and toned chest. Fuck, one glance at his body is all it takes.

My eyes linger on the indentation of his hips, that sexy V I love to run my tongue across. I lick my bottom lip, anticipation and lust taking over my senses. He undoes the button on his jeans, but then stops there. I lift my head up, giving him a curious look.

“I want to see you,” is all he says, his eyes never leaving mine. Sinking my teeth into my bottom lip, I lift off my sweater, pulling it gently so it doesn’t tangle in my hair. I pull off my jeans slowly, sitting back on the bed to pull them off my ankles. I stand up before him in my bra and panties, letting him look his fill. I don’t feel an ounce of shyness—instead, his blatant perusal makes me feel powerful. His lustful gaze and the tightness of his jeans let me know he likes what he sees, and spurs me to reach back and undo my bra. I throw it onto the floor, and grin at Devon’s hungry gaze zooming in on my bare breasts.