Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Novalee
The mansion feels quieter than it should as we step through the door, the weight of the dinner still hanging in the air. Levi tugs at his collar as if it’s choking him, muttering about needing to wash his face to scrub Veronica’s air kisses off his skin.
“Get the poison off myself,” he clarifies as he kicks off his shoes and heads toward the stairs. “I can’t stand it.”
I huff. “A bit dramatic, don’t you think?”
Koen shrugs out of his jacket, running a hand through his hair. “He’s not wrong. I need to get out of this suit too. You need anything?”
“I’ll change in a minute.” I brush at the skirt of my dress. “I want some water first.” My throat hurts as if I choked on a breath the whole evening.
“I’ll grab it for you,” Koen offers, but Ezra steps in.
“Go change. I’ll get her a glass.”
Koen hesitates for a fraction of a second before nodding and kissing my temple, then he disappears up the stairs after Levi, and I follow Ezra into the kitchen.
The tension feels different now, less about Veronica and more about us. Ezra pulls a glass from the cupboard and fills it. He slides it toward me across the counter, then grabs a glass for himself.
I take a long sip, letting the cool water soothe my throat. “Do you think all of this is a good idea?”
“No.” Ezra doesn’t hesitate. “But it’s not like anybody ever listens to me in this house.”
I chuckle, leaning my hip against the counter. “That can’t be true. You give off big brother, man-in-charge vibes.”
He snorts. “Yeah? Tell Dove that. That little brat does whatever the hell he wants.”
I smirk, swirling the water in my glass. “Speaking of Levi—”
“Don’t.” His tone is sharp but not unkind.
“You don’t even know what I was going to say.”
“Oh, I know .” Ezra’s gaze flicks to me, and there’s something guarded in his eyes. “I know you’ve figured it out, just like Alaric did. Ask him how that’s going for him. Giving me all these looks like he wants me to know he cracked my secret.”
“Why is it a secret in the first place?” I tilt my head, watching him closely. “Are you uncomfortable with being—”
“I’m not,” he interrupts, the words quick and clipped. I raise a brow, letting the silence linger, waiting him out. Ezra sighs, the tension in his shoulders easing slightly. “It doesn’t matter what I am or what I’m not.”
“Why?” I press gently.
“Because it was only ever him. And I can’t have him.”
“That’s not true.” I step closer, setting my glass down on the counter. “What are you talking about? Why are you holding back?”
“Oscar,” Ezra’s jaw tightens, his gaze dropping to the glass in his hand. “He saw it, too, when Levi came to live with us.”
“How come you were living with him? Are you related or…”
“My dad was a light technician for his shows. During a rehearsal, he fell off a scaffolding and broke his neck.”
Fuck.
Poor Ezra.
“Oscar was devastated. He blamed himself, though no one else did. He helped my mom and me financially for years after that. When I was thirteen, and my mom was diagnosed with cancer, he took us in.”
I stay silent, surprised he’s sharing something so private with me.
“When she died, Oscar just… kept me,” Ezra continues. “He didn’t have to, but he did. And when the twins came to live with us, I was eighteen. Levi was almost sixteen, and I… I developed a crush on him. Stupid, I know.”
“It’s not stupid,” I say softly.
Ezra doesn’t acknowledge the words, continuing, “Oscar told me to hold back. He said we were too young, that I could ruin our family. That Levi was impulsive, and if we broke up, it’d destroy our whole dynamic. And he was right. I couldn’t risk it.”
“Levi told me he’s loved you for more than a decade.” I know telling him this is probably not my place, but somebody needs to make sure they get their heads out of their asses.
This can’t take them another decade to figure out.
I touch his forearm. “That doesn’t sound impulsive to me.”
Ezra’s head snaps up, his eyes searching mine. “He did?”
“Yeah.” I nod. “He is very much in love with you, too, Ezra. And you’re not kids anymore. You’re both in your thirties. Maybe it’s time to stop holding back. I bet Oscar would think so, too, now.”
He looks away, his jaw working, the silence stretching out. When he finally meets my gaze again, there’s something raw in his expression—a crack in the armor he wears around me.
