Divine Obsession (GodHood #2)

Chapter 27

Present

I was still frozen in the same spot, thinking about how Trevor made me come so hard, tears had gathered in my eyes and my legs still shook in the aftermath.

The last thing he said to me before walking out was, Get dressed.

I glanced to the side, catching myself in my full-length wardrobe mirror.

My previously perfect hair rolled up in clean curls, was now messy.

My previously perfect makeup, was now smudged, with some mascara under my eyes.

My previously perfect outfit, was now wrinkled up on my bedroom floor.

I looked freshly fucked despite Trevor only using his hands.

The first ‘one-night stand’ I had in… a long time , ended up being him. Of course, it did. The universe loved to torture me by making a complete joke out of my romantic life.

I spent the next ten minutes making myself presentable again, and I was glad to see that what had happened in the last half an hour, wasn’t visibly apparent on me anymore.

Stepping out of my room, I glanced towards the party at the far end of the hallway, still in full swing.

The hallway was empty, and I thought Trevor had left, until an immense, dark shadow rose from my other side.

My bedroom was the last room in the hallway. He’d been sitting in an armchair, in a small sitting area in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, admiring the city’s night view.

When he advanced towards me, I didn’t wait to find out what he was planning; I hurried down the hallway and back to the party, in hopes of losing him in the crowd.

Just as I stepped back into the grand living room, the music stopped, replaced by the DJ’s voice announcing it was officially midnight – my twenty-third birthday – and everyone could finally take their masks off. He finished off by giving me, the birthday girl, a shout-out, before returning back to the party music.

“ Happy birthday ,” Trevor’s smooth, deep voice sent a shiver down my spine. “Would’ve brought a gift, but…” He murmured sarcastically in my ear from behind, “You already got my present.”

I could feel the dark smirk on his face before I turned to scowl at him.

“ Lia .”

I turned to see Manny.

He was standing a couple of feet away in a black tux – which he never wore, but made an exception since my birthday was a special occasion. He was seventeen now and all grown, but I still saw him as my baby brother. The years and certain circumstances had brought us close, and him and I shared a special bond compared to our siblings.

Manny’s eyes moved between Trevor and me. “He bothering you?”

“Ignore him.” I brushed Trevor off and stepped towards my brother.

“Happy birthday.” Manny pulled me into a hug. I was six years older, yet he was still taller. The summer before he turned fifteen, he must have grown ten inches.

“Happy birthday!” A higher-pitched voice stole my attention, and I turned to see Maria rushing over. I braced myself for the big hug I knew she would give. “Been looking everywhere for you!”

Maria turned to Trevor, expectantly. Right. They didn’t know each other.

I opened my mouth to introduce them, but he beat me to it.

“Trevor. Kali’s brother.”

“Maria.” She shook his hand. “Natalia’s best friend. Soul sister. Twin flame. You name it.”

“Nice to meet you,” Trevor chuckled, acting like the perfect gentleman.

“You too.”

“Happy birthday, cara. ”

We all looked to see my father making his way towards us.

I cleared my throat and fixed my posture. “Thanks, Dad.”

Maria bumped her elbow into Manny’s side and they both left to give us the space to talk.

Dad turned to the only other person left. “ Trevor Su .”

“Mr Moretti,” Trevor replied politely – almost like the perfect gentleman – though I didn’t miss the slight venom in his tone.

“I assume your father has already filled you in. That’s why you’re here?”

Something elusive passed through Trevor’s eyes. “Correct.”

Dad sighed. “I don’t like it, but it must be done.”

“What must be done?” I asked, taking a step forward.

“ Cara ,” Dad turned to me. “Richard Su and I have come to an agreement that you and Trevor will be working together on the cyberattacks.”

I could swear I felt the globe fall off its axis in that exact moment.

“ What? ”

Over the past couple of months, my father’s organization had suffered from countless cyber heists. The latest, resulting in frozen assets. The Moretti Family’s undercover bank accounts, which had been filled with enormous amounts of hidden, illegal, unwashed money – were drained and consequently frozen. As for our offshore accounts and local holdings, they too became inaccessible.

If that had been all, it wouldn’t have necessarily been as much of a threat. Just another enemy that needed to be hunted down and killed.

The attacker however, left a digital breadcrumb trail framing us for laundering government funds and stealing from international accounts.

I guess it wasn’t technically framing since the money had been dirty – but the family didn’t dabble in government money. There was a saying among the criminal underworld that government money had more blood on it than criminals’.

Regardless, now we were in it with the feds, which was an unnecessary pain in the ass.

My father had basically the whole of the FBI in his pocket, so we weren’t necessarily in trouble… But the situation needed to be resolved quickly.

Which resulted in me being in charge to handle it. I was already not only my father’s family’s main hacker, but also the whole of New York’s Cosa Nostra’s.

And I was handling it.

I just needed a little more time.

“What do the Sus have to do with our family’s business?”

“The same exact cyberattacks are happening to them. A government relation informed Richard and I of the similarity.”

“Dad, I’m the best goddamn hacker on the East Coast. I was top of my class at Columbia.”

“So was Trevor. Which is why Richard and I want you two working together. I know you’re disappointed, but we both believe this is for the best.”

Disappointed? I was furious .

“I’m supposed to handle this myself. You know I can. Every one of my past jobs has been a success.”

That was a fact . There was a reason why I was Cosa Nostra’s highest-paid hacker.

“Yes, cara , but sometimes you need to unite forces in order to take down a common threat. Neither family has the expertise to deal with this type of cyber warfare on their own.”

“But, dad–”

“If Richard and I were able to get over our past misunderstandings, I’m sure you kids can do the same.” Dad stepped closer to me, pulling me in a hug, even though I didn’t really put equal effort in. His hand settled on my shoulder. “I know you will succeed with this too, cara .” He looked over his shoulder and gave a curt nod. “ Trevor . I’ll see you both in my office in an hour for the meeting.”

Dad walked away, returning back to the party, and leaving me alone with the wolf once again.

Trevor stepped forward, joining me at my side. We both stared out at the celebrating crowd.

“This is going to be fun.”

I couldn’t tell if he was teasing me or being sarcastic.

“That’s why you came back?” Turning my whole body to face him, I took a small step into him, getting him to glance down at me. “The job?”

Trevor cocked his head, a concerned frown taking over his features. “You didn’t think I came back for you, did you?”