Page 45 of Scars He Gave Me (Bratva Crime Syndicate 2)

I pick up and dial Leila’s extension at work. “Leila Cross,” she answers. It’s never hello, never a greeting more than her name. I wish I had the suave demeanor to pull that off. I’d just sound like a raging bitch.

“Hey, it’s me.”

“Where did you go? I looked for you, but …”

Obviously, I don’t need her to finish. I know I wasn’t there. But I want to know what she knows. About Tomas. And if she’s in on Flash Bomb. I hate that she’s my best friend and that I’m doubting her. I’m ashamed, but I’ve also been shot at today, so if it ever comes up between us, I’ll explain, and tell her I’ve developed trust issues.

“I got sick.” I lie before it occurs to me not to lie. But I’m a good actress, and I improv another cough and two loud sniffles which induce another cough.

“You didn’t look sick.”Oh, now she’s the Kleenex police?

“It snuck up on me quick.” Another sniff and I fake vocal weakness like a champ. “I’m just not gonna be in for a couple days.”

“You know already you’re not going to be in tomorrow?” She chuckles. “Okay. Maybe I’ll stop by and pick you up some soup after work tonight, get a Redbox, something Brad Pitt maybe?”

I wince and all my confidence immediately vanishes. I had this vision in my head of Sherlock Holmes-ing her into telling me everything she knows. Some reverse psychology here, some quick wordplay there, and then boom, all her secrets would be mine.

I should’ve known that would never work. I’m stumbling at the first roadblock, and instead of finding the solution to all this insane shit that keeps bubbling up around me, I now just feel like a horrible friend.

I fake cough. “I’ll, uh, probably just sleep tonight. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

She laughs again. “Whatever suits you, darlin’. I forgot you’re at your mom’s.”

Oh, shit.I forgot I told her that’s where I’m staying. “Uh, yeah. So yeah, I’m, you know—taken care of.”

“Okay, well, if you need anything, call me. And feel better.”

The verdict is in. I suck. It didn’t take twelve of my peers to tell me that, either. I know it already. And I’m prepared to hang my head in shame, to feel all the awfulness that I deserve to feel then drown it in a glass of Russian vodka with a twist of orange and a splash of white soda.

Instead, I look at the computer. It’s calling to me. I need to unlock the secrets inside it, to put it back to the way it should be.

At least attacking this problem won’t come with any guilt attached. 1s and 0s don’t have feelings to consider.

In a minute flat, I’m tracing ISPs and watching the lines bounce from city to city and continent to continent. Then, one by one, I make the lines disappear. But for everyone I take out, a new one appears. Sophisticated. Actually, it looks like something I would do if I was on the wrong side of the law. Whoever did this knows how to cover their tracks.

Fortunately, I’m a cleanup girl myself. And I don’t even have to sit in front of the computer to make it do my bidding. I write the script to keep the sweep going then transfer the data to my phone. I need to monitor the progress, but I don’t want Tomas to know yet what I’m doing.

It’s probably vanity. I want to show off. Or maybe I want him to see what his tuition money purchased. Either way, I want to know who and what he’s dealing with and be confident that I can shut the person down before I mention it to him.

I stand to leave the office, but my phone rings. My mother. My stomach clenches. Fear grips my guts. I answer before I remember Tomas told me not to use the cell.

“Mom?” My voice cracks.

“Sweetheart! Tomas just delivered those plane tickets. You’re such a sweet girl.” I’m also about to pee my pants with relief. She’s fine. And she wouldn’t sound so chipper if Dad wasn’t also okay. “Tomas said you didn’t tell us ahead of time so we couldn’t say no.”

“I, um, I-I—” I’m suddenly a shitty liar. “I, uh, thought you needed some time away.”

“That’s why I love you so much. You’re so in tune with our auras and our spirits.”

I don’t roll my eyes. My mom has been this way my whole life. If I rolled my eyes every time she said something like that, they’d have gotten stuck like that a long time ago and I’d be walking around with a bird’s-eye view of the inside of my head.

“…And Jim at the grocery store was nice as pie when he gave me the time off. Said a trip out west to stay in a Beverly Hills mansion is once in a lifetime.” She sniffs and I can tell she’s on the verge of tears. “But, honey, how did you ever afford it …”

I can’t even imagine my mom’s accent on Rodeo Drive. I bet Rodeo Drive won’t be able to imagine it until they see it, either.

“You guys gave me everything. I’m giving some back where I can.”

The time off work is a bigger miracle than the trip. Jim at the grocery store isn’t known for his kind demeanor. But he isn’t nearly so bad as Brad the foreman, Dad’s boss.

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