“It’s not that simple,” he murmurs.
“Maybe it is,” I counter. “And maybe it’s worth it.”
Ezra doesn’t respond, but the way his hand tightens around the glass tells me he’s thinking about it.
The sound of footsteps on the stairs pulls my attention toward the hallway, and moments later, Sylus bounds into view. Behind him, Ace descends at a slower pace.
Sylus strides into the kitchen, grabs me around the waist, and pulls me up into the air with a playful twirl that makes me yelp. “There’s my Sparkle!” he says before his lips crash onto mine in a kiss so dramatic it has me laughing against his mouth.
When he finally pulls back, it’s only to pepper kisses all over my face, forehead, nose, and cheeks while I squeal and try to squirm free. “Stop!”
“Shut up, you love me.” He grins, setting me back on my feet but keeping his arms looped around my waist as he leans in for another kiss, slower this time. This one is the kind that makes my toes curl and my heart skip. “So? How was it? Did you dazzle everyone?”
I’m lost in the chaos that is Sylus, his unfiltered affection and absolute lack of hesitation. But then my gaze drifts past him, landing on Ace. My heart stutters as a flicker of guilt ripples through me. Sylus is loud and bold and so unapologetically present, and I wonder what Ace thinks, seeing this. Seeing me like this.
Does it hurt him? Does it feel like Sylus is claiming a piece of me that should be his? The thought weaves a thread of panic through the happiness Sylus’s hug brought me. I can’t bear the idea of making Ace feel as though there’s no space for him like he’s a shadow in a room that’s already full.
But then Ace meets my gaze, and there’s no anger, no jealousy. Instead, he offers me the smallest, softest smile. It’s enough to take the weight off my chest but not enough to stop my heart from aching for him.
“How do you think it was?” Ezra’s dry voice pulls me out of my thoughts as he walks out of the kitchen.
Sylus watches him go, his eyebrows raised. “What a grump.” He leans in to kiss my cheek, his lips lingering a second longer than necessary. “I’ll go check on him.” Then, with a wink, he saunters off after Ezra, leaving me alone with Ace, who stands by the counter, his ice-blue eyes still locked on me.
His quiet intensity is so different from Sylus’s playful chaos, yet it pulls me in just the same. “You look beautiful,” he compliments, and the sincerity in it makes my heart stutter.
“Thank you.” I glance down, smoothing the fabric of my dress. “How are you? I haven’t seen you since…”
“… our chat,” he finishes for me, offering a faint, almost self-conscious smile. “I’m managing.”
I take a step closer, searching his expression. “Managing?”
“I’m trying,” he admits. “Trying to… work things out. To be better for you.”
“You don’t have to be anything for me except yourself.”
“I do,” he disagrees. “And I will be.”
“I missed you,” I confess, the words slipping out before I can second-guess them.
“I missed you too.”
Koen appears at the kitchen’s entry. “Are you two joining us in the living room?” he asks, now dressed in black sweatpants and a shirt. Levi, who walks past us after Koen, is still his glittery self, but his face is bare of makeup.
“Sure,” I say quickly, putting down the glass of water. But as I move to walk past Ace, he reaches out, letting his hand brush against me and his pinky hook around mine.
It’s the same way Rosalee used to hold my pinky—her silent promise that she was there, always—through scraped knees, whispered secrets under the covers, and even that last night. God, if I’d known it was the last one, I would’ve held her pinky tighter. I would’ve told her how much she meant to me.
I blink hard, trying to push the ache back down, but Ace’s voice cuts through my thoughts. “That okay?”
His eyes are searching mine, and something in them twists my heart like he’s asking permission not only to touch my hand but to anchor himself to me—to make it through all of this together.
I swallow, nodding even though the lump in my throat threatens to choke me. “More than okay.”
His lips twitch with the barest hint of a smile, and it’s almost enough to break me right there because it’s the kind of smile that’s a lifeline when you’ve been drowning for so long you’ve forgotten what air feels like.
