Page 58 of Dangerous Men
Still, I can’t help but wonder what she’s doing right now.
“Everything you’ve given me is next to useless,” I say. There’s enough of an edge to my voice that it makes Dave flinch. “Did you at least get the surveillance pictures I asked for?”
The one thing Sebastian did send to me today was a short list of suspects to keep an eye out for. I had them sent to our security department, making sure they combed the security footage available from our clubs to pinpoint if any of them were showing up to cause trouble.
“Uh…yes, sir. Of course, sir.” Dave shuffles with the papers in front of him before pulling them out. “We got those pictures back this morning, but there was nothing new in them. There’s no one matching Dante’s description, but we pulled some of our regulars, and there was only one potential match to your list—” He stills as I rip the pictures out of his hand. My breath catches.
Fuck.
Of all the names on Sebastian’s list, this is the one I least expected.
“Annika,” I mutter, fighting to keep my face blank.
There’s no denying it’s her. The camera caught her full, upturned face, her eyes fixed on the lens as though she was staring right at me.
I refuse to show any sort of reaction in front of these people. I need them to respect me. Fear me. I’ve worked tocurate a very specific image of myself. But I can’t help myself as I process this new information. There’s no amount of control that could keep me from reacting to seeing her.
Now it makes sense.
Because there is one obvious person who knew enough about Dante’s organization to come after us. One person loyal enough to that asshole that they might have actually cared when we wiped him off the face of the Earth.
But we’d left her alone. And over the years, she dropped off our radar completely. Out of sight, out of mind. Isn’t that exactly where she did her best work? Annika excelled at being a ghost. At pulling strings behind the scenes.
She looks good, I admit as I stare down at the picture. She always did. Statuesque, beautiful, with flawless pale skin. Her white-blonde hair is shorter now, cut in an abrupt bob just below her ears. If I didn’t know that this woman was made of pure evil…
Annika loves a long game. She’s methodical and ruthless. The sort of woman who knows exactly how to break people down and doesn’t care how long it takes. And she’d know nothing would unnerve us more than the hint that Dante might still be in play. Might still be alive.
This information changes everything. And now I'm left with the impossible task of relaying this to my brothers. How do I bring up a ghost that we’ve agreed to never mention again?
How do I break this little piece of information to Sebastian?
“Everyone out,” I command with a finality in my voice no one would dare argue with.
They pack up and head for the doors without a word. But I know they’re still waiting outside in the next room, staying close by so I can call them back in here if I need them.
I sit frozen in that spot as the minutes tick by, watching thesun as it disappears over the horizon and darkness creeps over the city.
My city.
Annika was always loyal to Dante, but so were we all at one point. We made a mistake thinking she would join us in breaking away from him.Trustingher was a mistake.
Under all her charm and beauty, there’s no moral compass at all. Just like her father.
I release a heavy breath. Annika’s return is a problem I won’t be able to solve in one night. And as much as I hate the idea of uprooting our peaceful dynamic, if she is back and hellbent on revenge, I need to let my brothers know. All of them.
Because if Sebastian finds out from someone else, it’ll cause an even bigger issue. And an unstable Sebastian is the last thing we need right now.
But what do I need?
My thoughts stray back to a specific little temptress. Maybe I could use a bit of a distraction to help work through this issue. Yeah…that’s exactly what I need right now.
With a smile growing on my face, I take out my phone and snap a picture.
24
SYDNEY
My phone chimesjust as I’ve finished drying my hair and slipped into my favorite oversized sleep shirt, ready to curl up under the covers for the night.
