Page 64 of No Control

“System armed,” a robotic voice says. I don’t know why it leaves me unnerved, but it does. Jude, however, seems as calm as ever, stretching his arms over his head.

“I’m gonna shower really quick. I’ll come back down afterward and I’ll be downstairs until Henry gets back. You might wanna get a bigger shirt, by the way.” He gestures to the front. “It’s too easy to see.” With that, he disappears, his footsteps on the stairs the only evidence of where he went.

“This is weird,” I mutter to myself, feeling uneasy as I slide off the stool. I grip my coffee and slip past Duke, who’s out like a light. I consider waking him and making him come with me but decide he’s really not that far away.

I enter my room, returning to the writing desk and staring down at the notepad, covered in notes. I haven’t gotten nearly as far as what I should have by now—and Henry hasn’t made a single mention of it.

And maybe that is a red flag.

He’s paying me a lot of money to be here and write a book, but other than the first night, he hasn’t spoken of it. I don’t know how I feel about that. But I also know now that he wanted me from the beginning…Like when we met?

My head aches as I try to put it together like a puzzle missing half the pieces. I reach for my laptop, and open it, deciding maybe I can at least check my work email. I click the browser, and it opens.

Sorry, cannot establish a connection.

I refresh the page, rolling my eyes. But the message pops again.

“Ugh,” I grumble, clicking on the little Wi-Fi icon. It pops up. I double click it. “No internet connection,” I read aloud. I lean over, checking the card I’d found on the desk with the Wi-Fi password. I disconnect and reconnect.

Nothing.

I reboot my computer. Nothing.

My head falls to my hands out of frustration. I let out a sigh, and then stand to my feet. I’ll just have to go find the router. I pull the bedroom door in, step into the hallway…

And the house goes pitch black.

twenty-five

Henry

“So, here you are.” Luca chuckles, his dark eyes studying my face. His jet-black hair is slicked back, and a shadow of facial hair lines his jaw. In comparison to him, I’m an angel, and evil radiates out of him like heat from a furnace. The man has no limits. He cocks a brow at me. “I was wondering when you’d show up.”

I shut his office door behind me. “Just tell me what you know, Luca. I need to get back to the house.”

“To your plaything?”

My stomach knots up. “What’re you talking about?”

“The woman at your place.”

“I don’t—”

“She’s in the file, Henry. No need to lie to me. I turned it down.”

“Why? We could’ve fucking worked this out,” I bark, slamming my fists against his desk. “I need to know who got the assignment.”

“I. Don’t. Know.” His expression darkens, and while I consider us friendly, we handle things differently. “I respect you too much to kill you—and that’s what most of this community feels. I have no idea if anyone will accept it.”

I shake my head, running my hands over my face. “I slipped up somewhere. Someone knows my identity.”

“You know how many hits I’ve had on myself,” Luca says with shrug. “You know the drill. You find the one who placed the order, and you take them out before their people take you out.”

“Why would he let them do it? He’s blocked hits before.”

“The Big Man?” Luca chuckles. “He’s just a fucking psycho like the rest of us. He makes his money sitting behind a computer and dishing it out on the dark web. He’s a master hacker and business owner. That’s it. The only reason he’s ever blocked a hit is because of pure amusement or hatred for whoever placed it. And for the record, he’s never blocked a hit on me. I think the bastard gets off on trying to kill me.”

I bite down on the inside of my cheek, not in the mood for humor. “I need to know who ordered a hit on me, Luca. How the hell do I do that?”

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