As we walk toward the living room, our pinkies still linked, the world narrows to this one fragile connection. It’s such a small thing, but somehow, it’s everything. It’s as if that tiny point of contact is healing parts of me I thought were beyond saving.
I don’t know if he feels it, too, the way his touch feels like hope. Or maybe it’s just me, desperate to believe that something as small as hooked pinkies can undo eight years of silence and grief.
But I hold on anyway.
As we step into the room, Ace lets go of my pinky, his hand brushing mine one last time before falling to his side. The absence is immediate like a piece of armor I didn’t know I needed has been stripped away. But my attention is drawn to the other side of the room, where Ezra and Sylus are huddled together.
Sylus’s hands are moving wildly, punctuating whatever he’s saying, while Ezra’s expression grows darker with each passing second.
“What’s that about?” I murmur, glancing up at Koen, whose sharp eyes are already locked on the pair.
“I have no idea.”
Before either of us can step closer to ask what’s going on, the faint groan of the gates opening fills the room. Ezra’s and Sylus’s whispering halts, their heads snapping toward the windows.
I follow their gaze, catching the brief flash of headlights slicing through the dark. They linger for a moment, washing over the walls, then vanish as the car disappears into the garage.
Ezra straightens, his hand instinctively moving toward his waistband. “He knows the code?”
Koen shrugs. “It’s not like we’ve changed it in the last few years.”
“Fucking irresponsible,” Ezra mutters under his breath.
“Yep,” Levi clips.
Koen tries to defend him. “It’s Nicholas. He wouldn’t—”
“Save it,” Ezra snaps.
The sound of the door to the garage closing cuts through the awkward silence, and moments later, Nicholas strides into the living room. His expression is closed off, but a storm is brewing behind his eyes.
Levi’s lips twist into a smirk that’s anything but friendly. “Well, hello there, asshole.”
The jab lands like a lit match on dry tinder. Nicholas’s composure cracks, and he erupts. “Who’s the asshole here, huh? You want to compare notes, Levi?”
The tension skyrockets as they step closer to each other, and I instinctively move between them, planting my hands against their chests. “No. This shit stops now. All of it. If we’re going to do this, if we’re going to work together, we do it together. No more picking fights. No more taking sides. Got it?”
Levi glares past me at Nicholas. “He fucking started it!”
“When did I fucking start it, huh?” Nicholas throws his arms out. “I just got here, dammit!”
Koen grips my upper arm gently and pulls me out from between them, whispering, “C’mere, Little Thief.”
Levi scoffs. “You started it thirteen years ago .”
“Are you fucking kidding me, Paste?” Nicholas’s laugh is harsh, bitter. “I did not start it.”
“You hurt me!” Levi pushes his hair away from his temple, jabbing a finger at the faint scar there. “I needed stitches because of you. This is because of you!”
“I already told you I was sorry for that the moment it happened.” Nicholas crosses his arms, his jaw tight. “But honestly, you fucking deserved it.”
“ Nico— ” Koen starts, but Nicholas cuts him off.
“No! You’re the fucking same, Koen. You dropped me like a hot potato after that night. You never even asked what he did or why I reacted the way I did. Fucking great best friend you are.”
“What did he do?” I ask, and the room falls into a thick silence as all eyes turn to me. I glance around, then back at Nicholas. “What? Let’s get it all out in the open and finally bury that dumb fight.”
“It’s not a dumb fight—” Levi starts, but I cut him off, my eyes still on Nicholas.
“You said you didn’t start it. What did he do? Why did you lash out?”
“All I did was find him alone because I wanted to ask him out.” Levi throws up his hands, turning back to Nicholas. “You didn’t have to push me off and yell at me that you’re not fucking gay .” His voice cracks as he adds, “You didn’t have to do that.”
Nicholas stares at him, his lips parted slightly as a disbelieving laugh escapes him. “You think I pushed you because of that?”
“Yeah.” Levi nods, his hurt evident. “That’s exactly what it was.”
Nicholas huffs another bitter laugh, shaking his head. “No, it’s fucking not.”
Koen furrows his brows. “Then what happened, Nico?”
