Chapter Thirty-Two Full Steam Ahead
Adelina
Present Day
Nice, France
Sunrise sneaks up on us, the golden morning rays peeking in through the crack in the curtains. I’m not entirely sure how we wound up curled up together in my bed, surrounded by soft pillows, but I’m certainly not going to complain. I guess we got to make that pillow fort after all.
West and I lie facing each other, our hands clasped as the hum of the room’s AC system covers our conspiratorial whispers. My eyes are puffy and scratchy. I normally would be embarrassed about last night, but I’m all cried out. Everything is finally off my chest.
I like that West is so easy to talk to.
“You know it wasn’t your fault, right?” he murmurs, tracing the tips of my fingers with his own. “Whether you picked up the phone or not…”
“Yeah,” I reply quietly. My head sinks against my pillow, too heavy to move an inch.
“The month after the funeral was rough. I remember thinking, What’s the point?
I was miles from home trying to make my family proud, but now Dad was gone and…
I don’t know. Maybe I could have chosen a school closer to home.
Spent more time with him. Concentrated on stuff that actually mattered.
I couldn’t focus on any of my classes and wound up dropping out in my last semester. ”
“And by the sound of it, your mother must have been thrilled.”
I huff a laugh. “I had to go to therapy to deal with the way she treated me. There’s tough love, and there’s whatever she’s trying to do.
All she seemed to care about was how embarrassing it was to have a dropout for a daughter.
It was exhausting, dealing with her negativity.
Cutting her off was the only thing I could do to protect myself. ”
West gives my hand a squeeze. “I’m glad you did.”
I peer deeply into his eyes, bracing for some sort of punchline. It never comes. “You are?”
“Why do you sound so surprised?”
“Everyone in my life told me I was making a mistake. My aunts and uncles and cousins all sided with her. They asked me how I could treat my own mother that way, but…”
“But?” he prompts.
“None of them ever stopped to ask why I would treat her that way. They judged me. Called me selfish. Never once stopping to think maybe there was a reason I’d resort to something so drastic.
And…I don’t know. Sometimes I thought maybe they were right.
They had my head so warped that I was the one who felt guilty. ”
“If someone slaps you every day and then blames you for leaving, they’re the problem. Verbal and emotional abuse aren’t any different.”
“I know that now. It took me a really long time to come to terms with it. Still am, I think, but I’m getting better.”
West shifts beside me, moving to hug me tight against his chest. His weight is comforting, tethering me to our little slice of reality. He presses a chaste kiss to my forehead. “I’m glad to hear it.”
I melt against him, failing to remember the last time anyone held me so tenderly.
“What did you do about that kid? The one who was tossing garbage,” West asks.
“Believe it or not, I almost didn’t do anything.
I was fuming for days. A quick Facebook search and I found him—Charlie Bower.
Turns out, he was the kid of some hotshot tech CEO muscling his way into Vancouver.
They lawyered up as soon as we tried to sue for damages. He was going to get away with it.
“Then the idea hit me while I was in the shower. People like that have more money than heart, so what if I…relieved some of their funds? Little enough that they won’t miss it, but more than enough that it could help the drive.
Everyone likes to preach kindness and taking care of their neighbors, but they never actually do anything.
This way, I was doing something. Imagine my surprise when it not only worked, but I got away with it. ”
“And a new thief was born,” he says, amused.
“It’s not the most interesting villain origin story out there, but it’s mine.”
“Trust me, Adelina, you’re no villain.” West combs his fingers through my short hair. “The furthest thing from it.”
I laugh softly. “I’ll take your word for it.”
“Thank you for telling me.”
“Thank you for listening.”
West cranes his head to glance at the clock on the bedside table. “We need to get to the hangar soon. How about I head downstairs and scrounge up some breakfast?”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“Their continental spread not to your liking?”
I roll my eyes. “No, I mean going to the hangar to train. I kept you up all night.”
West pumps his brows. “Yes, you did.”
