Hoda’s look of death lessened. It was more a look of injury now. “Yes, and I’m fully aware now how stupid I was.”

  Matt’s eyes were twinkling. “Say it again.”

  She made a disgruntled growl before looking at me. “Can you shut him up? Why is he here?”

  I opened my mouth.

  Matt threw an arm around my shoulders, raising his chin up in pride. “We’re Team Batt.”

  I closed my mouth. That pretty much said it all.

  Hoda’s eyes flicked harder to the ceiling. “Whatever. Look, I’m aware she worked me, because she did. She knows all about me and I learned nothing about her.”

  “How could you live in someone’s place with them for months and not learn anything about that person?”

  Matt was musing, but he was right.

  Unless … “But she did.”

  They both looked at me.

  “Think about it. You said she had no pictures on her walls?”

  Hoda nodded.

  I kept on. “That says she either doesn’t like pictures or she doesn’t have anyone close to her. Did people call her? Did it sound like she made plans to go out with friends or talk to people on the phone?”

  Hoda thought about it, then shrugged. “She likes pictures. I know that’s not the case. I did get a glimpse into her back room once and it was a mess. There were magazines everywhere, and the wall was plastered with them.”

  “With magazines?”

  She answered Matt. “Yeah. I mean, she cut them out, but it was a brief glance. The door shut right away, but it reminded me of my high school locker when I was a freshman. I had a crush on Justin Bieber that wasn’t healthy. Now it’s more BTS. I’ve progressed.”

  Matt groaned, his head dropping to his hand. He rubbed at his forehead. “I didn’t need to know that. Neither of us needed to know that.”

  “Whatever.” Hoda’s word and tone didn’t match. She sat back, her shoulders loosening. She looked refreshed, relieved. She reached for her mojito and finished it, circling her straw around it. “This was good. I want another one.”

  Gah.

  That was it. Everything was off her chest, and she was now feeling good about it.

  I frowned. She still had one more thing to do for us. “Who does Camille like?”

  “Besides Quinn?” Her shoulders grew tight again, just not as much as before. She darted a look at Matt. “I mean, your stepmother. I know she likes her, because that’s the only call she takes. She’ll gab for hours on the phone with her, but that’s in her room. I’ve tried eavesdropping to hear what they say, but she’s got her voice muffled inside there. It’s like she has on a fan or something. The room’s not soundproof, because I can still hear her in there.”

  “They talk for hours?” Matt asked, sounding in pain. “I don’t even want to imagine what that bitch is saying to her.”

  Hoda was nodding. “She is a bitch, but make no mistake, Camille is smart, and cunning, and she’s got the right amount of stalker tendencies to make her dangerous.”

  Matt’s lips thinned.

  I was pretty sure that’s not who he meant.

  “Yeah.” He grunted. He tossed back the rest of his whiskey and looked up.

  The waitress appeared out of nowhere, and I didn’t want to wonder if she was just watching for him to ask for another or if she’d been going past us. Knowing my brother, knowing how he was with girls, it was probably the first choice.

  The server took the glass from him and asked, all sugary sweet and in a sultry tone, “Want another?”

  Matt’s grin was slow back, slow and sly. “Make it a double, please?”

  “Sure thing.”

  As soon as she was gone, he turned to Hoda. “Who does Camille have a thing for? We need to get her out of that room for a long period of time.”

  Hoda’s mouth pressed tight together, and she visibly swallowed.

  I inclined my head. “Who is it, Hoda?”

  She squeaked, motioning to Matt. “It’s still him. I mean, she doesn’t come out and say it, but I know she’s still got a thing for him.” Her eyes went sideways for a beat before she refocused on us. Sitting up straight, as if coming to a decision, she continued. “Quinn only calls her Friday nights, and on Monday or Tuesday. So she wouldn’t call her tonight. I could call Camille, tell her that I went out with a friend and we saw Matt here.” She looked uncertain, her head almost lowering, the more she offered.