Nicholas’s gaze darts between them before settling back on Levi. “I thought you came to make fun of me, to finish what you started.”
“What?” Levi blinks.
“I’d been bullied for weeks at that point. Don’t you remember the sneers and laughter every time I walked down the hallway at school?”
Koen answers first. “I do.”
Nicholas nods. “And that wasn’t even the worst of it. It was constant . Word got around that I liked flowers and that I was gay. Guys pushed me around, pulled my pants down in front of girls, and told them they could take a good look because I was gay anyway. Constant terror.” He swallows hard. “They called Veronica. Told her I was whoring around with guys. She threw a paperweight at me for ‘ tainting the Harrington reputation .’”
Koen’s head jerks up at that, his eyes widening. “The slit in your eyebrow? You said you knocked your head.”
“ She knocked it for me,” Nicholas bites out.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Koen asks, a hint of desperation in his voice. “I would have—”
“You would have what ?” Nicholas cuts him off with a bitter laugh. “You showed me exactly what you’d do. You chose him over me without a second thought.”
“I did it because you hurt him!” Koen argues. “If you came to me and told me about—”
“About what?” Nicholas snaps. “How your twin was making my life a living hell?”
“Why me?” Levi looks stunned. “ I wasn’t the one bullying you!”
“But you were the one spreading the rumors!” Nicholas fires back.
“I… what? ” Levi stammers, his defensiveness giving way to confusion.
“You went around telling people how I liked flowers, how I’d never had a girlfriend, how you were sure I was gay. You asked guys if I’d hit on them or if I ever tried to kiss them!”
Levi’s eyes widen. “Fuck, that was… I didn’t do that to spread rumors. I was asking for myself! I was trying to figure out if there was a chance you might be into me too.”
“Still, you were the one who spread them.” Nicholas looks down at his feet, clenching his fists.
Holy shit.
The realization hits me the same time it does Levi, and I watch as his defensiveness surges even before he opens his mouth again. “Well, you could have still not acted like a fucking asshole and hurt me. We could have just talked it out. Shows what kind of person you are.”
“What kind of person I am?” Nicholas looks up at Levi again and steps closer, jabbing a finger into his chest. “You took my family away from me. Koen, Oscar. You ruined my life!”
Ezra steps in, shoving Nicholas back with a force that makes him stumble, and Koen reaches out to grip Nicholas’s upper arm to keep him from falling on his ass.
“Don’t you dare touch him,” Ezra growls. “Lay a finger on him one more time, and I’ll cut it off.”
“Ezy, stop.” Levi tries to pull him back by the elbow, but Ezra shrugs him off.
“No! I held you for months after what he did to you. You still have nightmares because of this dickhead. ”
Fuck, this is escalating fast.
I shoot a glance at Sylus and Ace, who both look tense as well.
Nicholas looks like he wants to take another step closer, but Koen holds him back. “Easy, Snickers.”
“Oh, and Levi’s some fucking angel, huh?” Nicholas yells at Ezra. “He’s never done anything wrong?”
“Shut the fuck up!” Ezra shouts.
“Ezy—” Levi tries again, but Ezra turns and grabs his face in both hands, then kisses him hard. The room falls completely silent except for the collective gasps of Koen and Sylus.
When Ezra pulls back, he keeps his hands on Levi’s face, looking directly into his eyes as he promises, “Nobody will ever hurt you again, love. Not even me.”
Levi looks dazed, his eyes wide, his lips parted as he stares at Ezra. He nods, a tiny movement before Ezra takes his hand and leads him out of the room while we all turn to watch them go.
Hell, yes!
Koen clears his throat, his gaze bouncing between Nicholas and the door Ezra and his twin disappeared through. “Well, that was unexpected .”
Ace leans against the counter. “Was it, though?”
I notice the little smug sheen in his eyes I know so well and have to suppress a laugh.
After a few more moments of silence, Koen breaks it. “I’m sorry, Nico. I saw what was going on, and I should have acted. I just… I didn’t know it was that bad.”
