13. TANGLED
THIRTEEN
tangled
Hudson
Ishould be asleep.
Instead, I’m sprawled across my bed, one arm flung over my eyes like that’ll somehow shut my brain off.
Spoiler alert: It’s not fucking working.
The mansion was quiet when I left. Too quiet, considering the bombshells that dropped throughout the day. The six of us made a plan, agreed to trust each other. At least enough to take down one very powerful, very dangerous target.
Victor Malin. Secret Service golden boy. Whose real secret is that he’s a Bratva legacy. He’s a KGB-bred snake hiding in plain sight in a damned designer suit.
I’m also thinking about Jonathan Vale, and Eva and Enzo’s offer to bug his house at their next meeting.
It all feels too fucking risky and my skin feels itchy thinking of all the shit that can go wrong.
But we laid out skills, aligned on tactics, and paired teams, like this was some twisted murder version of The Bachelor.
Somehow, it was seamless. We left with a plan, with assignments, with possibility.
Then there’s her. Pippa fucking Saint James.
Who, for the record, should come with a goddamn warning label. She’s chaos wrapped in silk. She was definitely playing mind games with Enzo earlier, and while I jumped in on the fun, I now feel a little guilty. Not so guilty that I stop thinking about her sharp tongue, however.
Or fantasizing about sharing her with Enzo.
Fuck. If I keep picturing that, my dick is going to get harder than it already fucking is. And I already jacked off thinking about them tonight.
I need to sleep.
But she was fucking brilliant today. Her command, her sharp mind, her fearlessness—I was obsessed before I knew anything about her. And now I’m somehow supposed to pretend I’m not addicted to her while sharing air with a man who might want her just as much as I do?
Not any man—Enzo.
My best friend of over twenty years. Enzo, who didn’t say a word when she made that crack about the two of us sharing.
Didn’t flinch. Didn’t scoff. Just…stared. At me.
Enzo Luciano doesn’t look at people that way—not men, not publicly. But he looked at me as if he was hungry. And I’d be lying if I said it didn’t affect me.
I’ve spent many nights lying in bed secretly wishing Enzo would give me any fucking indication that he might be open to exploring something with me. It’s never been there. I know it hasn’t, because I’ve searched high and low.
And in one comment, Pippa fractured everything I thought I knew about my best friend.
Bvvvt.
Unknown Number
Still up, Johnny?
As if my thoughts conjured her.
You miss my charming personality?
My Jane
I miss your hands, mouth, tongue, and certainly those piercings of yours. But sure, it’s your charm I can’t stop thinking about.
I chuckle. Christ, she’s the exact kind of trouble I want in my bed tonight. I debate pretending nothing’s changed, but that’s not me. Not with her. Despite never sharing our names or work details, over the past year, I’ve been comfortable being my real self with her. So, I call.
She picks up on the first ring. “Eager, are we?” Her voice is silk and smoke. It settles into my bloodstream.
“You know I am, Janey.” I let the nickname roll off my tongue.
She hums. “You calling me that invokes some very fun memories.”
“How interesting. You sound just like this captivating woman I used to sneak around with, back when things were simple.”
“Simple’s overrated,” she murmurs.
“So, you want to get together tonight?”
“I do,” she says plainly. No games. “I’m feeling a little reckless and you’re an expert at—”
“Pip,” I cut her off. I rub my hand over my face, surprised by my own resolve. “Things are…complicated.”
“Yeah, I thought you might say that.”
“Yeah.”
She laughs, low and throaty. “And what if I want both of you?”
“I don’t think the desire or chemistry between you and us is the issue.
” My mind short-circuits. Visions flash behind my eyes of her between us, under us.
The heat, the chaos, the goddamn possibility of it all.
“You know I’m game,” I admit, “but it’s different with Enzo.
He’s not a nameless third, like the others.
He’s been my best friend since we were kids. I owe him a conversation first.”
“Then have it,” she says, like it’s that simple. She takes a deep breath. “I get that it’s complicated. And frankly, I should be avoiding both of you. I know that—we all know that. But laying here in bed—”
I groan at the image.
