Malice

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Gwendolyn

As I relaxed further back in my office chair, I crossed my legs under the blanket and picked up my fresh cup of coffee to take a sip. Sighing happily, I glanced over at the time on one of my screens. It was just after midnight.

Yawning, I placed my mug down and raised my arms to stretch my back. It was going to be another late night. My phone dinged, and I quickly picked it up to read Blaze’s text.

What information could Malice have about these kidnappings that Blaze wanted so badly? I was sure I could’ve figured everything out myself, but I already knew that Blaze didn’t ask for my help before now, as he didn’t want me involved in case things turned sour.

What Blaze didn’t know was that I’d be doing my own digging to help them.

Blaze had sent me to work with the worst kind of bad man. However, this was a one-time gig. So, I was sure that Blaze expected me to do whatever this guy wanted and then stop all communication with him.

Easy as pie.

Hmm, I wouldn’t mind some pie.

When I looked down at the contact information, excitement flowed through me.

I should probably be riddled with more nerves to speak with him, but on the occasion I did get my hands dirty by doing some shady jobs for a few criminals, I’d grown used to the craziness.

Then again, the man I was about to call was beyond any small-time criminal I’d worked with. I couldn’t stop my anxiety from rising. But being nervous wouldn’t stop me from doing my job. What it could do was make me blurt out stupid shit instead. That tended to happen.

God, I hoped not.

On the dark web, this guy was referred to as the Devil.

He was scary, cruel, and malicious. A bloodthirsty psychopath with a cold presence. Ha, that was probably how he got his name. Yet, no matter how horrid he could be, I still wanted to discover what little old me could do for a guy like him.

Drawing in a deep breath, I copied his number into one of my many nontraceable phones and pressed Call before I put the phone to my ear.

My stomach fluttered as it rang.

How was I supposed to talk to him?

My body hummed with new adrenaline. This guy could kill me for saying the wrong thing. Not that he’d be able to find me. At least I hoped he couldn’t, since I’d taken every precaution to hide my family because of the work I dealt in.

To hell with it. I was just going to wing the call and pray he couldn’t smite me through the line.

A rough, clipped voice suddenly answered, “Speak.”

I blurted, “Well, spank me silly. I could listen to you talk all night long.”

Fucking hell, Gwen.

There was nothing but silence on the other end, which made me want to vomit and shit myself for saying exactly what had come to my mind.

Think first, you idiot.

Before I could backtrack, a deep chuckle greeted my ear and sent tingles immediately to my lower belly.

I sighed in relief and relaxed at the knowledge that he could deal with my quick-witted mouth. I added, “Blaze should have mentioned my wonderful self. My name’s Gwendolyn, and I’m here to help.”

“He did in fact tell me I’d be hearing from you. Though, he didn’t mention how heavenly you’d sound.”

Oh no, he didn’t.

He did not just play with me like that.

“Oh, sweetie. I would so dip you in my coffee and lick every inch of you if you weren’t the Devil.” I smiled.

Over the phone, my confidence was high. I could be who I was without the worry of being judged for how I looked. I’d lived my school years being called “carrot top” or “fatso” or— Yeah, now wasn’t the time to dive into my insecurities that other kids created when I was younger.

He grunted. “It’s good you know exactly who you’re talking with.”

“I know everything I need to know. But before you start with any threats, when it comes to working with you, I’m a professional. Anything I do for you will stay between you and me. This I promise.”

“How do I know I can trust your word?”

“Blaze does. Do you trust him?” Blaze had my back. He knew I toed the line with my clients and never shared anything, and Blaze’s trust was the best I could offer.

“I do. But, Gwendolyn, if something does get leaked, I will find you.”

Snorting, I told him, “You’d never find me unless I wanted you to, but as I said… I. Am. A. Professional. Now, it’s late, or early, depending on what you want to call it. Can you tell me what you need so I can grant your wish and get some much-needed beauty sleep?”

More sinister silence followed, but I refused to fear him now. He wanted my help, after all. Surely, we could work together so he could obtain what he wanted and I could get a pretty penny in my offshore bank account. Money I was saving for my siblings’ college expenses.

“Two men ran off with some merchandise. I’m told no one knows where they’ve gone. What I need from you, doll, is to find them for me.”

Doll?

Grinning, I bit my bottom lip so I didn’t giggle over the fact that he’d used a pet name.

My family and few friends knew how I loved throwing around outrageous nicknames, and I really wanted to find out if Mr. Scary Boss Man could take it too.

But maybe not yet.

“What are their names?” I asked.

“Will you be able to find them?”

“I’ll let that question slide, stud muffin.” Damn it. That slipped out. I quickly kept on talking. “Since you don’t know me. But let me say that this job is child’s play. So, give me their names, pretty please.”

With a chuckle, he said, “Matthew Taylor. Roman Stevenson. And, Gwendolyn, I’ll need this done by 5:00 a.m. No later.”

Bossy much?

Okay, of course he was, and I shouldn’t have liked it as much as I did.

With confidence, since I was pretty good with a job like this, I told him, “Yes, sir, and I’ll have the information to you by three. I’ll call you when I’m done. Buh-bye.” I hit the End button and placed my phone on my desk.

Surprise flickered through me at the easy task given by Malice.

Didn’t he have his own people for something like this?

Why would he outsource to someone he didn’t know?

Unless it had something to do with the type of merchandise these guys stole.

He never went into detail, and I was a little intrigued at what could have this scary man’s panties in a twist, but I knew it would be best not to ask too many questions.

I cracked my fingers and took another long gulp of my coffee before I set the mug on the desk. I tied my mid-length, curly, copper hair into a messy bun, and then I let my fingers fly over the keyboard.