Nicholas exhales sharply, his shoulders dropping as he lets himself sink onto the couch. “You didn’t know because I didn’t tell you.” He runs a hand through his hair. “I didn’t want you to know. I was ashamed.”
Koen moves closer, guilt etched into every line of his face. “Ashamed of what? You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Nicholas shakes his head, his gaze fixed on the floor. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”
He looks smaller, somehow, like the fight has been drained out of him. I’m not sure what to say. How do you fix something that’s been broken for so long? But the silence feels worse, a gap that’ll swallow him whole if someone doesn’t reach out.
So, I do. I sit down beside him, placing a hand on his knee. “You okay?”
“Sure,” he says, but his voice carries none of the conviction it needs to be believable as he pulls his knee out from under my touch.
Ouch.
Sylus drops down onto the couch beside me. “Why are you even here, Harrington ?”
“I don’t know.” Nicholas sighs, his frustration bleeding through his words. “To fucking debrief that dinner from hell? Make a plan?”
Sylus leans back, crossing his arms. “We have a plan.”
“Then share with the class?” Nicholas arches a brow.
Sylus huffs, but before he can retort, I chime in, “Yeah, share with the class. I’m still not sure what this amazing plan is supposed to be. Nico and I are at least as smart as you, so I’m pretty sure we can keep up.”
Nicholas lets out a soft laugh, the tension in his shoulders slightly easing.
It’s not much, but I count it as a win.
I smile at him, but then Sylus hooks his arm around my waist and tugs me into his lap, his hold possessive as he presses a kiss to my throat. “Stop trying to soothe the dickhead.”
“Insecure much, Walker ?” Nicholas asks.
“At least it doesn’t slip out when I fuck her, and she leans forward to kiss me.”
“I haven’t slept with her.”
“Notice how he didn’t deny having a small dick?” Sylus chuckles against the side of my head, his breath stirring my hair.
“Guys.” I sigh.
“Again,” Nicholas states. “ I didn’t start it.”
“You’re right.” I nod at him, then turn to Sylus. “Sylus?”
“Yes, baby?” he replies, all faux innocence.
“Shut up.”
He snickers but doesn’t push it further, pressing a series of light kisses to my throat and nibbling playfully.
“All right,” Koen cuts in, dropping into the armchair opposite the couch. He tilts his head toward Ace, who settles into the other chair. “Let’s talk about the plan.”
“Should we wait for Ezra and Levi?” I ask, looking over to the door they disappeared through.”
“I…” Koen starts, then appears as if he’s thinking it through. “No, we don’t need them for this, they know, and I guess they need some time to talk stuff out.”
“Or rather fuck things out,” Sylus murmurs in my ear, making me bite my lips to suppress a laugh.
Koen steeples his fingers as his gaze sweeps over everyone in the room. “Okay, let’s lay it out. The plan we had was Ric’s, and it was perfect. Almost . But we’re going to need to adjust it now, refine it, and add a few new elements to incorporate the evidence we still need regarding Oscar’s death.”
“I’ll make sure to gather that.” Nicholas raises a brow, settling back into the couch. “But how about you start with what the plan was in the first place?”
Koen glances at Ace, who nods, signaling for him to proceed. “A Christmas show. We had Veronica, Belmont, Harold Foster, and Marcus Blackwood in the audience, and we—”
“Wait,” I interrupt, already lost. “Veronica and Belmont are clear, but who are the other two?”
“Foster oversees the casinos Veronica owns,” Koen explains. “But he’s also involved in prostitution, the kind that’s not consensual. Veronica is his biggest stakeholder.”
“My mother’s into sex trafficking?” Nicholas’s shock is palpable. “What the actual fuck?”
Sylus lets out a low whistle. “Delightful, isn’t she?”
I shoot him a warning look. “Sylus…”
“Sorry,” he mutters, though the smirk on his face betrays him.
“And Blackwood,” Koen continues. “Is her enforcer. The guy who makes people disappear. Firearms, knives, you name it. We suspect he’s the one who killed Oscar.”
“Wait, no. He’s the head of her security,” Nicholas protests.
