Phantom (The Elite #1)

Prologue

EVELYN

Shit, shit, shit.

I heard the sirens coming in the distance.

Quickly typing on the computer keyboard, I saved the items I needed on a flash drive and stuffed it in the side pocket of my leather jacket, then grabbed some plain pieces of paper from the large conference room to look like I had forgotten something.

I zipped up the pocket as I ran out the back door, where I knew security wasn’t.

As I busted out of my stepfather's office, the skyrise that housed Ricci Enterprises loomed over me like a beast, just like its owner. I booked it toward my car, parked a few blocks away. The sirens drew nearer. The cold New York City air attempted to steal my breath away with its intense bite.

The most reliable thing in my life, my yellow Volkswagen bug, affectionately named Bug, stood out like a sore thumb. I threw open the door and hopped inside. Quickly unzipping my pocket, I shoved my hand in to grab the thumb drive and promptly stuffed it in my school bag.

To anyone else, it would look like a regular school item next to my laptop and notebooks.

But I knew the truth. What I had just downloaded from my stepfather's computer would bring an end to his empire.

Shoving my bag in the back seat, I went to turn on the ignition when a police car parked behind me with blue lights flashing. Shit, shit.

Taking a few deep breaths, I rolled down my window and saw the familiar face of the police chief.

“Evelyn…” He leaned down to look at me.

“Chief Carmichael, to what do I owe the pleasure?” I asked cheekily. I should be nervous, but he was like an uncle to me.

He raised an eyebrow, his dark-brown mustache quirking up as he eyed me. “Do you have any idea why we received an alert that the alarm was tripped at your dad’s office and why an officer saw you running out of said office?”

“You mean my stepdad?” I corrected him. It was no secret I loathed the man my mother married. Until I was fourteen, I’d looked at Anthony Ricci as an uncle, a dear part of our family.

Until that day. The day my father, his best friend, died. Supposedly in the line of duty. The day I’d watched him hold my heartbroken mother in a way that turned my stomach. The day I knew that there was more to the story than I would ever get from the adults around me.

I used to like him. I’d been mesmerized by his dominating presence.

He always dressed to impress with tailored suits that made his muscles seem even more intimidating.

His full head of hair and beard were always trimmed and styled to perfection.

He was the classic ‘silver fox,’ with his dark and handsome physique.

To others, he seemed cool, calm, and collected. But I knew the truth about him.

Even if it took my entire life, I would destroy Anthony Ricci.

“I have no idea why an alarm would go off. I just went in to grab my homework. It sounds like he needs to get a better security system,” I continued innocently, pointing to the paper I had taken from the conference room.

The chief did not seem to like that smart-ass response. “Evelyn, you and I both know how this will go, so turn off the vehicle and come with me.”

I didn’t bother putting up a fight. No one would have any idea what I took. I’d made sure to cover my tracks. I turned off the engine and gave the chief my keys.

My stepfather had the entire department on his payroll.

Thankfully, I had my own connections with some of the detectives in the precinct since my dad had died in the line of duty.

Details of his untimely death were never fully recovered.

All that was known was a hitman was hired to take him out and no one asked questions except me.

When we got to the station, my mother and stepfather were waiting.

I was the black sheep of the family. Being the middle child of three made staying hidden in the shadows easy.

I was barely home, especially now that Matthew was deployed.

Sarah was Anthony's princess. She was too young when he entered our lives to know that the Devil had a name, and she called him Dad.

When shit like this happened, my mother and stepfather suddenly remembered I existed.

Out of the kindness to my family, one of the officers drove Bug to the station instead of towing my baby.

I was surprised to see my mother out of the house. She spent most of her days at home. If my parents’ looks could kill, I would be dead ten times over. I rolled my eyes, ready to be done with this.

“Was this all necessary?” I motioned to the station around us. “I forgot my homework in the conference room.” It was a dumb excuse, but it was believable enough, and there would be no way to prove otherwise. Anthony folded his arms.

“Sure, homework. That’s the excuse this time?” His tone was menacing.

My mom put a frail hand on his arm. “Honey, let’s talk about this at home. We don’t need more attention drawn to us than already has been.”

And there it was, the stab to my heart that my mom saw me as a disobedient teen. I couldn’t tell her what I was trying to uncover. It was too dangerous. So, instead, I continued to play the hostile, out-of-control teenager—the black sheep.

We were making a scene. I was making a scene. Anthony stared at my mom and then back at me.

“Go get in the car. You’re lucky I agree with your mother,” he growled.

I knew better than to ask for my keys. Steven, the chief’s son, would bring Bug back to me later tonight. We had a system.

I stormed out of the station and got into Anthony’s Lexus.

The car ride home consisted of Anthony telling me he knew I was up to something and me just sitting there with an amused expression on my face. It was a facade for the fear that lay beneath my skin.

It would all be worth it in the end.

Once the heat died down, a week after my office stunt, it was finally time to start digging deeper into my thumb-drive findings.

My fingers moved at lightning speed as I accessed the files.

Simultaneously, I hacked into one of the government databases that would allow me to cross-reference the information I’d downloaded from Ricci Enterprises.

As quickly as I entered the database, error pop-ups and warning messages took over the screen.

“No, no, no,” I whispered as I frantically typed.

The final message showed ghost and crossbones emojis before my entire computer crashed.

Why did this have to happen now?! Of course, somehow my nemesis Ghost had thwarted my efforts to find out more information about Ricci.

Ghost was my match for hacking. We spent countless hours going up against one another in the hacking world.

For the most part I beat him at his own game but that was not the case tonight.

