Page 29 of Born into Madness
A few clicks of his keyboard and he’s pulling up a new document. I lean in closer, narrowing my eyes at the screen while I quickly scan through the list of transactions. Even I know this is bullshit. Same amounts, same days of the week, and all of it for perfectly rounded numbers.
“He’s making no attempt to hide this shit,” I say.
“No, he’s not,” Niki agrees, “but I’m not too surprised. The things that are well hidden are all things that Cupid is in control of. This is Tom’s Venmo account, and the stupid fuck obviously doesn’t know any better.”
Mia looks between the two of us. “So what’s the next move?”
Niki grins. “I’m going to keep digging around until I find him. If nothing turns up, I’ll pull an invite link off his computer and get myself into their private chat. I can do a controlled buy with a burner phone and wallet. We’ll be able to secure the drop-off site and grab whoever shows up. That’s a last resort, though. We don’t want to scare Cupid off, and I have a feeling this bastard will run and hide the second he thinks we’re on to him.” Niki’s smile widens. “I’ll still find him, but it’ll be a lot uglier.”
I perk up at that. Ugly, I can do. Before I can ask what that plan might involve, all our phones start buzzing. We all tense, worried something might be wrong, but as soon as I see the message on my screen, I grin and look at my sister and cousin.
“Looks like we have another niece on the way.”
“Man, Val is probably losing his mind right about now,” Niki says. His fingers fly across the keyboard again, and then he laughs at the security camera footage that pops up, filling his screen.
“What is that?” Mia asks, scooting around so she can see what we’re looking at.
“I hacked into the maternity ward back when Nat had her first baby,” Niki says like it’s no big deal.
“Damn,” Mia mutters.
Niki shrugs. “It’s come in handy with all the babies our family keeps popping out.”
“There he is.” Mia points at the screen, knowing better than to actually touch the expensive piece of equipment that Niki treats like a firstborn son. “Look at him. He’s already freaking out.”
The footage is grainy, but there’s no mistaking Val’s worried face as he steps out of the elevator with Yelena. He’s pushing the wheelchair while juggling a diaper bag and a small suitcase. Every few feet he stops and leans over to make sure Yel is okay. We see her nod and pat his hand, but she’s clutching her very round stomach, and even with the bad quality of the video, it’s obvious she’s in a lot of pain and well into the labor part of things.
When several nurses rush over to help lead them to their room, Mia looks at us and asks, “You guys going up there now, or are you waiting until it’s over?”
“I’ll go up in a little bit,” I tell her. “You know how packed it gets. I’m guessing Mom and Dad are already on their way. Uncle Matvey is going to be just as nervous as Val.”
“He will be,” Mia agrees. “He’s so excited to be a grandpa, though, and Ev is just as excited to be an uncle.”
“Tell me about it,” Niki says. “I can’t wait for Talia to go into labor.”
Mia laughs and smacks our cousin’s arm. “You’ve already bought your niece a toy laptop, haven’t you?”
Niki grins, but he doesn’t bother denying it. He had the same kind of toy when he was little, and he carried that thing around everywhere he went.
“It’ll be hilarious if she’s as computer smart as I am,” I tell him.
He arches a brow at me. “I’m not so sure I’d ever put the wordscomputerandsmarttogether when talking about you.”
“Hey,” I say with a laugh. “I’m not that bad.”
He shrugs, but the look on his face makes it clear he thinks I am. He’s not completely wrong, so I let it go, and when I stay silent, he laughs while he shuts his laptop and packs it away. Standing, he slings the worn leather strap of his messenger bag across his chest and says, “I’ll meet you guys over there.”
Mia looks up from her phone to say, “Dario and I will be there soon. We’ll probably drive over with Nat and Dom.”
“I’m going to run and check on Chort so he doesn’t get violent with my couch. I’ll drive over there soon, though.”
We part ways, and after I’m back home with Chort, I spend time throwing the ball for him outside so he can get some exercise. Every few minutes I check my phone to make sure Cyn is okay. She’s ordered pizza, and I stare at the screen, mesmerized by the sight of her propped up on her bed, pizza box balanced on one leg while she watches something on her laptop. I turn up the volume so I can hear when she tips her head back and laughs. My cock aches, and it’s not because it’s still healing from having her name tattooed onto it.
Iwanther, and this restless feeling isn’t going to go away, not until I have her beneath me and our bodies are locked as tightly together as two people can be.
The temptation to drop everything and go to her right now is almost enough to make me cave.Almost. She doesn’t realize we’re in the foreplay stage of things, but we definitely are. I trace the curve of her cheek with my thumb, watching as she takes another bite and wishing I was with her. Usually a good night for me would be a knife in my hand and someone tied up and bleeding, but right now I can’t think of anything better than eating pizza and watching a movie while Cyn cuddles up next to me.
Jesus Christ, she’s really fucking with my head.