“Sure…” Ace shrugs, his tone flat, “… he’s that too.”
“Fuck,” Nicholas mutters under his breath.
“I went out and found each of them the day the show was supposed to happen.” Koen picks up where he left off. “I hypnotized them and made them attend. That almost fell apart when I couldn’t locate Belmont in time.”
Sylus waves a hand. “That won’t happen again. We’ve got his private number now, thanks to Sparkle here, and I’ll locate him.” He grins at me, his arm still loosely around my waist.
“No, it can’t happen again,” Ace shakes his head. “That part of the plan was way too risky, and we all knew it. Who knows if they aren’t suspicious now? Asking themselves why they were at the show in the first place. We thought we could get them there and fuck the consequences, but now we’re living the consequences. I don’t want to bet on that working a second time.”
“Fine…” Koen raises a brow, “… but how do you plan to get them to the show? These people aren’t stupid and won’t just show up when we send them an invitation.”
“I’ll figure it out,” Ace replies, nodding to himself. “But hypnotizing them into coming again is the last resort. It leaves us too exposed.”
Nicholas frowns, his fingers tapping rhythmically against the armrest. “And what is the plan when you get them to the show?”
“Exposing them .” Koen leans back in his chair, his smirk just shy of cocky. “Every single one of them. Their crimes, their secrets, everything . Mostly how they helped Veronica build her empire on lies and other people’s suffering. We’ve been gathering evidence for years, and the show is our stage to lay it all out for the world to see.”
“And how will you do that?” I ask, crossing my arms.
Sylus grins. “We’re gonna display their wrongdoings for everyone to see.”
Koen glances at Sylus. “Dove and I talked about that, Sy. We want it even bigger. Do you think you could manage to project everything onto the billboard screens outside the Lane Building?”
“Outside?” Sylus furrows his brows. “When people will be inside for the show?”
“No.” Koen’s gaze shifts to Ace. “Think we could make everything happen outside on the street?”
“The street?” Ace echoes.
“It’s Levi’s idea.” Koen nods. “If we hijack the street between the Lane Building, the Plaza, and Harrington Heights, we could gather a much bigger crowd. Spread the word on socials beforehand, make it accessible. No tickets, no barriers. People can just show up. Ezra even said it’d be easier for him to make sure the police will be there too.”
Ace exhales sharply. “Why are you only coming to me with this now?”
“Because we only talked about it yesterday,” Koen admits. “But I’ve thought it over, and I like the idea. Do you think we could pull it off?”
Ace’s gaze shifts to Sylus, who shrugs with casual confidence. “It’s doable. I can use drones as cameras and project everything onto the screens on the Lane Building. The illusions work outside, especially if we do it at night. We’ll need to set up projectors in advance. I’ll probably need a van to have the tech close. You have to tell me if it’s realistic, though.”
Ace nods slowly, his fingers steepled in thought. “I’ll have to think it through, but I like the idea. We could incorporate the roof-hopping as part of the show. Let people see Koen risking his neck for it. Make it even more headline-worthy.”
“Roof-hopping?” I blink. “What are you talking about?”
“We want to spread the evidence we have across all the establishments Veronica owns.” Koen’s grin sharpens. “And as you know, there are a lot of them.”
“I want her face plastered alongside her crimes on every billboard and every screen on the Strip,” Sylus agrees.
“At least half the Strip,” Ace mutters.
I glance between them. “And what does roof-hopping have to do with that?”
Koen leans back, folding his hands behind his head. “We need access to the transmitter on top of Harrington Heights so Sylus can hijack the signal and spread the evidence to every business connected to the network. But the rooftop of the Heights is practically impenetrable.”
My stomach drops. “And how will you get up there then?”
“There’s a Lamborghini on the rooftop of the Plaza,” Sylus states.
“A Lambo?” I repeat, incredulous.
“The Lamborghini Huracán Belmont displays in a glass cage at his rooftop bar to brag to everyone that he has one of the five hundred in existence,” Ace says dryly, leaning back against the chair with a faint smirk. “And, apparently, he’d rather display it than drive it. But Koen will rectify that. Because what’s the point of a car like that if you’re not going to drive it fast.”
