Page 13 of Shield

Of course he will.

The bubbles appear again then disappear, but no text comes through.

Why do you think that?

Because he’d do anything for Matti, which

means he’d do anything for you. You’re

one of us, like I said. Trust me. He’s not a

bad guy.

Just don’t wake him up at 4 in the morning.

I roll my eyes. I love her, but she’s delusional when it comes to the status of my relationship with Matti and probably about Vin’s willingness to help me, too.

We text a few laughing emojis and I thank her, but I’m terrified of reaching out to Vin. What if he tells Matti? What if I set up a meeting with Vin, and Matti is there instead? My stomach twists into knots at the idea of seeing Matti again, my pulse fluttering like a hummingbird’s wings.

I squash the thought as quickly as I can. I have no other option. I’m no mastermind criminal. I don’t know hackerswho can fix a phone and break into it at the same time. It’s certainly not something that can be accomplished at the Genius Bar. Valentina is my only shot. And Emily is worth the risk.

7

Matti

Igrind my teeth, staring at my phone as texts between Siena and Olivia light up the screen through one of my tracking apps. Fucking Olivia. Why would she give Vin’s number to Siena? Why not just tell her to call me?

Because Olivia knows I’ll never let Siena near Valentina, no matter what the reason.

I look out the driver’s side window to Siena’s house. It’s almost 4am and the lights are still on inside, the dim streetlight casting an anemic glow on the chintzy chain-link fence. I should have that replaced with something more substantial. Something with locks.

The sleet makes a soft tapping sound on the hood and windshield of Vin’s car. Even though she wouldn’t know one of my cars if she saw it, I borrowed this just to make sure she doesn’t see the same car too often. It’s also one more layer of protection, in case anyone is following me to find her.

I come here every night after she gets home from work, but I usually leave once her house goes dark and watch her from my penthouse through the cameras once she’s in bed. Nottonight. Her lights stayed on, and I’ve been glued to the app, tracking her movements, watching her sleep on the floor of her living room for hours. I shouldn’t be here, but I’m calmer when I’m close to her. The urge to protect her outweighs the rational voice in my head telling me I’m spiraling.

She’s been going through the items she salvaged from the wreckage, and it’s gut-wrenching to watch. Her face betrays nothing—no tears, no visible grief—just that fierce determination she always wears like armor.

I zoom in when she pulls out a small object—a piece of jewelry? No, it’s bulkier than that. A keychain? A bracelet?

No. A watch, a broken men’s watch.

I zoom in further and note the signature ‘P’ in an oval on the face. It’s a Parmigiani, though I don’t recognize the model. She’s staring at the back like it’s a snake, but I can’t see what she’s looking at.

When she looks out her living room window, my pulse hammers in my ears. I know she can’t see me thanks to the darkness and the tinting on the car windows, but it’s the second time today that I’ve been this close to getting caught. I swear I felt her looking right at me when I was across the street from the Victim Advocacy Center today.

I’m guessing by the way she was staring at the phone she found in the plastic bags from the plane crash that that’s what she needs tech help with. I saw her throw it against the wall earlier tonight, too. I doubt that helped the problem.

And now she’s trying to bring Valentina into this mess.

Fuck, I need to keep Valentina away from her. God knows what venom that woman would spill, poisoning Siena against me even more.

And Vin? He wouldn’t betray me, but if Siena decides shewants to get back at me by fucking him, I don’t know if he’ll be able to resist.

My dick gets hard remembering how difficult it was to keep my hands off her in the shower. And how fucking hard she made me come when I finally did put my hands on her.

I curse under my breath, squeezing my cock through my pants to try to relieve the discomfort. Spending weeks watching her in the skimpy clothes she wears at home, touching herself, those deep V-neck shirts she wears to work that show off her round tits—I jack off multiple times a day to her, but it’s never enough. I need to be inside her.

The fact that she’s less than twenty yards away from me has my dick even harder. For a full minute I stare at her door, envisioning kicking it down, and bending her over that purple couch Olivia insisted on getting to replace the one that Franco destroyed.

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