  Matt was thoughtful, his head cocking to the side. “It’d have to be somewhere that Kash or my father don’t own. If I’m in a Kash bar, she won’t come in.” He tipped his chin to her. “What friend would you be with?”

  “Oh.” She frowned. “Oh! I could call Liam. I could just say I want to talk some more about moving in together, iron out more details. He’d come. He’s always down for a beer.”

  “And what? Bailey breaks in by herself? I don’t like it.”

  Hoda’s eyes were wide, skirting between us. “I don’t know what else would work. It has to be you, and you have to be alone. If you’re with someone else, she won’t come.”

  “You didn’t say that before.”

  “Because I just thought about that.” She leaned over the table. “But I’ll be there. Liam will be there. We’ll have your back.”

  Matt was shaking his head. “Nope. That leaves Bailey unprotected.”

  Hoda’s head turned and she looked from Fitz to Matt’s guard, both positioned near us. “But how? She won’t be alone alone. She’ll have that guy; he’s always around her. And I’m sure another guy will come.”

  I sighed.

  I understood Matt’s reluctance, but I had just woken up. This needed to be done and the time was now. Camille Story was connected to Quinn, and Quinn was connected to Calhoun. Kash wouldn’t let me go with him on a trip against Calhoun, but this was here. This was local. This was me getting inside a room, and then inside a computer system. That was my wheelhouse.

  It needed to be done, and I could see that Hoda wanted to be released from the hold I had on her accounts. I got it. I understood.

  “I’ll call Kash.”

  Hoda’s eyebrows snapped up, all the way to her hairline. But she didn’t say anything. She grabbed her drink and sucked down some of her ice.

  Matt threw a quick scowl my way. “Like he’ll allow you to do this. Come on. Team Batt. I should be going in that room with you, not Kash.”

  “You know it won’t work if you’re there. You’re the bait. You have to draw her out and keep her out so I have time to get in and hack her, too.”

  He swore, low and dark and under his breath, all the while still glaring at me. “I do not like this plan.”

  “I’ll tell Kash.”

  He snorted. “No, you won’t. Kash won’t let you anywhere near that apartment, and you know it. You continuing to say you’ll call him is a load of bullshit. Who are you going to actually call?”

  Well. Crap. He just called my bluff.

  Another snort from him. “Like I don’t know my sister by now. I know you, B. And you’ve got the Chrissy Hayes look in you.”

  That made me smile. It made me tear up, but the smile overshadowed the rest. I could handle the smile, and he was right. This was a total Chrissy Hayes move.

  “I’ll … I’ll call…” Crap. Who could I call? He was right about Kash.

  “You can’t call Torie; she’ll tell Kash. You can’t call Tamara without Torie finding out. You can’t call your friend Melissa, the cute little one. She’ll faint at just the mention of breaking and entering. You need someone who’s good at getting in places, who won’t think twice about any of it, and who’ll keep their damn mouth shut.”

  I blinked. “Who?”

  He grinned, another one of those slow, spreading ones, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood right up. “I know someone.”

  TEN

  Bailey

  Tony.

  I braked going around the corner to where Camille Story had her lair.

  Tony?

  “You’re kidding me!”

  Tony Cottweiler was one of Matt’s friends, the wealthy asshole friend who liked to get away with any sort of sexual act while sitting next to me in their booth. That Tony.

  I was instantly growling.

  He grinned, leaning one shoulder against the wall, and slid his hands into his pockets. He was dressed for the job. All black. Black jeans. Black shoes. I noticed they were the ones Seraphina was raving about, since they weren’t in stores yet, and he had on a black thermal shirt under a black leather jacket.

  “What are you doing after this? Going straight to Naveah?”

  His hair was even messily rumpled, and grrr … I wasn’t happy about this change, not one bit.

  He laughed, rubbing a hand over his jaw. “Man. Your reaction right there was more than enough to do this. Matt promised me you’d be pissed, but I think I just got a hard-on.”

  “Gross.”

