Page 33 of Invisible Scars
Milly’s bright green eyes meet mine, her expression somber, and she holds up a blank white envelope, frayed and crumpled at the corners. “We need to talk.”
The gravity in her voice piques my curiosity and concern. I usher her inside, closing the door behind her.
“Jonah?” she asks as she takes a seat at the kitchen table.
“He won’t wake up anytime soon,” I assure her. “What’s going on? What’s in the letter?”
“It’s from Maddie,” she says, her voice carrying a mix of apology and determination. “Gia gave it to me the day after she arrived.”
My heart skips a beat at the mention of Maddie’s name, but I keep my expression blank. “Okay.”
“She’s told me everything, Effie.” Milly slides the letter my way. “I had my suspicions, but this—” she says, waving at the envelope between us “—this is some next-level shit.”
I take the three-page letter and decide I want to hear Milly’s take before diving in. “What, exactly, does Maddie say in this?”
“She starts by apologizing for using me to try and bait Harlow. Then she goes into great lengths about how you, her, and Sienna devised this insane plan to lure Daniel Harlow out of the shadows by pushing all his buttons.” Milly stands and goes to the kettle, flipping the switch and rummaging around Jonah’s cupboards, preparing herself a cup of coffee. “Is Sienna seriously okay with playing dangling carrot? It’s not a fun role.”
“Yeah, she’s kind of excited about it, actually.” I shrug, scanning over the alarmingly detailed letter. “What does Maddie mean when she says your instincts were right and Harlow is closer than we think?”
Milly focuses on the boiling water she’s pouring into her mug. She adds milk, stirs, and resumes her seat next to me. After taking a sip, she sighs.
“Harlow confuses me,” she says. “I keep thinking that we’re missing some key piece of information about what drives him.”
“How so?” I ask, although I know exactly what she means.
“He was a little bacterium in a big cesspool until ten years ago. Another run-of-the-mill thug boss who resorted to force as the first and only solution to any problem. Thenboom!Nothing.” Milly shrugs. “Just like that, all the violent crimes stopped. The only time Harlow uses brutality is against criminals who hurt innocents. It’s as if he went full vigilante.”
“Except Harlow also became the beacon of tech progress in the criminal world,” I remind her. “It’s why he ended up on every most wanted list worldwide.”
“Exactly.” Milly places her mug on the table, eyes locked onto the dark blue Trident printed on the white porcelain. “And now he’s back to shooting civilians, running drug operations, breaking into banks.” She plays with the handle of her mug, lost in thought, and when she looks up at me, her gaze is full of meaning. “It’s like we’re dealing with two different people.”
“Or maybe he went through a traumatic event that made him stop hurting innocents, and now something or someone pushed him to start again.”
“Also a possibility,” Milly agrees, taking a long sip from her coffee. “I got in touch with my contacts at the DEA, as per Maddie’s instructions, and tipped them off that Maddie programmed her code to track the source of any attempted hack.”
“It is?” I ask, eyes wide at the sheer genius of Maddie Jenkins.
“No.” Milly grins from ear to ear. “But the mole will catch wind of it and light another fire under Harlow’s ass.”
“Another bait and switch.” I slump in my chair with a despondent sigh. “Maddie’s good at those.”
“Hey, you okay?”
“Peachy.” My head tips back to look at the ceiling. “I left New York because I was sick of always looking over my shoulder, and here I am, glad I don’t have a car I need to check under for hidden bombs.”
“Bombs under cars, Eff? That’s a bit of a stretch, even for Harlow,” Milly says, leaning closer to me. “What happened in New York?”
“Long story.” I fold the letter and slide it into the envelope, then hand it back to her. “Have you shown this to Micah?”
“Not yet.”
“You can’t, Milly.” I shake my head with a sigh. “You know how those boys get. They’ll blow up the entire mission with their overprotective nonsense.”
“Trust me, I know.” Milly laughs fondly but sobers up quickly. “I don’t want to lie to Micah.”
“I’m not asking you to lie, just to not share.”
“Hiding something this big is the same as lying.” Milly tips her mug all the way back, then goes to rinse it in the sink. “I can’t promise to keep Micah in the dark, but I’m already a part of this insanity, so we might as well work together.”
