Page 93 of Knocked Up by my Best Friend's Brothers

“Christa, there’s no point,” Alexandra silencing me. “No matter what happens next, our family will survive, and you will still die. The manner in which you die, however, depends on whether you can help us undo the damage your malware will do in the next twenty-four hours.” She moves closer. “The longer you stall, the more you deflect, the more it will hurt.”

“I can’t believe you’d do this to another person, especially a pregnant woman,” I mutter.

“I don’t give a rat’s ass about you or your baby. I’ve got bigger fish to fry. But you’d do well to remember who holds the power here.”

“So, Spike incorporated additional features into my malware,” I conclude. “I’m guessing you thought you had us figured out while you were eavesdropping on our conversations. I’malso guessing you’ve got some marginally competent hackers working for you after the whole Perry-Sage fiasco. It makes sense. At least you’re trying to learn from your predecessors’ mistakes.”

Alexandra rolls her eyes at me. “Out with it, Christa. How do we stop it?”

“I have no idea. And if Spike didn’t tell me, it’s because he probably suspected you might have eyes or ears on me. There’s a reason I went to him for help, Alexandra. By the way, consider me impressed by your acting skills. I actually thought you were my friend.”

She smiles broadly. Vince isn’t amused, though. I can see the contempt in his eyes whenever he glances at his sister. There’s discord here, growing thick and poisonous between them. The greater the pressure, the greater the odds that one of them will slip up and do something stupid and self-destructive. My money’s on Vince.

“The minute I realized none of the Hawthornes were interested in me, I knew they had someone. I’d already heard the rumors, mind you,” Alexandra says. “Long before our little heart-to-heart the other day. It’s one of Portland’s not-so-well-kept secrets, but because of their power and prestige, nobody dares say anything bad about the Hawthornes in public. I understood then that I had to try a different approach.

“And I saw the way they looked at you, Christa. You’re their soft spot. I didn’t need to be a fly on the wall; I didn’t even need much high-tech surveillance on any of you to figure out what was going on. I was always miles ahead of you,” she adds.

“If you were miles ahead of us, why did you let us go ahead with the malware deployment last night?” I scoff.

For a second, I see the doubt. The sliver of shame. “I figured I’d let you get as close to your golden egg as possible before I snatched it away.”

“And I told you it was a bad idea,” Vince grumbles.

“I also had faith in our tech guys. Clearly, I shouldn’t have. Alexandra tries to shrug it off. “But hey, live and learn. I guess I’ll have to let them go and poach some smarter ones. Maybe I’ll go straight to CalTech this time.”

“You’re a heartless bitch,” I say. “This won’t end well for you.”

“It will end a lot worse for you,” she chuckles. “Nobody knows you’re here. Nobody knows who I am. They’re going to come after my brother, sure, but we have a contingency plan for that. They will not save you. In fact, I’ve prepared quite the trap for your boyfriends.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, shivers rushing down my spine.

She waves my question away. “Oh, I’ll tell you all about it when it’s done. I want to make sure you hear and see all the details before I kill you.”

“You’re going after them,” I gasp.

“You care about them the most.”

“Alexandra, don’t. Stop now before it’s too late.”

She laughs. “That’s rich, coming from you.” She nods at her brother. “Keep her fed and hydrated in the meantime. It’ll be back by sunrise. Our boys are in position.”

“Whatever,” Vince grumbles.

As soon as Alexandra leaves, he walks over to the window and looks out. I notice the anger pressing his lips into a thin line as he watches his sister go. I can almost hear the roaring inside his head. It’s a tale as old as time: the battle between the dominant and the submissive, between the general and the grunt.

In this case, however, that Italian man’s pride might actually come in handy.

“So, she’s actually the boss,” I mutter.

“Shut your fucking mouth. I’m done listening to you.”

“Is killing me a way for you to get the best seat at the Mancini table? Does it matter which of you gets it?” I ask. “How does it work? I’m genuinely curious.”

He gives me a furious look. “What are you trying to say?”

“I’m really just asking,” I innocently reply. “Because I’ve been thinking… with your dad in prison, who took his place within the family? I know you have seats, official positions, responsibilities, and so on. So, who got your dad’s?”

“Our uncle,” he says. Fortunately, Vince is like an open book to me.

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