  His shoulders kept shaking in laughter, but he grew somber a second later when Fitz came around the corner. Tony straightened from the wall. “What?” He motioned behind me. “We can’t break into an apartment when you have a guard with you.”

  I looked over my shoulder.

  Fitz hadn’t spoken a word when we made up the plan or left for the plan, and now we were here to activate the plan. Not one word. I should’ve been worried about that, but I was also not in the mindset to look a gift horse in the mouth.

  I just shrugged. “He won’t say anything.”

  Tony let out a long, dramatic curse. “Are you kidding me? He probably called Kash while you guys were figuring out this whole plan in the first place.”

  I looked at Fitz. “Did you?”

  He just looked down at me, not a blink.

  I groaned.

  Tony cursed again. “Fuck!”

  Well, crappers.

  I took a breath. “How long do we have?”

  Now he talked. And he blinked. “Seven minutes, if even.”

  Tony pushed farther away from the wall, stalking over. “Is Kash coming himself?”

  Fitz swung his head to Tony, but he was done talking. He had fulfilled his daily minimum apparently.

  Tony flicked his eyes upward, his hand going to the back of his neck before he motioned to me. “I’m getting you in, then I’m taking off. I don’t want to be here when Colello shows up. He’ll rip me to pieces.”

  He turned, leading the way to Camille’s door, and took out a set of keys.

  I eyed him, trailing behind. “Do you do this often? Is that why Matt sent you?”

  “What?”

  I motioned from him to the door, and to his keys. “Breaking and entering. You do this often?”

  He laughed. “My dad owns this building. Matt sent me because I have a universal key to every apartment and door.”

  Oh.

  Oh!

  Well, then. “Guess we’re not really breaking and entering, then?”

  “No, we are. I have no right to enter her apartment when she’s renting it, but I know the security guys. Got ’em to turn off the cameras for the next three hours.” He inserted the key. It fit. He paused and looked at me. “I mean it. I was going to stick around and wait, but if Lethal Boy Toy is on his way, no way am I sticking around.”

  “Seraphina has a crush on you.”

  He almost fell into the wall from my words. His eyes went wide. “And? A lot of chicks have crushes on me.”

  “She’s too young for you.”

  “No shit.” His face was clouding over, becoming more stormy as I kept on. “Why do you feel the need to make this an issue? I’m not into kiddie porn, if you get my drift.”

  “You’re not a good idea.”

  His mouth opened and an aghast mewl came from him before he jerked his hand up. Keys dangled from his fingers and he raised them higher. “You wanna rethink pissing me off? I have one more door to open for you.”

  I narrowed my eyes. I wasn’t intimidated by him one bit, and I stepped into his space. He was taller than me, so my head had to angle up, but I was hoping to make up for the fierceness of it with my words and by closing my eyes almost to slits.

  “I remember the sex house party. You had girls jerk you off with me sitting next to you, knowing I couldn’t leave the booth. You got a blowjob beside that same booth minutes earlier, and I might’ve been in a grief zombie state, but I clicked back to the present. I saw you making Seraphina laugh at bowling.”

  His eyes were blazing, but he kept his mouth shut.

  I kept on. “I don’t want her to romanticize you. I get if you were just being nice, but she’s young. She’s impressionable.” I half cringed because I could hear Chrissy Hayes speaking through me. “But you know she has a crush on you. Don’t encourage it. That’s all I’m asking.”

  His anger lessened as I spoke. His jaw wasn’t as tight and his scowl eased. He was almost thoughtful by the end. He didn’t respond right away, taking the time to rub his jaw once before letting a soft curse slip free. He turned, going through the apartment.

  It was a simple layout.

  Kitchen and dining room on our right. Living room straight ahead. Going past the living room, there was the bathroom. Two bedroom doors beyond. I noted the pile of blankets folded at the end of the couch. That must’ve been where Hoda stayed.

  Tony tested one doorknob. Locked.

  He tested the other; it opened to a bedroom.

  Door number one it was.

