Complicate (Deliver 9)

“Yes.” Kate bent over the kid’s body, eyes narrowed on his shoulder while Cole held a small flashlight on the wound. “It’s a graze. Not deep enough to need stitches.” She laughed, coughed against the back of her hand, and laughed again. “He passed out from a scratch.”

Cole’s face broke out in a grin, and within seconds, everyone in the vehicle was laughing, including Tiago as he tore through the streets, outrunning the Romanian Police.

“Search his pockets,” Lydia said. “See if there’s an ID.”

Cole rummaged through PaulVer’s clothing in the dark. “No, ID. But this was in his satchel.” Cole held up a slim laptop.

His eyes, chocolaty and warm, latched onto hers. They stared at each other, letting the moment sink in.

“You did it,” he whispered, setting aside the laptop.

“We did it.”

Now they just needed PaulVer to do the rest.

Cole inched forward and gripped her neck, bringing their mouths together. He kissed her softly, adoringly, humming his happiness. She returned the kiss, sharing in his joy, her soul swelling and reaching for his.

“It’s almost over.” He smiled against her mouth.

“Doesn’t feel real.”

The trailing sound of sirens faded. Then disappeared completely. They’d lost the police, but Tiago didn’t slow. He flew down the sleepy Romanian streets, keeping pace with their friends in the other SUV.

“He’s waking,” Kate whispered, taping up the bandage.

Cole leaned back, letting Lydia bend toward the backseat.

“Hey, there,” she said softly. “Remember me?”

A heavy rasp pushed past PaulVer’s teeth, his thick black eyebrows twitching as he dragged open his eyes.

His dark brown gaze struggled to focus, his eyelashes blinking rapidly, until finally, he centered his sight on her.

“You’re my angel,” he said dazedly. “My beautiful, perfect angel. Do you like the egg?”

“I love it. Thank you for giving it to me. I’ve been trying to earn one of your gifts for over a year.”

“You…” He was sprawled in the backseat between Cole and Kate, seemingly unaware of where he was. He hadn’t taken his eyes off Lydia. “You knew about the Easter eggs?”

“I know it’s your calling card, and each night you go out, you give one to your favorite dancer. It’s very mysterious. You like that, don’t you? You like leaving a trail of mysterious eggs that no one will ever figure out.”

His boyish smile appeared out of place with the sexual heat simmering in his foggy gaze. The kid was certainly unconventional and strange. But eccentricity was often associated with intellectual giftedness. As the most notorious hacker in the world, he was undoubtedly a genius.

“How did you find…?” His face paled, eyes widening as he shot up and gripped his bandaged arm. “Oh my God! I got shot!”

“The bullet grazed you. You’re fine.”

He didn’t seem to hear her as he wildly looked around the car, taking in the other passengers.

“Who are you?” He pulled his feet up onto the seat, gasping and scrambling to get away with nowhere to go.

Cole gently held him in place as she reached out a hand, touching the kid’s knee, trying to soothe him.

“We didn’t shoot you, PaulVer. We’re a vigilante team.” She met his terrified gaze. “The shooters were assassins hired by Vincent Barrington. The President-elect is trying to kill me and anyone involved in exposing his crimes.”

He stilled, his expression awash with disbelief. Then his breathing sped up, his voice rising in volume and urgency. “Let me out. Stop the car. Let me out of the fucking car!”

Everyone in the civilized world knew who Vincent Barrington was. She couldn’t expect him to believe her fantastical claim, and at this point, there was no calming him down.

Matias drove the other SUV, leading them to the rendezvous point. In the meantime, she just needed to tell PaulVer her story and hope he wasn’t too scared out of his mind to listen.

“Twelve years ago, Vincent Barrington killed my father in a Russian hotel room. My father was NSA, and the murder was recorded. That recording is in the hands of the Romanian mafia. I need you to get that video file.”

He shook his head rapidly, but the pace of his breaths lost momentum. He was listening, despite his fear. He was listening because he was too smart not to pay attention.

She started over from the beginning, filling in details about her dad, her ruse as a swallow in Vincent’s employment, Mike’s death, her fourteen-month hunt for his Easter eggs, and his ability to bring justice for all of it.

“You’re vigilantes.” He swallowed, eying Cole with suspicion. “Like…you kill people?”

“We killed the fuckers who shot you.” Tiago jerked the wheel, deliberately causing PaulVer to tumble into Cole.

She exchanged a look with Cole, attempting to borrow some of his composed patience.

“We’re part of a vigilante team that eliminates evil people.” She reached up and pulled off her blue wig, letting him see her natural red hair, her identity. “Human sex traffickers, pedophiles, and greedy, corrupt politicians.” She sighed. “Look, I’m only asking if you can hack into the Romanian mafia’s network and steal the recording, watch the video, and decide for yourself.”