Chapter Thirty-Seven I’m a Damsel and I’m in Distress
West
“I can’t believe you’re alive,” I mumble for the umpteenth time. Now that we’re all bound to chairs, Berruci and his men pay us little mind, huddled together as they no doubt discuss their nefarious plans for us. We pose no threat tied up like this and are therefore not worth their attention.
Michael sighs heavily, the dark circles under his eyes betraying how rough the years have been on him. “You shouldn’t have come here. The only reason I took Berruci’s deal was to keep you two safe.”
“By working for him?”
“It could have been worse.”
“What does he have you do?”
“Construction, mostly. I draw up plans to make his homes throughout Europe secure enough to withstand police raids. He has me consult too.”
“Consult?”
“He’s got a big empire, little brother. Berruci is always hungry for the next scheme.
Every power grab he’s orchestrated in the last six years was heavily influenced by me.
” A terrible, cold look of guilt fills his eyes when he catches me staring, aghast. “Don’t look at me like that.
I either lent my expertise, or he’d kill me. ”
I sit there, crushed by the heavy silence that follows. I think I understand. Michael didn’t have a choice. For him, it was a matter of survival. Of getting through to the next day in one piece. It was smart of Berruci, in a way, to use Michael’s mind and unique background to do all the hard work.
“Do you know a way to get us out of here?” I ask.
My brother shakes his head. “There’s an exit through a small corridor that leads out to the waterfront, but we’re outnumbered and they’re blocking the way.”
What a travesty, to be offered a glimpse of hope only to have it dashed mere moments later.
I look to Allistair, who has been roughly yanking at the bindings around his wrists. All to no avail. “Why wasn’t Michael’s information included in the personnel files you gave me? It would have been useful to know he was here.”
Allistair frowns. “Don’t blame me. I gave you everything I could get my hands on.”
“Berruci keeps me in the guest house,” Michael explains. “Never lets me leave. I don’t ever interact with the guards. One of the house chefs brings me food, and that’s about it.”
I huff bitterly. To think we were in the same place at the same time, but I never knew…
“Did you ever try to reach out?”
“Once,” he says. “Nearly got caught. Realized it was probably better this way.”
“How can you say that? I thought…God, Michael. I thought you were dead.”
“I couldn’t risk your safety. My daughter’s safety.”
Guilt festers in the pit of my stomach. I get it. At least, I think I do. If our positions were switched, I’d probably think the same.
“How is she?” Michael asks quietly, almost tentatively. “Jacqueline.”
“She’s good,” I reply. “An absolute angel. She just started first grade.”
There’s a warm glimmer in my brother’s eyes. Unmistakable pride with a trace of longing. “I see.”
“We’re going to get out of this. You’ll get to see each other really soon. I promise.”
“Um,” a woman’s soft voice interjects. Lily’s gaze shifts warily between Michael, Allistair and me. “Not to butt in or anything, but what the fuck is going on? Who are you people? Why on earth am I here and how the hell do you know Addy?”
“Addy?” I echo, as amused as I can be considering the circumstances. “Oh, that’s cute.”
Lily furrows her brows, and it’s astounding just how much she looks like Adelina.
Her features are a bit softer, in a weird way.
She’s bright-eyed and has nowhere near the same chaotic energy I’ve come to adore.
“Look, I’m really scared. They grabbed me off the street in Barcelona and won’t tell me anything.
Is my sister okay? What kind of trouble is she in?
What’s all this crap about being thieves? ”
My chest tightens. “It’s a lot to explain.”
“Then you’d better fucking try.”
Man, these Choi sisters are really something else. What am I supposed to say? Telling Lily the truth would only leave Adelina exposed. I could always try to spin a tale, but Lily’s already heard more than enough. She likely wouldn’t believe my lies.
“Adelina is a hacker,” I say slowly. “One of the finest out there. The best, in my opinion. I…sort of blackmailed her into working with me.”
“And they took me because I’m—what? Collateral?”
“Really? No pushback on the whole hacker thing, huh?”
Lily rolls her eyes. “I know my sister better than anyone. Given her highly specialized skill set, it wasn’t that far-off a conclusion.
Companies contract people to test their security systems all the time.
I logically assumed that’s how Addy was making ends meet.
I wasn’t aware she was dabbling in…morally questionable freelance work. ”
“ ‘Morally questionable freelance work’? You sound like a lawyer.”
“Where is she?” Lily asks, slapping me with another hard question.
“I don’t know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?”
If what Joseph said was true—that he and Diana have been plotting to turn us in to Berruci—there’s a good chance Diana has already made her move.
If not, then she’ll definitely act soon.
I wish there was a way I could warn Adelina, keep her out of harm’s way.
When we agreed to this whole sordid ordeal, I promised she wouldn’t see any of the action.
She was meant to be behind the scenes, not thrown into the thick of it.
“I’m sure she’s fine,” I say. “They would have already brought her in by now if they had her. We need to focus on getting out of here.”
“The grounds are crawling with guards,” Michael says. “Even if we manage to free ourselves, there’s no way we can fight our way through. Berruci has informants all over Nice too. There isn’t a corner of this city he won’t have eyes on.”
I bite down on my tongue, trying to still my racing mind.
There has to be a way out of this. There always is.
But the longer I dwell on our chances of escape, the more I realize how hopeless it is.
Berruci has us right where he wants us. Joseph and Diana played their parts perfectly.
Being a thief requires incredible luck, and I’m afraid that mine has finally turned against me.
We don’t stand a chance in a fight, and I sincerely doubt that Berruci will entertain the idea of striking another deal with me after I so blatantly tried my hand against him.
We’re out of options. This is the end of the road.
Berruci was right—I lost. I just can’t bring myself to accept that.
“What do you mean you can’t reach her?” Berruci demands from across the room, grabbing Joseph by his shirt collar.
Joseph holds up his phone. “She isn’t answering. I’m sure she’s on her way.”
Oh?
My ears burn, an electric current thrumming in my veins. It could be nothing. Bad signal. We’re underground, after all. Maybe Diana hit a spot of traffic. Or maybe…
Maybe it’s a sign that the winds are changing course.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spot the subtlest movement of the mouse icon on Berruci’s desktop computer.
No one else notices as it slowly trails down to the start menu, pulling up the command prompt and causing the entire system to crash.
The screen goes blank and then returns in bright, eerie blue.
The lights flicker. The bunker’s isolated ventilation system whirs to life. Loud, obnoxious EDM music plays through the computer’s speakers, overwhelming the room. Someone types out a message in bright-green font.
I’m in.
~QWERTY xoxo
“What’s happening?” Berruci snaps.
I can’t help but smile. “It means you’re fucked.”