Page 18 of Hacked For Love
The behemoth nods slowly.“Look, cousin, we don’t get paid to bring trouble to the wrong door. But you know that if we don’t find the Boss a scapegoat soon, he’s probably gonna take this out onus.”
“He’s not gonna do that, Joey, we’re made men. He’ll give us time to find the right guy.”But Scarface has his doubts. I can see it in hiseyes.
“But what happens if we can’t find the rightguy?”
Scarface cuts his eyes over to me as I smile blandly.“Then we give him the convenientguy.”
Once they are gone, I pour the two fingers of Glenmorangie left in the bottle into my own glass and savor it, breathing deep as I find my center again. I call the desk to have them stand down the alert, and then callJohn.
“There’s a good chance that Marcone will be sending a cleaning crew after my hand within the next week.” My voice is low and hard, and I hear him suckair.
“I half expected it tonight when you brought us up to a Code Six. The helicopter’s fueled and prepped on the rooftop, lethal rounds were distributed, and we have reinforcements and medical personnel onstandby.”
“All right. Drop it down to a Code Four for now. Keep the damn helicopter ready unless wind speeds endanger her. I’ll fly her out of here myself if it comes down to it. I want reinforcements kept on-call, but let them go home and get some sleep.” I take another sip ofScotch.
“I want supervisors only to keep their lethals and check the others in the exterior duty lockers. I don’t want any nervous rookies getting trigger-happy.” I rub my chin. “I’m going to be keeping my panic button handy just incase.”
Some men have panic rooms. I have a panic penthouse. The outer doors bolt like a bank vault when it goes on lock-down, the armored window glass polarizes to prevent snipers from attempting a lock on my location, and I have an escape tunnel that leads to the helipad aboveus.
I have food stores and essentials for six months, including luxuries—from toiletries to massage oil to my wine cellar. I have solar- and wind-charged house batteries backing up my power, a satellite uplink to ensure connectivity, and an emergency water tank that could last up to a month for five people. If Marcone’s goons think I’m a convenient target, they’ll soon realize how wrong theyare.
“So, while we’re preparing, what are you going to do?” John is typing away at something while we talk. I assume he’s e-mailing his fourassistants.
“I’m going to enlist the hacker who started this mess to throw Marcone off the scent. She led him to my door,” I say firmly, trying to ignore how the prospect of bringing Robin here, alone—tonight—excites me. “She can damn well lead him awayagain.”
Chapter9
Robin
I try not to stare as I walk into Drake’s museum of a penthouse, but it’s tough. I’ve never seen anything like this place. The ceiling soars up twenty feet to a series of domes set with mirrored mosaics and inset lights; each dome is supported by towering pillars of polished wood. The floor is an acre of elaborately inlaid wood, with scattered islands of furniture and thick Persianrugs.
Aside from the bathroom, his whole life is on display—the breakfast alcove beside the stainless steel and copper kitchen, the indoor jacuzzi, the sprawling black-sheeted bed. Out front, greeting everyone coming in the main door, is his enormous steel and wood battleship of a desk, which he’s standing beside as I walkin.
“Thank you for coming so quickly,” he says tiredly, and I feel a stab of guilt that pulls me out of my reverie. “You said you were willing to do what it took to get Marcone off my back, and it seems we’re short ontime.”
“I will,” I walk over slowly, rubbing the corners of my eyes. He’s already briefed me on his encounter with Marcone’s goons. “I wouldn’t have risked coming here if I wasn’tcommitted.”
“Good to know. Though for the record, this place is set up to withstand a siege from a small army.” He sounds proud, and I look back at the huge doors I just walkedthrough.
“I can believe it.” I look around again. “What’s your escaperoute?”
“Hidden passage to the rooftop where there’s a helipad. I fly out.” He seems to want to reassure me that I am safe here. That I can safelystayhere, even if Marcone’s men end up on the hunt for both ofus.
Maybe he wants me to stay. At least for awhile.
I glance over at the enormous bed with its carved wood frame and towering posts. “You…don’t seem entirely set up for guests here,” Imurmur.
“I’ve only ever had lovers here overnight,” he admits, his dark lashes shading his eyes briefly. “But…if things don’t turn in that direction, I do have a comfortablecouch.”
“I’ve slept on a lot worse,” I say gamely, and he chuckles and shakes hishead.
“If this hacking job I need you to do on Marcone goes long enough that we need rest, you’re taking my bed.” His smile broadens, going just a touch sly. “Whether I’m in it as well or not, I’ll leave up toyou.”
Both his gallantry and his bald flirtation startle me into silence. My cheeks start prickling again.Damnit.
“I’m surprised you’re not angry at me,” I admit cautiously. I’m still waiting for the hook in all the bait he’s waving—the trap behind these strange, perilously distracting goodfeelings.
“If you had not come right over to fix this as you promised, then I’d be angry at you. But you did, and here you are. And besides, even if I was angry at you, I know you would do the right thingeventually.”
