Page 4 of Forbidden Fate

I sigh and glance sideways at Hawk. He shrugs.

Fine. I pull out my phone and text Barb that I’ll meet her after dinner at Chevy’s.

After all, I’m a Bellamy. And Bellamys do what their parents tell them.

At least that’s the official party line.

2

CRUZ

I’m sick to death of Texas.

I’ve been here nearly a month, and after the first two assignments I haven’t done a damned thing besides staying put per my boss’s orders.

I guess I shouldn’t complain. I’m living in a suite in a five-star hotel with a generous per diem, which I’ve been spending mostly on room service. The food is top notch. They have this amazing tomahawk ribeye sourced from a local ranch. It’s the most tender and juicy steak I’ve ever tasted. Plus, the barbecue here? Freaking delicious.

On the other hand, I’m missing Colombian food. I’d love one of Mamá’s empanadas right about now.

Of course, I haven’t had those since I was little.

My first assignment here was digging up a corpse underneath an old barn. Not the most fun, but I do what I’m paid to do without asking questions. Besides, the guy was already dead. It’s not like I had to do the deed.

I’ve never killed before. In this line of business, I’ll have to eventually. I’ll need to man up and deal with it when the time comes.

I knew who I was digging up. The corpse was too fucked up to recognize, but my boss told me who he thought it might be. A shit-ton of cocaine was buried along with him. I left it there. Boss didn’t say anything about coke being buried with the guy, and I don’t fuck with drugs. I never have and I never will. I’ve seen friends of mine lose their lives to nose candy. That’s not going to be me. Plus, I value control. Drugs make you vulnerable, and in my profession—if you can call it that—vulnerability can get you killed.

About a week and a half after I exhumed the dead body, I got another assignment. That one was way more exciting and required a lot more precision. My boss knows I always get things done, no matter how difficult, and he appreciates it. Another reason to stay away from the drugs.

I like my boss. I never knew my father, so having an older man be proud of me feels pretty good. He even gives me a smile now and then, which is more than my colleagues ever get.

It shouldn’t matter, and I wish it didn’t, but it does.

So I’m here until he tells me otherwise. But I’m getting pretty antsy cooped up in this suite. Sure, I’ve got the great food and the great booze. I can get as many spa treatments as I want and work out in the gym. But I can’t leave the hotel unless I’m on assignment. It’s too risky. These days, security cameras are everywhere, and with face-recognition technology, no one’s safe, especially not a Colombian national who’s here for nefarious reasons.

My stomach growls. I check my phone. It’s after six o’clock. No wonder I’m hungry. I ate lunch early. I grab the hotel menu—though I have it memorized by now—and look through it. I’m tempted to go for the ribeye, but equally delicious is the filet mignon, complete with garlic mashed potatoes and blistered green beans. That sounds good for tonight. It’s not my Mamá’s empanadas and patacones, but it does the trick.

I pull up the hotel app on my phone, ready to place my order when⁠—

The other phone vibrates. The burner I use for work.

From my boss.

Diego Vega.

3

ROBIN

When I was younger, I never imagined I’d be using the dark web.

A lot of things have happened since that happy-go-lucky day I graduated from college, looking forward to my summer abroad and then vet school.

I learned to use the dark web while I was in Romania.

Scratch that.

I watched others using it and picked up on what they were doing. That’s me. I notice everything. My dad always said how observant I was, even as a baby. Raven began talking first, but I kept quiet and just took everything in. Dad used to laugh about how I didn’t say anything, but if they asked me where something was—a favorite toy, a bottle—I’d toddle right over to it.