My eyes swept from screen to screen as I pulled up Matthew’s public records, which allowed me to gain his personal information.

Not only his own, but also his family’s last known addresses and personal details.

After that, I explored all the information of his life I could get my hands on—his phone and text records, which indicated that he and Roman had been in contact quite a bit before they disappeared.

There was also another number he regularly contacted but had always deleted their text conversations after.

Matthew thought he was smart when he erased all his files, call list, and internet history, but I was just too good—I could retrieve those in my sleep.

Next, I investigated his credit card history, trying to determine his last known whereabouts.

From there, it would tell me what street cameras to look at.

Once I had what I needed for Matthew, I’d then move onto Roman and inspect any crossovers in their lives.

However, before I could continue diving, my personal phone dinged. Looking down, I saw a text from my brother, Felix, asking if I was awake. Huffing, I shook my head and then smiled. You’d think my brother knew me by now.

I pressed on his number, and he answered straight away with amusement in his tone. “Well, I guess that’s a yes.”

Rolling my eyes, I replied, “What are you doing up? Don’t you have an early basketball game tomorrow?”

He yawned. “Yeah, I do, but I was hungry and about to make myself a midnight snack before crashing. Did you want in on this?”

“Oooh, do we have any pie left?”

“Nope. Amelia got to that earlier.”

Dang.

“Then I could definitely go for a bowl of Coco Pops. Please and thank you.”

His chuckle had me grinning.

“All right, sis. I’ll grab it and bring it to your office. And yes, I’ll knock once I’m there.”

“Thank you, Felix. Oh, and don’t go waking up Amelia, please.”

“I’ll tiptoe my way around.” With that, he ended the call.

God, I loved my siblings. They were everything to me.

Since we lost our parents thirteen years ago, I’d taken them on as my own.

Our parents were only sixteen when they had me, and with no support from either of their families, they both dropped out of school and went on to try and make a life for the three of us.

We’d struggled, which meant going hungry most nights and living in some not-so-safe neighborhoods.

They’d tried their best, especially for my benefit. But in the end, they were desperate and tired of just getting by. So, besides their part-time jobs, which they sometimes forgot to go to, they tried their hands at gambling.

It meant I was left alone a lot. I never had toys to play with, but I did love taking apart and putting together anything I could get my hands on. It wasn’t until I found an old laptop in a dumpster that I figured out my true love of computers.

My parents never thought anything would come of it. They were just happy I was distracted from annoying them.

Then fourteen years later, Felix came along. Two years after, Amelia was born.

With two more children, life became harder for our parents.

I stepped up to take care of my siblings—even left school for it, while our parents worked—but again, I didn’t think they showed up to their jobs enough to get a decent wage.

They were barely able to keep us afloat and became even more desperate for money but refused to do the hard work to earn it.

I never thought they’d become desperate and foolish enough to hold up a bank and lose their lives in the process. I was freshly nineteen at the time and became the sole guardian of Felix and Amelia, who were only four and two.

The only saving grace was the life insurance our parents had. It wasn’t much, but enough to find a decent house in a better area that was close to daycare and schools. I worked online doing “book work” for companies, and on the side, I taught myself hacking and coding.

Nowadays, I made sure my brother and sister never went without.

We were on our feet and had moved to a neighborhood that seemed slightly better and safer than the previous one we’d lived in.

Our new neighbor, who I’d thoroughly checked out online, was a sweet old man who’d quickly become a fixture in our lives.

I’d only ever wanted Felix and Amelia to experience a childhood that I’d never had.

When a soft knock sounded on my door, a smile curved my lips.

I appreciated how understanding my siblings were when it came to boundaries—like knocking on my office door.

They knew I was a tech-savvy “helper” and earned my income “finding things” for people, but I never wanted them to know the full extent of what I had found and seen.

It was a scary world we lived in, and I aimed to keep them away from that side of it as much as possible.

After I hid all the tabs on my screen, I swung my chair around and jumped up to go unlock the door.

Felix, with his tall, lanky frame and goofy smile, stood on the other side, holding out my bowl.

“Thanks again, Felix. This should keep me going for a few more hours.”

He chuckled while pushing his glasses up his nose. “I’m glad to hear it, sis. I should probably go have my bowl and get some sleep. I don’t want to be a zombie on the court.”

Snorting, I nodded. “Uh, yes. I definitely agree. And I’m sorry again about not being able to make the game. This job is going to keep me up all night.”

Felix rolled his eyes. “Don’t stress. You know I get it. No doubt Greg will film it for you too.”

Greg, the godsend, had become a permanent family member, and I’d told him there were no takebacks.

Around a mouthful of cereal, I said, “Sounds great. And I promise we’ll go out for lunch or dinner.”

With a big grin, he said, “I’d love that.”

“Awesome. Should we see if Stasia can make it too?” Anastasia was my one and only close friend, who I trusted with everything. She’d claim I helped her find happiness again, but it was she who brightened my days.

“Yeah, I’m down for that. And surely, I’ll get to choose where we go?”

I grinned. “I suppose that’s okay.”

“Wicked. I’m gonna head off. Night, sis.”

“Night. Sweet dreams.”

Felix waved over his shoulder as he walked by the panic room next to my office. My siblings had thought I was crazy when I’d had that built after we moved in.

After closing and relocking the door, I turned and returned to my chair.

When I sat back down, I scooted closer to the desk, then took another big spoonful of the delicious chocolate cereal.

Not that my curves needed extra padding from food at this hour, but I was never one to go without. Not nowadays.

I didn't take long to finish the food and refocus.

That sex-voiced mafia man had better tell me what a good girl I was for this. Who didn’t deserve some praise, especially when it came from a voice like Malice’s?