“Fuck!” I yelled, slamming the laptop closed. As anger heated my skin, I threw my brown hair into a messy bun. Needing space to cool down my fury, I got up from my desk and headed to the kitchen for water. My mother's voice stopped me as I was halfway down the hallway.

“Evelyn, baby, can you come here, please?”

I walked into her room and tried to hide my sadness seeing her weak body in her bed. Her doctor had paid a house visit a few months ago, and whatever he’d prescribed made her constantly sleepy. The woman with the most vibrant personality was now dull.

She smiled as I approached. Her long, wavy chestnut hair lay over her shoulders, her bright-green eyes sparkled, accented from the flames that roared in the fireplace. Even without makeup, she was as beautiful as an angel.

I grabbed her too-thin hand.

“What’s up, Momma?” I returned her smile.

“How’s my girl today? I know you think you stay under the radar, but know that I see you, my sweet girl.”

I furrowed my brows. There was no way that she could know what I did in my spare time. “I’m alright, Mom, I swear. I just don’t like seeing you sick.”

Her eyes turned glassy at my response. “I know, baby. But I’m in good hands. Anthony is making sure of it. I’ll be back to being the momma you know in no time. Could you get me some water?”

Not responding to the Anthony comment, I returned with some water for both of us. I kissed her as she closed her eyes.

“I love you, my sweet girl,” she murmured.

“I love you too, Momma.”

As I pulled into work at Zack’s Crab Shack the following day, a tall man in a suit blocked me in with his black SUV. I’d seen enough action movies to know this was a government vehicle.

Eyes narrowed, I exited my car, and as I did, a deep velvety voice asked, “Are you Evelyn Myers?”

“Uh… yeah, that’s me,” I stammered while taking a cautious step back. “Can I help you?”

The man came closer to me and stuck out his hand. “I’m Agent Derrick Fleming.”

I tentatively shook his scar-marred hand.

Although his demeanor was intense, his eyes were gentle.

But somehow I knew he was military, he just gave off that vibe.

Tattoos peeked from underneath his suit jacket.

His hair was cut short on the sides and longer on the top.

Gray was starting to speckle throughout his brown hair.

His features were complex, but his gentle eyes held my gaze as he continued.

“I’d like to discuss a potential job opportunity.”

I stood there awkwardly, not sure what to say, or even what to think.

“Unless you would like to go to federal jail?”

My eyes went wide. “I’m… so…sorry?” I asked while my heart rate spiked at his words. I couldn’t go to jail. Not when I was so close to getting the information I needed to take down my stepfather.

Stay calm, Evelyn, remember what is at stake.

“Let’s skip the bullshit, shall we?” He smirked. “You were flagged for accessing top-secret government databases. At your age, that’s quite a feat. If your skills weren’t so impressive, you would be incarcerated.”

I nodded my head and took a moment to figure out how to handle this. “If my skills are impressive and if we are skipping the ‘bullshit’, what kind of job opportunity are we talking about?” I asked, biting my lower lip and shuffling my worn sneakers on the ground.

Agent Fleming smirked. “Join my team. I am part of a special operations team where your particular skill set would be a huge asset for the team and this country.”

“But I just turned eighteen. I’m supposed to be leaving for school in August,” I mustered out. My head was swimming from the shitstorm I’d gotten myself in.

“I know. I know everything about you, Ms. Myers. How about this? I’ll give you some time to think about it.

Give me a call,” he said, giving me his business card.

“Just think about it. I am sure twenty-five to life doesn’t sound too appealing right now.

Don’t leave me waiting too long. Felonies are permanent and I can make everything go away in a blink of an eye.

” Before he went into his vehicle, he turned and nodded to me.

“I’ll be talking to you soon, Ms. Myers. ”

I stood in the parking lot, frozen in place until my coworker sang out my name at the side entrance door to the restaurant.

After the lunch rush, I complained of not feeling well. My boss, Zack, let me off early, and I rushed home, my brain still swimming with questions.

As I pulled into the driveway, two men in green scrubs were escorting my mother to a white van. She fought them as they held onto her arms.

My stepfather stood on the front porch with his arms crossed. His black suit and domineering appearance made him seem undisturbed by the situation before him. Or maybe he just truly didn’t care. It was probably the latter.

“Anthony, please don’t let them take me! I promise I will be better,” my mother cried, trying to fight the men holding onto her.

I hurried over to her. “What the fuck is going on here?” I screamed, making the two men in scrubs stop moving. They let her go, and she ran to me, engulfing me in a hug.

“Why are you home early?” a deep, menacing voice asked.

I looked over my mother’s shoulder to see Anthony shooting daggers at me with his dark eyes. “I asked a question first!” I retorted.

My mother trembled in my arms. She was so frail that I worried she might blow away in the wind.

Anthony walked down the steps and toward us. “Your mother is sick and needs to be taken to a facility where she can receive help.”

My mother cried harder as he said the words. “I’m not crazy,” she whispered in my ear. “Don’t let him take you down too. Don’t let him see you.”

Her warning was clear. Stay in the shadows as I take him down.

“She’s not going anywhere!” I bellowed out, squeezing my mother tighter. Her tears soaked my Zack’s Crab Shack t-shirt.

“That’s where you are wrong, Evelyn,” Anthony said, peeling my mother out of my embrace.

She cried more, pleading with him to not let this happen. Strong arms wrapped around my torso as one of Anthony’s security team restrained me. No matter how hard I fought, my mother was gone, and now I was more at the mercy of Anthony Ricci.

A couple of hours passed as I paced in my room where I had locked myself after my mother was taken and played with the business card given to me earlier. Biting my lip, I stopped pacing and dialed the number.

The call was picked up on the second ring. “Agent Fleming, how can I help you?”

“I’m in,” I responded without saying hello.