Fiance Next Door

“They weren’t trying to kill me,” Leander says. “Just trying to teach me a lesson.”

I lift my hands. “Hey, I’m not judging your friends. All I’m saying is that I think you need another friend. A different friend. Maybe you can ask Mason. He is your brother.”

“What? You think he can help me?”

I shrug. “You can try asking.”

“You think he can do anything, don’t you? You think he’s a hero. A god.”

“I think he cares about you more than you know.”

Leander snorts. “I don’t need him to care about me. I just need him to do this job, which he will because he cares about you. More than you know.”

Unfortunately, I think he’s right.

“You’re really going to force your brother to commit a crime?” I ask Leander.

I was hoping I could turn him, but I guess he’s too far gone.

“Oh, I’m sure he’ll cover his tracks. For his own sake, I hope he does.”

Leander is too far gone. I don’t know why I thought I could reach him, why I thought there was still some good in him. There’s obviously none.

He’s turned into a monster.

Leander glances at his watch. “You know what? I think Mason will be here soon.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight ~ What I Have To Do

Mason

I arrive at the address, the site of an abandoned warehouse, fifteen minutes before midnight. I wait patiently inside my car and get out once I see the door of the warehouse open. Three men come to get me. One of them checks me from head to foot to make sure I’m not carrying a gun.

I’m not. I don’t need one.

“Give me your car keys,” one of them demands.

“Where’s my wife?” I demand in turn.

From the onset, I intend to let them know I mean business.

One of them shows me a picture of Aster, her wrists cuffed to a pipe. Relief floods my chest, followed a second later by anger stabbing my gut.

How dare they put her in chains.

Still, I force myself to calm down. “Where is she?”

“Inside.”

I hand them my keys. They lead me inside the warehouse. Behind some crates, there’s a door in the floor, like the one you find in a cellar. One of the men lifts it and we go down two flights of stairs. Then it’s a maze of rooms. Finally, we enter one. There are three computers on the table.

I thought I knew what they wanted from me. I was right.

I look around the room. No sign of Leander. He must be with Aster. I recognize some of the men here from the photos I found, though.

“Where is my wife?” I ask again.

The man at the end of the room – I recognize him as a former CIA operative code-named Spike – stands up from his chair.

“You’ll see her any second now.”

“And you’ll let her go?”

Spike grins. “Only when you’re done with the job. Then both of you can go.”

“What job?” I feign ignorance.

“Oh, just another hacking job.”

I meet his gaze squarely. “Let me guess. It’s the same job Owens wanted me to do.”

He chuckles. “They said you were smart.”

“I thought he found someone else. I thought he didn’t need me anymore. Isn’t that why he tried to get rid of me?”

“And he failed,” Spike says. “And now, he’s in jail.”

“Well, aren’t you going to let him out?”

“No,” he answers simply. “We don’t need him. He’s incompetent. But we need you because you’re the best, aren’t you?”

I grin. “I’m flattered you think so. Or was it my brother who told you?”

Before he can answer, the other door to the room opens. A man brings Aster in. A quick glance at her tells me she’s fine. Good. I wouldn’t know what to do if anything happened to her or our unborn child.

I want to run to her and wrap my arms around her, but I stand still. I can’t let them see just how much she means to me.

“Where’s Leander?” I ask Aster. “I thought he was with you.”

“So you know your brother is working with us, hmm?” Spike asks me. “How does it feel to be betrayed by your own brother?”

I shrug. “I never liked him anyway.”

Spike laughs.

“Are you alright?” I ask Aster.

“I’m fine,” she says. “Just do what you have to do.”

“Oh.” Spike strokes his chin. “She’s a fine woman, isn’t she?”

He walks towards her and stands right in front of her.

“She’s beautiful, too.” He takes a few strands of her hair.

My stomach clenches. “Don’t you dare touch her.”

Spike lets Aster’s hair go and turns to me, laughing. “You really care about her, don’t you?”

Shit.

“And here I thought you would no longer have a heart. How could you after what you did to that village in West Africa?”

I stiffen.

“Oh, yes,” Spike says. “I know what you did. The question is: Does your wife know?”

He turns to her and Aster’s eyebrows furrow. Curiosity gleams in her eyes.