What did you expect?
I’d expected some pushback, but not full-on defiance.
I watched her climb in a black car on Thursday night instead of staying home and packing. She looked like she was headed out for a night on the town, and it set my blood simmering.
It also made me respect her because she wasn't laying down and taking it.
That's not what you need. In this instance, you need compliance.
It was certainly going to be a hell of a lot easier if she just complied. But since it looked like she wasn't feeling up to that, we were going to do things the hard way.
That twat Christopher had called today to tell me that Daphne was, in fact, not available until Monday at the earliest. And sure enough, he caved and offered me the other project manager. Not that I gave a shit about that bloke.
I’d insisted on Daphne. But if I wanted Daphne, that meant I was going to have to wait.
I didn't do well with waiting. And the sooner I could get her off the chessboard, the better. Which meant we were going to have to go to plan B.
I watched from the shadows as Daphne skipped out the front door of her flat wearing some kind of fluttering red skirt that should be illegal. It was a little shorter than mid-thigh, and the wind tickled the edges, threatening to lift it up and show everyone what she was hiding under there.
The low heat in my gut was unwelcome at best. I did not have time for that shit. Some orbital force pulled me toward her upturned chin and her dark-as-sin eyes that saw clear to my soul. She looked good enough to eat with her brown skin seemingly luminescent. She’d styled her hair, sleek straight and piled up on top of her head. The night I’d met her, she’d had it more wavy and flowing down around her shoulders.
I had a plan. I needed to see it through. Getting caught up in her and that gorgeous smile wasn't part of the package.
As soon as the car pulled away from the curb, she lowered the window, and I could hear her giving instructions to the driver. The driver did a double take when he took her in, and he gave her a broad smile.
The tightening in my gut only got worse, chased down by incendiary fire. That bloody driver needed to keep his eyes on the bloody road.
Concentrate. Get in and get out.
When she’d left the office today, she'd had her laptop. I needed to get in, copy her files, then bug her flat. With the change in plan, I could adjust, but I'd have to move up my timeline.
Since she wouldn't just be getting on a plane with me, I was going to have to check her schedule and figure out where the hell she was going to be on Friday.
It was fine. I was still in control.
Getting into her flat was easy enough. An older woman carrying an umbrella held the door open for me. “There you go, handsome. Here to pick up a date?” She eyed me up and down with a broad smile.
“Matter of fact, I'm here to visit someone.”
“Gosh, I wish it was me.”
I gave her a wink. “Next time, love.”
She giggled as she headed off to the mailboxes. “Don't threaten me with a good time.”
I shook my head. She was a firecracker. Also, Daphne needed better security. Anybody could just walk in here.
I didn't bother with the lift. Instead, I took the stairs. Not as many CCTV cameras to contend with. On the third floor, I eased out and found my way to her flat.
I kept my head down, knowing exactly where each of the cameras was. Getting into her actual flat was child’s play. She had electronic locks, like a hotel, nice and extra secure… except for the likes of me.
Once in her flat, I didn't bother with the lights, but I used a flashlight to have a glance around.
Daphne had done me the favor of keeping her hallway light on. My guess was it led to her bedroom and the bathroom, giving the impression of someone being at home to deter any would-be thieves.
I found her laptop easily. It was still in her work bag. Pulling it out, I set it on the dining room table while I fiddled with the decrypter’s settings to pull the information that I needed.
Once I had a copy, I'd have access into her company. I checked to see if Massimo Igno had any inroads or what he might be looking for from her. That done, I set the bugs. Two in the kitchen. A video feed in the electrical outlet and then an audio bug in the lamp.
I frowned when I saw the landline though. Who still had one of those?
She also had an old school answering machine that had a blinking light. I hit play as I set and calibrated the other bugs.
“Hello, Daphne. This is your mother. I've tried calling your mobile number, at least the one that Willow gave me, but you're not answering. And it says your message box is full. I'm not sure if this is your number or not, but just a reminder, I will be at Willow’s wedding. And for Willow’s sake, we need to get on. Your refusal to speak to me is childish. Honestly, I can't believe you're holding a grudge after all this time.”
“Willow is my daughter. And I want her to have the best day. She would like for us to get along. So you're going to have to speak to me at some point. If you continue to ignore me, that's only going to make it worse. You forget I know you. I know what you need. And this estrangement isn't good for us. More importantly, it's not good for Willow. She wants me back in her life. I know what you and your gran tried to do, but she's my daughter and she wants to be with me and she wants me as part of her wedding. So you need to call me back, or we're going to have a problem. I won't hesitate to make a scene. I know how important your sister is to you. Call me. I mean it.”
I stared at the machine. Wow, manipulation and narcissism. The woman was a real gem. From what I knew, she hadn't been in Daphne's life for over a decade. Daphne had been raised by her gran from the time she was twelve. I’d had a full workup done on her, but not much on the mother.
And I was going to need to utilize that information to get her to cooperate. It was dirty work, but it would get me what I needed in the end.
I put audio and visual in her bedroom. I was headed back out to the living area when I heard the front door. Fucking hell. As I stepped into the closet, I glowered down at my phone. The tracker I placed on her phone when I touched it during our meeting still registered her as headed to the West End.
So who was in her flat? I stayed perfectly still, palming my knife at my hip. Messy. No plastic to put down. I’d have to keep it quick and off her bloody carpets.
Maybe the kitchen. The floor in there was hardwood. Fast enough to clean up, but it could stain. This was going to be a problem.
Then I realized I also had a tranq. That would put whoever was in here out. Unless they were here for me and not her, in which case there was a fucking problem.
Didn’t matter.
I heard whistling, and through the slats in the closet, I saw who it was. Christopher.
Son of a bitch. What the fuck was he doing here? It looked like he was there to collect his things, but why wait until Daphne was gone?
My frown only deepened when he rifled through her nightstand. What the fuck was that? Was that a cock ring?
Christ.
A shudder ran up my spine. He tossed it into the box along with some lube and a couple of vibrators. Wow. And then he went to the top drawer still looking for something.
My fury simmered to life. Yes, I might be hiding in her closet, and yes, I might have just bugged her place, but I wasn't pawing through her intimates.
He murmured to himself as he cleared items from the loo. “Might as well see if I can repurpose these perfumes I bought you.”