  Fitting his key into the doorknob, he paused before opening it. “If she’s as anal as Matt suggested, she’ll probably have an alarm on the other side of this door. You prepared for that?”

  I wasn’t too knowledgeable about door alarms or security alarms, but I had my backpack of gadgets. I hoisted it tighter on my back. “I’ll improvise.”

  He scanned my face. “Right.” A beat. Then, “And I hear you about Seraphina. I won’t encourage it. That’s my good deed for karma.”

  I cocked an eyebrow up. “This isn’t your good deed?”

  He flashed me a grin. “Matt owes me a surfing trip for this. We’re taking your dad’s jet next weekend.” He opened the door, and a blaring horn pierced the air right afterward.

  “Okay. My job’s done. Lock up behind you if you don’t get caught.”

  I didn’t watch him leave but I heard the door shut. A second later, as I had pulled my bag off my back and was rifling through it, Fitz moved around me. He went to a plastic box set next to the doorframe.

  “What are you—”

  I stopped talking. It was pointless.

  He took a knife out, jimmied open the box, and yanked out a cord. Lovely silence filled the room next.

  “Thanks.” I wasn’t going to question him on how he knew to do that, either. Only made sense that security guards Kash employed would have special breaking and entering skills. I had a feeling they had a whole lot more skills to go with that—more than normal guards would have.

  “She could’ve rigged that to send an alarm to her phone. I’ll call Matt, see if he can play distraction from her phone, too.” He motioned to her computer. “I’d get working on that ASAP, because even though I don’t like Tony, he wasn’t wrong about Kash. He’ll be here in three minutes, and he’s pissed.” He paused. “At both of us.”

  He stepped back, his phone in hand, and I hurried to Camille’s computer.

  ELEVEN

  Kash

  Camille Story’s building didn’t have an elevator, and she lived on the fifth floor. I took two to three steps at a time, loping up. Josh was right behind me; so were a couple others. Fitz knew we were coming. He had called it in, and instead of reporting what was happening, he just put me on a different channel.

  I listened to the entire conversation.

  Fitz asked later for my orders, but I told him to let Bailey proceed. I intended to get here before she got inside, but I hadn’t counted on Matt calling in the building owner’s son, who would have a key and would have no qualm letting Bailey illegally enter an apartment. A call to their security staff reassured me that Tony had thought ahead and had the feeds pulled, so at least there’d be no record of Bailey even being present.

  Fitz was waiting for us in the hallway when we topped the last set of stairs.

  He jerked his head backward. “She’s inside, doing her thing.” He closed his mouth at the end, and I stopped.

  I waited.

  He looked at me, his eyes darting inside.

  I grunted. “Say whatever you got to say.”

  “She needs this.”

  His words came swift and without hesitation once I gave him the go-ahead.

  I settled farther back on my heels. “Explain.”

  I was pretty certain I knew, but these guys were around us almost twenty-four/seven. They got time to sleep. We had the eight-hour shift set in place, but sometimes they chose to stay, and they did that because they worried, because they were almost family by now.

  Just before Chrissy’s murder, I had started to wean some of Bailey’s regular guards and use them myself because their skill sets fit my purposes better for the path I was taking against Calhoun. But Fitz was one I kept on Bailey. He was one of her main guys. I trusted Fitz. He was good at his job, and his leadership was outstanding.

  He was also a professional, and that meant a lot of his personal opinions, as with most of my men, were kept to themselves. So, hearing and seeing him wanting to express his own thoughts now, I was not foolish enough to not want to hear them. I welcomed it.

  “I know you probably know what I’m going to say. She’s awake again. That light went out after her mother died. It’s been gone, but it’s back, and the more she planned with Matt and the other one, the more that light grew. She needs to be a part of this fight, not on the sidelines. She needs it on a vital human level, and that’s all I’m saying.” A beat. “Other than to say, it’s really nice to see her back again.” He inclined his head. “I’m done now.”

  That meant I’d put the right guy on her.

  I nodded and clapped him on the arm. “After this, you’ll be getting a hell of a promotion.”