She chuckles, then continues, “Exactly. I’m only human. I know we were teasing Enzo today; I know we were riling him up, but…the mental images it’s created—”
“Yeah. Yup… Fucking same.” I mindlessly cup my growing erection.
“And PS…” Pippa adds, “I don’t think I’m the only one Enzo’s craving.”
I laugh after a beat, but it’s not convincing. “Don’t project your fantasy onto me, Saint James.”
“You sure?” she purrs. “Because I’m starting to think your best friend might want to do a lot more than share me with you. I saw some looks today that made me think he might want to share both of us.”
Click.
She hangs up before I can respond.
What the fuck?
For a boy from the wrong side of town whose mom’s absence always made him feel unwanted, the idea of Enzo and Pippa both wanting me…
It has my heart racing in a way I’m not prepared to dissect.
Thursday Evening, Day 17
We’ve been parked a block outside Victor Malin’s estate, staked out, for a couple of hours. Luca sits up front with Niko, while Enzo and I have been working in the back, waiting for Malin to get home. We’ve been clocking the rotation of his security team and discussing our roles of the upcoming op.
“In addition to us, Niko and Luca, I think we go with Max and Gabe,” Enzo suggests as he looks over the plans laid out on the back seat. “Both ex-military, both loyal. They know how to handle silent entries and won’t ask questions.”
“Agreed,” I nod and flip open my tablet. “I dug into Malin again last night—or should I say Viktor with a K—I ran back through some old FBI archives. There’s barely anything on him, just a handful of vague references from the ‘80s. Nothing that ties him to Russia. Nothing about the KGB.”
Enzo’s jaw ticks. “Sealed records?”
“Maybe. Or he was never officially flagged. He’s like a damn ghost, but someone buried him well and that usually means government involvement or someone with reach.”
“Someone like a President?”
Enzo and I exchange a look.
Someone, somewhere, didn’t simply cover up the fact Viktor Malin is Russian, they reinvented him. Scrubbed the KGB ties, polished the resume, rebranded him as Victor Malin, an all-American war hero. And that really irks me, because it fucking worked.
“His US military records seem legit,” I say as I tap a knuckle against my tablet, “but even those are limited. Frankly, they’re easy enough to fake.
Eva or Luna could’ve done it in their sleep, so I have no doubt the Russians have their own top-tier hackers who could’ve laid the groundwork long before Troy ever announced his first run.
The Russians have been funneling money into US politics and corporations for decades.
They were laying the groundwork for the right patsy to step up. ”
Enzo grunts, arms crossed, jaw tight. “Makes you wonder how Jules, Luna, and Pippa figured out his background.”
“Yeah.” I say slowly. “They don’t exactly leave a digital paper trail showing their work. The shit they know? It’s not surface-level. They’ve got layers-deep context. Like they’ve had eyes in places no one’s supposed to see.”
“Insider sources?”
“Maybe. Or maybe Luna’s cracked systems we don’t even know exist.”
There’s a beat of silence.
“Doesn’t mean I’m not wondering who the hell they really are and what else they know,” I finish.
Enzo looks contemplative. “They’ve got trust issues; so do we. But their intel’s been too good to dismiss.”
We move on to the framework of the plan—logistics, recon, timing. We keep eyes on Malin’s place, waiting for his arrival.
I can feel the tension between us, strung taut. I close the file.
“So,” I start.
Enzo doesn’t look up. “So.”
“I talked to Pippa the other night.”
That gets his attention. His eyes lift, sharp. He puts his hand up to pause me, then rolls up the window between the front and back of the car.
Okay, we’re on the same page.
“She texted. We flirted. She still calls me Johnny.” I try for a grin, but it falls flat under Enzo’s stare. “We ended up on the phone and…she said she wants both of us.”
Enzo stiffens. “She did, huh?”
“Yeah. And look, I know this is a damned mess. I told her nothing’s happening until you and I talk first.”
