Chapter 7 #2
“And what do you expect me to do during the two weeks off?” I ask while the scissors snip viciously behind me.
“You’re going to Bali with me. We’re going to lie on the beach all day long and dance the nights away.”
“I can’t dance for shit.”
“You can watch me dance while getting drunk on cosmopolitans.” Gianna lets out a heavy sigh. “I worry about you.”
“And I love you for it.” Wanting to change the subject because I can’t take time off and need to get my friend to forget all about it, I say, “I’m thinking of hacking into a dating site and picking the best guy for myself.”
“What?” she gasps. “You can’t just pick some random guy.”
“I’ll stalk him and wear him down until he gives in.”
Just then, Riccardo and Enzo walk into the kitchen, and Riccardo asks, “Who’s the poor guy you’re going to stalk?”
“No one,” I answer before Gianna can say anything.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t stop my friend from spilling the beans as she informs her husband of what I just said. “Rosie plans to hack into a dating site and picking some random guy to stalk.”
“The best guy,” I correct her.
Enzo’s eyes lock with mine, the lines on his face tightening. “Is that so?”
“Yep.”
Then his gaze sweeps over my clothes, and he frowns. “Didn’t you wear that yesterday?”
“Nope.”
“Rosie,” he growls. “You worked through the night again.”
“She needs to take a vacation.” Gianna jumps back to our original conversation. “The four of us can go to Bali.”
“I’m part vampire and will burn in the sun,” I say.
Enzo moves in behind me, then says, “Don’t take off too much, Gianna.”
“You don’t get a say in how long my hair is,” I snap.
“I do.”
“Don’t start you two.”
Gianna throws half my hair into my face, and I blow at the strands when they tickle my nose, and just for the fun of it, I say, “Enzo mooned me this morning.”
“What?!” Gianna gasps while Riccardo lets out a bark of laughter.
“In all fairness, I did warn her,” Enzo mutters while tugging on some of my hair before he walks to the doorway. “Come, Riccardo, we’re going to be late for the meeting.”
“What meeting?” I ask while Riccardo comes to plant a kiss on Gianna’s mouth.
“A meeting about putting a gym in your fortress,” Enzo replies.
“Ha ha.” I look at Riccardo. “What’s it about?”
“Just a meeting with the cartel. Enzo is coming as backup. Nothing serious.”
My temper, which I seldom lose, flares hot through me. “The hell? And you weren’t going to tell me?”
Not giving a flying fuck about my hair, I dart up and grab my tablet. “Where?”
“Don’t worry…” Enzo starts, but I silence him with a glare, then he reluctantly answers, “The abandoned plant on Railroad Avenue.”
“No!” I cut my hand through the air. “There are no cameras there.”
“That’s why the cartel chose the location,” Riccardo says.
“So I can’t see who’s there and how they kill the two of you.” I grab my phone and central remote and stalk to the door. “You will wait until I give you the all-clear.”
“Rosie.” Enzo catches up to me. “You’re in the middle of a fucking haircut. We’re taking half an army.”
“I don’t care.” When Alessio sees me coming, he quickly opens the door.
“Rosie!” Enzo snaps angrily, and it has me swinging around.
“Don’t you dare lose your temper. It’s my job to keep you all alive, and I can’t do that if you all sneak off to meetings with the goddamn cartel.”
I climb into the backseat of the SUV. “If you make a move without my say-so, I will shut down the entire grid. Test me, Enzo. I dare you.”
“You’re overreacting.”
I level him with another glare while I yank the door shut.
Alessio starts the engine, and during the drive back to the fortress, I try to rein in my anger.
A few years ago, Augusto and Christiano were ambushed on their way to a meeting with the cartel. I wasn’t informed about that meeting either.
That’s why I’m pissed off.
The men take reckless chances, and an ambush can easily be avoided if they just let me do my damn job.
As soon as I’m back in my control center, I send two recon drones to the plant on Railroad Avenue.
One keeps watch directly above the building while the other checks the surrounding blocks.
The feeds stream onto my monitors, and I begin clearing the area for any potential threats.
Suddenly, one of my screens flashes red as an alert comes through, and I dial Enzo’s number.
“What?” he answers, his tone tight.
“There are three bratva soldiers at a gas station not even five miles from the plant.”
“That doesn’t mean anything. How do things look at the plant?”
I don’t find anything out of place, and when two cars pull up, some of the men look up at the drone, and I get clear shots of their faces.
“The cartel just arrived. Besides the bratva, nothing seems to be out of place.”
Without saying another word, Enzo ends the call, and I slump back in my chair. Then my gaze falls on the screen with the information of the three bratva soldiers, and I sit up again.
“What are you doing in our territory?”
Before I can run a search through the entire city, the alarms go off, and the red lights flash on and off overhead, alerting me to someone trying to hack my systems.
“Shit!” I shriek. I send an order for the drones to come back, then begin searching for the bastard that’s sniffing around my baby.