Page 43 of Dangerous Devotion

I rolled my eyes. “I’d rather have a fork stuck in my left eye.”

“Why the left eye?”

“Because my right side is prettier,” I quipped, turned my head, and exaggeratingly fluttered my eyelashes.

Dom raised an eyebrow. “If you hate it so much, why go through with it; why not fight him?”

I sighed, my smile fading. “Because it’s what Vince needs.”

Dom nodded, a look of approval crossing his face. “I see.” Then he turned and walked away.

What a weird encounter. I’d expected him to be much more easygoing. He and Vince had laughed a lot back in NYC when I’d followed them and watched them. Apparently, Vince’s friend was just like him. Guarded and highly protective of him.

I made my way to Isabella, who was huddled under layers by the pool. As I approached, she looked up and smiled, patting the space next to her.

“Hey there, bride-to-be,” she teased as I sat down.

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t remind me. This whole wedding thing is driving me bonkers.”

She nodded sympathetically. “I can imagine. But hey, at least we’re not dealing with any fallout from that identity auction, right?”

I paused, considering her words. “You know, now that you mention it, do you think we overreacted?”

She shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. I’ve been doing some digging, and for the life of me, I can’t find out who bought the list. This, in itself, makes me kind of worried.”

“But your name isn’t on that list, right?” I’ve been wondering about that since she’d mentioned it. Somehow, in the way she talked about it, I got the feeling she was worried about my identity being disclosed but not her own.

She glanced at me sideways, the look in her eyes hesitant. “No, it’s not, at least not my real one.”

Relief washed over me, paired with a strange sense of sadness. I thought we were both in the same boat, which had been strangely comforting. I smiled at her. “That’s good news, I guess.” But then, her earlier words sunk in and quickly replaced my mixed feelings with a new worry. “Why does not finding the buyer make you worried?”

Isa’s expression turned serious. “Because it means they know what they’re doing. And that’s alarming in multiple ways.”

I nodded.

“On another note. I’ve managed to… Well, let’s just say, Iset’s gotten access to some interesting information.”

My eyebrows shot up. “What kind of information?”

She leaned in close, lowering her voice. “I hacked into my father’s computer a while ago and created a backdoor just in case. And as it turns out, I still have access.”

I grinned, both surprised and impressed. So, I wasn’t the only one who hacked into her father’s system. We were more similar than I thought we were. “Are you sure you and me aren’t related?”

She grinned, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Well, we’ll be sisters soon enough. But listen, what I found…” She suddenly looked around.

“Let’s move a little farther away from the house,” she said, got up, and gathered her blanket.

Isabella and I moved to a secluded, overgrown pergola near the edge of the property, away from prying eyes and ears. She opened her laptop, and I huddled close, both for warmth and to see the screen.

“Okay, so here’s how Iset got in,” she whispered, her fingers flying over the keyboard. “My father’s not exactly tech-savvy, so his password was laughable. A few well-placed keyloggers and some well-timed visits to his office, and voila! Though hiding from Bianchi, SGE’s head of cybersecurity, wasn’t that easy.”

I watched in awe as she navigated through folders and files. “You’re impressive. And terrifying.”

She smirked. “Thanks. Now, let’s see what we can find about these supposed hitmen.”

We scoured through emails and documents, looking for anything suspicious. Most of it was mundane business stuff, but then something caught my eye.

“Wait, go back,” I said, pointing at the screen. “That email there.”

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