“You know what I mean.” I push against his chest with a groan. “You’re tired. You can’t practice the route while sleep-deprived.”
“I raised a six-year-old all by myself. I haven’t known a full night’s sleep in ages.” West sits up, selfishly taking all of his warmth along with him. “Don’t worry. Once you get a couple cups of coffee in me, I’ll be wound up the whole day.”
“Wonderful,” I reply dryly. “Can’t wait for your inevitable caffeine crash.”
Only once he rolls out of bed do I finally turn over to find my phone crammed beneath my pillow. It’s low on battery, but that’s not what bothers me. I can see the scheduled text I have programmed sitting there, waiting to send. A cloying sensation simmers in my guts.
He watches me intently as I delete it right in front of him, along with the picture I took of his passport. “I don’t need it anymore,” I murmur.
West smiles, a mix of joy and gratitude, as he dips down to cup my face.
“Thank you, mon ange,” he says before giving me a deep, tender kiss.
It’s so sweet and appreciative and beholden that I could cry.
I adore the way he holds me, looks at me, talks to me, like I’m something revered.
“I’ll be right back, okay?” he says, giving me a smile before leaving out the door.
I giggle to myself, curling up in his side of the sheets and surrounding myself in the scent of pine and fresh laundry. The bed’s getting cold without him. Hopefully West comes back soon.
As I put my phone aside, I think back to what Mom said about Lily not returning her calls. Strange. I’m sure she’s just busy. Or, short of that, maybe my sister is finally tired of putting up with Mom’s behavior, too.
My familial problems can wait, though. Right now, I have more pressing matters to attend to.
“How long has he been at it?” Diana asks as she leans against my desk.
“All afternoon,” I reply.
“Any progress?”
“He’s managed to shave ten whole seconds.”
“Not bad.”
“But not great,” I mumble. “Joseph’s working on his distraction plan as we speak. We might be able to give West a wider window of opportunity.”
It’s at this exact moment that Joseph walks in with a large crate stuffed full of fireworks. Diana and I exchange weary glances. At this rate, we’ll take whatever zany plot he can come up with.
My attention doesn’t linger for very long, returning to West as he dashes through the obstacle course. He’s getting impressively fast, each round offering some new insight on how he can improve his time. Practice makes perfect, though I’m beginning to fear it won’t be enough.
“Time!” he exclaims as he comes flying over the finish line.
I hit the space bar on my computer, halting the program. I gawk at the results. “Holy shit.”
“What is it?” he asks, panting.
“Two minutes and fifty-eight seconds!”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes!”
West laughs as he rushes over and picks me up out of my seat, spinning us around in utter delight. “I did it! I told you I could!”
I can’t help but laugh too, his joy downright infectious. This means we have a chance.
Joseph groans. “Am I still going to be able to use all of these?” he asks, referring to his crate of explosives.
“We’ll keep them on hand,” Diana says. “You never know. West may end up with a leg cramp.”
“I’ll make sure to do my stretches,” West says dryly.
Someone’s phone rings, the sound interrupting our celebration. All four of us reach for our burners.
“It’s mine,” West says before answering. “Hello?”
I shiver when his smile fades, slowly twisting into a stern frown. West doesn’t say anything, quiet the entire time until he finally nods and says, “Okay. Thank you.”
“Who was that?” I ask.
“Allistair.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Berruci has made unexpected plans to leave for Monaco tomorrow. Some sort of business trip. He’ll be taking many of his personal guards with him, which means—”
“Which means this is our chance to strike,” I conclude, my heart skipping.
I glance at Diana and Joseph. It’s not the plan we’ve laid out, but having Berruci out of the picture greatly minimizes the risks West will have to face. There will no doubt still be guards to attend to, though the security will be more lax. There’s no guarantee that nothing will go wrong, though.
“Is your virus ready?” he asks me.
“Yes. All you have to do is insert the USB.”
West nods slowly. “Then there isn’t any point in putting things off. We make our move tomorrow.”
Joseph beams. “It’s time to make some money.”