Page 1 of Beautifully Ruined
Chapter One
CADE
When I embarkedon my dark and erotic fun and games with my little brother Jack’s ex, I never thought Violet would land in life-or-death trouble.
Trouble, yes. But good trouble.
Hot trouble.
Trouble that starts and ends with me buried in her as we fulfil each other’s fantasies and dark desires.
It’s all gone wrong, and Vi’s life is on the line.
Through the tremors that rock me each time I breathe in, through the pain that swallows me whole, I keep that thought front and center because Vi’s wellbeing grounds me.
The computer sits in front of me, the screen filled with what they want me to infiltrate, to steal from.
This task would be almost impossible for anyone who doesn’t have my level of expertise.
For me? Easy.
I figure this is about those secrets Isaac was selling or trading.
He had ambitions, the sick fuck, and no doubt he had connections. But I don’t think it’s about state secrets.
More like dirt to control and crush those that get in Ivan’s way.
After all, state secrets aren’t his jam. They’d be for other diplomats.
Ivan screams of money and power, not political bullshit.
Diplomacy for him is a means to an end.
One thing I do know is this won’t play out well for me or Vi if I fail. Or if I succeed too easily.
This hack is a test, one that involves millions. But he wants to see what I can do for him. He wants to see how good I am.
I cast a careful glance at the Russian hacker, a weedy guy I don’t underestimate. I just happen to know I’m better. Otherwise, he’d have done this.
Ivan wanders over and shoves me hard, pain ricocheting through me. “Stalling will not help.”
“Who’s stalling? I want to get my girl, get out of here, and pretend this didn’t happen.”
“And you can do that… right after you do what I ask.”
I don’t believe a lying word from his mouth, but I’m going to do this for him. Hack into Ivan’s enemy’s accounts, a client of The Syndicates, and transfer the money into Ivan’s offshore account.
Enzo will be working, and he, like me, has alerts on his phone that pop up if anything goes wrong or if there’s suspicious activity.
“Okay, I’m going to do it. I’m just taking in the system, working out how to navigate it without alerting them.”
Ivan laughs. “You think I care?”
“It depends whether you want a number of linked bratva on your doorstep.” I nod at the other hacker. “Igor here will tell you that.”
The hacker growls, clearly not liking my nickname for him.
Too fucking bad. I’m hurting too much, and I’m positive parts of me are passing the fuck out as we sit here, so I need an added element to help me keep awake. Poking the bear’s pet helps.
