Page 3 of The Heart

“Okay, how abo–”And… she already hung up.

I toss my phone to the other side of the empty couch and lean my head back to stare up at the vaulted ceiling. The fan spins above me, casting long, slow shadows from its blades.

I guess I could go to the gym. Or maybe I’ll just go back to sleep, it’s going to be a long night anyway.

I feel the vibration of my phone ringing through the couch. I tip my head to the side, trying to see who the call is from, but the screen is face-down. I grumble, then flop over onto my stomach to reach it, resting my forehead on the couch. I don’t even look at who it is as I jam the phone to my ear, my voice slightly muffled by the fabric when I answer.

“Fisher,” I clip my last name, my tone flat.

“Are you awake because you’re jerking off or because you never went to sleep? If it’s that first one, I’m hanging up until you put your dick away,” a deep, monotone voice says through the phone.

“Sebastian-fucking-Chase.” I quickly sit up, resting an arm across the back of the couch and propping my ankle up on one knee, my smile wide at hearing my friend’s voice. “I didn’t know that becoming a private investigator would make you so interested in the location of my dick. Unfortunately, it’s properly stowed.”

“Thank fuck for that.” He chuckles.

“Man, where the hell have you been? It’s been a while since you and Lu have shown your ugly faces around here.”

“That’s why I’m calling. You know that op we’ve been on? What’s it been, two years?”

“Sounds about right,” I say.

It’s been a year and eight months, but whatever.

“Well, it’s over, and we’re getting out of this city.”

“No shit?” I smile, because it’s about fucking time they left that hellhole. I hated visiting the few times that I did, especially with the Deck of assholes at each other’s throats the way they’ve been the past few years. Everyone knows The King of Hearts runs that city. Whatever he did to piss off the other gangs, also named after various playing cards, has caused more bloodshed among the Deck than I care to think about. Not to mention the fucking mess Sebastian and Luke made out of the Jack of Spades’ headquarters when they rescued that girl a month or so back.

I honestly don’t know what went through their thick skulls to make them dive back into that shit.

“We’re thinking of heading back your way,” Sebastian says and I tap my thumb, waiting for him to continue. “We have a job for you, if you’re interested?”

I let the words hang in the air as I glance around the empty studio. My eyes find their way to the attached dining room. To the table I’ve never fucking used.

Staring back at my thumb, I halt it and smile.

“I’m in.”

CHAPTER ONE

LEENA

FOUR MONTHS LATER

It’s four forty-five in the evening and the alarm on my phone chimes, letting me know that it’s time for me to drag my ass out of this van and go inside. For the first time, I’m actually participating in this op, not just running things behind the scenes; which means I had to fix my hair, my makeup and I even put on a dress. Sure, my SIG is loaded and strapped to my thigh, hidden under folds of fabric… but still, I’m dressed up.

And I’m having a hard time leaving.

“Are you sure all the live feeds are pulled up? And what about the comms, are they set to the right channels?” I ask, frantically looking over the shoulder of our tech, Ryan. Our intern, Ava, is smiling up at me from the seat next to him.

“Leena.”Ryan glares up at me over the top of his glasses.

“Okay, okay. You’re right. It’ll be fine,” I say, and I’m not sure who I’m convincing. Ryan knows what he’s doing, the guys and I wouldn’t have hired him if he didn’t.

And even though it’s Ava’s first official op in the field, Ryan and I spent the last several weeks training her. I have no doubt she’ll do a great job.

Sebastian, Luke and I were planning on hiring someone with more experience, but after reviewing several dozen applications, the girl impressed the hell out of us. Despite having no experience, she’s smart, organized and eager to learn. Everyone deserves a shot to do something they’re passionate about, so we felt good about giving her a chance as an intern.

“Ava and I’ve got this. And you know how to run surveillance, you’ll do fine. Just stay alert, report back and pretend like you’re having fun. We’ll handle the rest. You’ve put together a good team here,” he says, pushing his glasses back up his nose to smile up at me.

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