Page 8 of Midnight Secrets

Something had spooked her and put shadows in her eyes. Her smile fixed in place when Catarina arrived. Did no one else notice that it was fake and never reached her eyes? It was the type of smile that Mum wore for functions and gatherings. A professional one that was reserved for a performance.

“What do you think is wrong with Lucrezia?” I asked when we were back at our office. It was a front for our organisation, a place where Jordan kept all his surveillance equipment far from prying eyes.

“No idea.” Xavier trailed his fingers through his hair. “But I want to punch whatever the fuck it is.”

“Did you see how scared she looked?” Jordan asked as he loosened his tie. “Whatever Francis said made her even quieter than normal.”

“What time are you heading over?” I couldn’t explain it, but I had every intention of being there tonight to find out what was wrong with Lucrezia.

“She asked for my help,” Xavier pointed out like a prick.

“Funny how she’s getting the three of us for the price of one,” Jordan challenged him. He’s always been overprotective of the sisters since he adopted them when we were younger. Some people thought Lucas Black would be the biggest hurdle they had to cross on their route to one of those girls, I would take bets that Jordan would be an awkward fucker to anyone who tried to get anywhere near them.

Xavier eyeballed Jordan, who refused to back down.

“Can we all put our dicks away?” I groaned. “You all know mine is biggest.”

Jordan bounced his eyebrows suggestively. “You been looking again?”

“Fuck off!”

“We’re going. That’s the end of it,” Jordan said before slumping into a chair at the desk he tended to use, opening the bottom drawer to pull out an open bottle of scotch. The next drawer up had glasses in it.

The amber liquid burned going down my throat and I closed my eyes to savour the exquisite pain. Today had shaken me and I wasn’t sure what the hell was going on. In my head, Lucrezia was still a cute kid with piggy tails and braces. The woman who strolled into that restaurant today did not fall into that category. She walked with the elegance of a model and held herself with the grace of a debutant.

“We have a security leak in the Council,” Jordan said, pouring himself another drink. “I have protocols activated to catch the rat, but I have a bad feeling about what they’re searching for.”

“Have you closed all the loopholes?” Xavier asked.

“Yeah, but it has to be someone with reasonable high-level access. I caught some chat among law authorities and it sent me rummaging through archives. The information could only have come from someone in the Council network.”

I downed the last of my drink. “Dad will kill whoever it is. The one thing he hates is a tout,” I replied. “He would have me assassinated if he thought it would benefit him or I dishonoured the family name.”

Xavier held his glass out for a refill. “That’s because Matteus has four sons. Dad only has me, so all his hopes and dreams rest on my shoulders, along with all his despair and disbelief.”

Jordan bit out a bitter laugh. “I am the sole heir to my grandfather’s throne of blood and bones. He doesn’t accept failure in any form.” He held his glass up in a silent salute. “God bless our ancestors.”

“I need a trip to the Midnight rooms to help me relax.” Xavier stretched. “The builders have already finished the top floor of Midnight Manor and they’ve scheduled a site visit for us next week.”

Normally I would be up for a trip to the Midnight rooms. A mindless fuck could help to clear your thoughts. The unfortunate problem was that my thoughts were firmly fixated on Lucrezia today.

“I need a trip to our range to get rid of my tension,” I muttered.

“Fuck yeah,” Jordan agreed.

A few years ago, Jordan had created a training area for us that incorporated a firing range. He built a laser quest area where we could shoot the crap out of targets with his specially designed guns like our very own game that we walked into. Right now, the idea of having sex with a stranger didn’t pique my interest. After seeing the fear in Lucrezia’s eyes earlier, killing unknown enemies suited my mood.

Dressed in black combat trousers and a long-sleeved black T-shirt, I strapped on the fake ballistics vest that registered our actions in the game. Night vision goggles sat on top of my head, and adrenalin pumped through my veins.

I understood the rhythm of a fight, the need to survive that pushed you onward. Dad had taught me that from an early age. He’d beaten it into me until the day I had become taller and stronger than him and broke his leg. After that, he left it to his hired army to beat it into me, while he stood and watched. The day I reappeared from an Easter break home with black eyes and bruises to every part of my body, Jordan made us train every day until my next visit home. They had to put five in the ring with me to try and overpower me.

That was the day Dad stopped watching.

“Ready?” Xavier activated his gun and put it in the back of his belt.

There were no fake-looking weapons down here, it was devised as training tools for the guards Jordan hired for the Council.

I pushed the comms device in my ear. “Yep.”

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