Page 2 of Niccolaio Andretti (The Five Syndicates)
Yet, here she stands—in the middle of my living room, a disgusted expression on her face as she eyes my overnight bag, which is caked in hardened Nowhere, Oklahoma mud. I have no doubt my tanned skin and dark hair are equally repulsive after a month of unreliable shower water and body wash as shampoo.
She shifts her gaze onto my face. “I heard you’re back.”
There’s a tilt to her lips that’s more smirk than smile.
I’m immediately suspicious.
“…Okay…” It’s clear in my tone that I don’t know why she’s here, and I don’t want her here.
In fact, I don’t even know how she’s here in the first place. I have a state of the art security system. Even though my guards have been off-duty given my absence, she still shouldn’t have been able to break in.
What the fuck is she?
Houdini with a nice rack and a homicidal fiancé?
There’s that irritating grin again. “I picked your door lock.”
“There’s no door lock.”
To get into my house, you need to bypass the retinal scanner and hand print lock. And on the off chance that happens, there’s an alarm that needs to be disarmed with a passcode upon entrance and panels under the floor that measure the gait print of the person walking on them.
But you know what there isn’t?
A door lock.
Lucy is up to something.
I know it.
Her grin widens. “I know, but you should’ve seen your face.” At my scowl, she laughs. “Relax. Gosh, you’re wound up so tightly.”
In the backdrop of the wainscoted walls and hardwood floors in my brownstone, Lucy looks like she belongs. Dressed in a white dress that compliments her pale flesh, evergreen eyes, and black hair, I wouldn’t guess that she came from the foster care system.
In fact, I only found out after a deep web search I conducted once I learned her real name—Elena Lucy Reeves. Before that, the search I had done towards the end of last September had come up empty.
Nothing.
The woman was a ghost.
No social media.
No employment history.
No birth records.
Now, after surviving three very public attempts on her life; setting a wedding date with Asher Black, the Romano family’s former fixer and the CEO of Black Enterprises; and publicly humiliating René Toussaint, the former CFO of Black Enterprises, Lucy is one of the most well-known women in the tristate area.
Which means she’s only making my situation worse by being here.
She needs to get out of here.
Now.
In fact, I wish she never got in here in the first place, and as soon as she leaves, I plan on rectifying that situation immediately.
“How did you get in?” I repeat, my patience waning.
Well, it was never there in the first place, especially when it comes to this woman. Inherently curious and abnormally intelligent, Lucy isn’t someone I have the desire to deal with. How Asher does it is beyond me.