“Exactly.” Koen chuckles, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “I’ll put it to better use.”
“You mean you’re going to steal it?” Nicholas scoffs, crossing his arms. “And then what? You can’t just hotwire a Lamborghini on a fucking rooftop. That thing’s been up there for years. It’s probably not even drivable anymore.”
Ace shrugs. “Every so often, Belmont does a showing. Starts it up, revs the engine for the crowd.” He smirks. “Last one was a month ago.”
Nicholas exhales sharply. “Fine. But let’s say you do get it running. How the hell are you planning to get it down to the street?”
“You’re not listening,” Ace raises an eyebrow. “Who said anything about getting it down?”
“Wait…” I blink, trying to catch up, “… you’re planning to steal the car to… what? Jump rooftops?”
“Exactly. The Plaza’s rooftop bar is the only easy access point, and their roof is higher than the Heights by just enough to give us the angle we need. The Huracán can hit the speed to make the jump in seconds…” Koen pauses, a flicker of something—doubt?—crossing his face before he masks it with his usual smirk. “If we get it lined up perfectly, it’ll work. I’ll need sixty-seven miles per hour at the exact moment it leaves the ramp. No more, no less.”
“Why?” I ask like an idiot.
“Any slower, and you don’t make it across. Any faster, and the momentum’s wrong, you’ll overshoot and crash. From zero to sixty in three-point-two seconds.”
Fuck. “That’s more than risky.”
“There’s a wide-ass street between those buildings!” Nicholas snaps. “It’s not only risky, it’s suicidal.”
“And?” Sylus pipes up, leaning back with an almost-smug air. “It’s not about easy. It’s about making a statement.”
Nicholas throws his hands up. “This isn’t about statements! It’s about bringing her down. You want to throw a damn parade while you’re at it?”
“What do you think this whole plan is?” Koen’s gaze finds Nicholas’s. “A magic show . The finale of a lifetime. If we’re going to do this, we’re going to do it our way. With flair.”
Nicholas rubs his temples like he’s seconds away from losing his mind. “You’re all insane.”
Sylus laughs. “Welcome to the club, Harrington. ”
I cross my arms, looking between them. “So let me get this straight. You’re planning to steal one of the rarest cars in the world, drive it off a rooftop, and hope for the best? And this is supposed to be the smart part of the plan?”
“No hope involved,” Koen says evenly. “It’s calculated. I’ve already run the numbers. The jump is possible.”
“He’s right,” Ace agrees, but even his confidence doesn’t help the bad feeling in my chest.
“And what about landing?” Nicholas mutters. “Do you have numbers for that too?”
“The rooftop of the Heights is long enough to pull off a stop if you hit the brakes the moment the tires launch from the Plaza’s roof.”
Nicholas shakes his head. “You’re playing with your life here.”
“We’re playing to win,” Koen counters, his tone equally sharp. “And this is the only way to make it happen.”
“And when he’s up there,” Ace adds. “We’ll access the transmitter and take control of the network. Sylus will spread the evidence across every screen connected to Veronica’s system. Her empire will crumble in real time.”
“And how do you get down from the roof of the Heights if there is no other way to get up there than jumping rooftops?” I furrow my brow.
This plan is the fucking definition of insanity.
“It will be a piece of cake to open the door and call an elevator for him as soon as I’m in the system,” Sylus says from behind me.
I press my fingers to my temple, trying to process the sheer madness of it all. “And what happens if you miss? If the jump doesn’t work? Or if the system doesn’t let you in?”
Koen’s smirk softens into something more serious. “Then we’ve failed. But if we don’t try, we’ve already lost.”
“What’s the point of living if you’re not gonna have some fun?” Ace shoots me his signature line, his gaze steady on mine.
Nicholas mutters under his breath, his frustration clear. But he doesn’t argue further as he sits back with a scowl etched into his face.
I glance at him, trying to find some shred of logic in this madness. “Can’t you get us access to the rooftop? You live in the penthouse.”
