Page 86 of Heart of a Villain

She squeezed again.

This time, she was trying to communicate: “We don’t need to be talking to this man longer than necessary. Something’s not right about him.”

“My brother? He’s watching.” The man paused, looked to his left, and smiled, and a chill crept up Sayeda’s spine. “Me and my brother, we’re going to see you later. Maybe you like pairs as well. Goodbye.”

He walked off.

The doors closed.

Another hand stopped them—Joel, dressed in all black.

“Did you see him?” Ayesha asked. “I tried to get him to stick around a little longer. I don’t know how you do it, but it’s like you have an alarm that tells you when a man’s hitting on me.”

Joel half smiled, staring in the direction the man left. “I didn’t get a good look at him. Did he say what his name was?”

“No.” Ayesha took a step forward. “Babe, is there something I should know? Something we should know? And I mean we, as in everyone except Mo, probably.”

Joel slowly shook his head as his gaze returned to them, but his usually bright eyes were dark. It didn’t take being married to him to know that something was up, but the “something” could simply be that Joel didn’t enjoy strange men talking to Ayesha. It didn’t have to be the “Novi and Paoli are in the building” variety, although Sayeda suspected they were close to the line.

“I’ll go with you up to Xara’s before heading back down,” Joel said, joining them in the elevator. “We’re meeting out front. Giorgio rented a limo.”

“All this for my birthday?”

“You’re his…whatever ‘little sister’ is in Russian. As much as he uses the phrase, you’d think I would remember.”

“And I still can’t know where we’re going?”

“Nope. It’s a surprise.”

Ayesha circled his wrist. “Joel, look me in the eyes and tell me the truth. Are you being you, wanting to assassinate any man who flirts with me?—”

“That fucker was flirting?”

The elevator stopped.

“I just said that,” she pointed out.

“I wasn’t paying attention.”

“You, not paying attention?” Sayeda hiccupped a laugh. “Is Novi in the building or something?”

Joel glanced at her. “If he shows up, point him out.”

“Trust me. I won’t have to.”

“Nothing’s wrong, wrong,” he added. “It’s the idea of being out in the open. I know the kids are fine with our families and the oddest babysitters known to humankind, but…you know.”

“Who are their babysitters?” Sayeda asked.

“Yakuza,” Joel said. “‘Retired’ Yakuza. Plus, two of them are former Secret Service. The mafia came with their own protection as well. Oh, and Trevor and Lilly. And Ares. Gage has been training him to kill, but don’t tell Tay.”

They walked ahead of him down the hall.

Sayeda glanced over her shoulder at him, and he wore the same expression Adrían did—brows dipped, shoulders firm, and a clear sense of alertness as if they were the only ones who knew a natural disaster was about to occur, and they were the only ones who could do something about it.

When they reached Xara’s door, Joel made sure he saw them safely inside before he left. Sayeda noticed Ayesha scan the room, and when Ayesha spotted Mo, she released a loud exhale.

“Mo’s here,” Ayesha said. “If Mo wasn’t here, then that would have meant that Gage ‘activated’ her. If Gage activates the team, there’s a significant threat.”

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