“I need to tell you something.” He leans back, arms crossed, jaw working. “I went to her house last week.”
The fuck? Why didn’t he tell me? Why didn’t she? “So, you two already—”
“No, no,” he says hurriedly. “Nothing happened. It was after you approached Luna at work about the Vale offer. I told myself I was going to Pippa’s to seal the deal, but I was lying to myself. I just had to be around her again.” He seems pained by that admission.
Fucking same, brother, fucking same. “I get that.”
He shakes his head. “We kissed, but we both stopped it before it went further.”
I blink a few times, trying to discern how that makes me feel.
When I hesitate to respond he says, “She’s different with you. Seeing you two together…there is history there, ease. She fights me with every step. I don’t know, maybe it’s too messy.”
“Shit. No, man, she’s on guard with everyone.
She was like that with me, too, for a long time, but there is a part of her that rebels against having to play the right part all the time.
I think our history allows her to let go and find release.
Enz, she’s fighting it because she wants you. And she doesn’t want to.”
I chuckle to myself because I am not only describing Pippa, but also myself. We both want Enzo. “Look, I’ve given this some thought. I think we should explore it.”
He flinches a bit.
I’m not sure what that means, but I continue. “We both want her, she wants us. The tension will continue building until it explodes. Better to just try it—see what happens.” I pause. “Of course, it’s up to you. I won’t pursue anything with her, with or without you, unless you’re okay with it.”
“Are you serious?” he asks hesitantly.
“I am.” I lean forward, elbows on my knees, hands clasped like I’m holding myself together. “We’ve been through everything together, Enz. You’re not just my best friend. You’re my fucking family. And I’d never, ever, do anything to break that.” I meet his eyes—no smirk, no deflection, just truth.
“But I need you to hear me when I say this,” I continue, “she’s different. Shit, she got under my skin the first night I met her. I tried to brush it off. I told myself it was just sex, but it’s not. You know it. I know it.”
His silence is more than I can take. So I continue, “I don’t know what this means—for me, for you, for us—but I don’t want to bury it.
And I sure as hell don’t want either of us to blow this up out of pride or fear.
So if there’s a chance we could figure this out without wrecking everything, I’m in. ”
Another long beat passes.
Enzo’s fingers drum against his knee as he thinks, then he stops. “My first priority is us. You and me. We don’t fuck with that.”
I nod. “Then maybe we talk to her together.”
The air shifts. It’s subtle, but I feel it. His eyes lock on mine and for a second, something unspoken pulses between us. The kind of spark where your heart stutters and your chest tightens.
I swallow hard.
Neither of us move.
Enzo finally breaks eye contact, scrubbing a hand over his jaw. “Yeah. Let’s talk to her…together. It’s a good start.”
I nod again. My pulse is racing. Just breathe, Hudson. Jesus.
Damn if I don’t already feel like we’re standing at the edge of something we can’t take back.
The window inside the car rolls down.
Niko says, “We have eyes.”
We turn toward Malin’s property where one of the security guards scanning the perimeter is looking our way. He has binoculars and his attention is focused on us.
“Let’s head out, Luca,” Enzo commands.
Luca slowly pulls forward, taking the next right turn. I have my eyes locked on the security guard, who is taking pictures of our vehicle. Fortunately, the tags will lead him on a wild goose chase.
“Fuck, we didn’t get enough info on the rotation of his security detail,” Enzo says. “I’ll have Eva send a crew out tomorrow to install some cameras.”
“I’m sure she and Luna will get better intel tomorrow when they hack the security system and cameras in the area, too.”
He agrees and we remain silent until they drop me home.
My head is still reeling, both from our conversation and with concern that the Malin op is fast approaching and I’m not sure whether Enzo, Eva, and I are providing any real value to the mission yet.
Enzo’s insistence on helping them has been confusing, and whether they need our help or not is still unclear.
One thing is clear, though. I have a growing need to keep Pippa and Luna safe. Whether they need us or not… I’m not going anywhere.