“No, they’re right.” Nicholas exhales, his frustration evident. “The rooftop is the most secure part of the Heights. The transmitter up there is worth millions. It controls all the information and security feeds for her entire network. You’d need security protocols, biometric scans, and—”
“Still. Wouldn’t gathering what we need to get up there be easier for us?” I ask, cutting him off. “I could—”
“No, Novalee,” Koen says firmly, his expression serious. “Yes, it’d probably be easier. Safer, for sure. But we’re doing it in style, our style. Oscar’s style . Nobody will talk about this for years if we don’t make a show out of it. We’re Oscar-fucking-Lane ’s family. If we do something, we do it right.”
Nicholas’s fingers tap against the armrest again. “You’re betting everything on one night.”
“We are,” Ace agrees. “Because it’s the only way to take them all down at once. If we try to pick them off one by one, they’ll scatter, and Veronica will cover her tracks.”
“Fuck, Copy,” Nicholas mutters, looking at Koen. “This could end in a disaster.”
“We’ve planned for every contingency,” Koen counters.
“Have you, though?” I challenge. “Because it sounds like there were gaps the first time around.”
“That’s why we’re revisiting it now.” Ace’s gaze is still on me. “To make sure there are no gaps this time.”
“And some new tricks,” Koen chimes in, a faint smile playing on his lips. “Coins and cards.”
“Speaking of… how will we communicate if it’s outside?” Ace asks, his brow furrowing slightly.
“Same as inside,” Sylus replies with a shrug. “Earpieces.”
“Will that… work with your… you know?” I glance at Koen, hating myself for asking that in the first place.
Does everyone in here know?
“His hearing aids are even more high-tech than the earpieces. It’s no problem to make them act as some,” Sylus answers as if it’s not a big deal at all.
Maybe it isn’t.
Koen shrugs. “What he said.”
It definitely isn’t.
Ugh, I’m an idiot.
Nicholas frowns. “Veronica will notice me wearing one.”
“So, you won’t,” Sylus says smoothly. “At least not until she knows that she’s fucked.”
“And what happens after?” I ask, turning to Koen. “When the show’s done, you’ve stolen a Lamborghini, and the Strip is buzzing with chaos?”
“We’re off to live a happy life elsewhere,” Sylus says smoothly, pulling me closer.
“And where would that be?” I arch a brow when he kisses up the side of my face.
“The plan was Malta.” Koen shrugs. “But I think Italy has a nice ring to it.”
“It does,” Ace agrees.
“I heard they have pretty good food,” Sylus whispers in my ear.
“What do you say, Snickers? Ever been to Italy?” Koen asks Nicholas.
“No, but I could get used to the idea.”
Italy. Tuscany. Rosalee’s dream.
My escape plan.
Find some crumbling villa surrounded by golden hills, sip wine under the stars, and forget about the ghosts that haunt me. I thought it was mine alone, something I’d chase after when everyone else was gone.
But it’s like they’re inviting themselves into that dream, not as intruders, but as partners. Family. It could be not just my escape.
It could be ours.
And the thought terrifies me. Not because I don’t want them there. God, I want that more than I’ve let myself admit . But because I’ve always imagined this ending with me alone. Now, I’m daring to picture something different. Koen’s laughter echoing through a sunlit kitchen, Nicholas lounging near the pool with Sylus doing embroidery next to him, and Ace and me playing cards in the shadow of a pine tree.
A life. With them.
I let my gaze drift across the room, taking in each of their faces. Koen with a confident smirk on his lips. Nicholas, skeptical but listening. Ace, with his eyes only on me. And Sylus, leaning against me with that maddening grin that says he’s ready to burn the world down if it means winning.
Still…
“This is insane,” I whisper, shaking my head.
“It’s brilliant,” Koen counters. “Trust us, Little Thief. We know what we’re doing.”
Do they?
Because as much as I want to believe in their plan, there’s a gnawing fear deep in my chest. If they’re wrong, if even one part of this elaborate, high-stakes spectacle goes off script, this doesn’t only end in failure.
It ends in flames.
Literally.