“This is a huge mess,” Hugo says. I nod my head and walk over to Clark, the man in charge of our ports here in California.
“I assume you have made arrangements until this is all rebuilt?” I ask.
“I have. Things will continue to run smoothly until we’re back up and running. The only thing that I’d like to ask is that we increase security once they are done. Your father didn’t have much over here,” he says. Blowing out a breath, I figured as much. My father has been slacking in those departments lately.
“You have my word that there will be more security. You need anything you contact Hugo or me directly, yes?” Clark nods and extends his hand to me. A chill works its way down my spine as I turn my head and glance at Tessa. She isn’t far from Switch and I can see his eyes tracking everything. He will protect her.
“Very well. If that’s all we’re going to be going.”
“That was it, Boss.” I nod at Clark and turn walking toward Tessa. Grabbing her hand in mine, I pull her along with me to the car. Once we’re inside she looks at me.
“He did all that?”
“It’s not as massive as it seems. Probably only a few small bombs,” I tell her. Her eyes widen and I find myself forgetting that even though she’s a part of this now and she’s smart, she doesn’t know how we work completely.
“A few?”
“Yes. Randolph, please take us to Sync’s,” I call out to my driver.
“Yes, sir. Shall I inform the others?”
“Yes, please.” The man nods his head and makes a few calls as I watch Tessa.
“What are you thinking?”
“That I want him dead,” she says with little to no emotion. That is also strange. She wants him dead but she seems to be in a void, a world of her own.
“We’re going to relax for a little while before heading back to the hotel.” She looks up and our eyes lock.
“Where are we going?”
“To a club I frequent when I’m out this way.” Tessa nods and looks down at her clothes. “You look gorgeous.”
“Why do you want me, Enzo?” Her question catches me off guard. She doesn’t say anything else, just watches me for an answer. I don’t know what to tell her aside from the truth.
“You want honesty?” She nods. “The moment I saw you after breaking into my home, I saw something deeper in you. You weren’t the normal woman that I typically find attractive. You’re shorter, have less assets,” I say nodding toward her chest, “but there is something else about you that I can’t seem to get past. There’s more to you than meets the eye.”
“Are you sure it isn’t my hacking abilities?” She asks raising her eyebrow. I smirk.
“That is also compelling but not for the reasons you think. Where did you learn to do that?” She shifts in her seat before taking a breath.
“I taught myself. There’s a lot of things I’ve taught myself to do.”
“Such as?” Now I’m interested.
“I learned how to use men for their money without them laying a hand on me. I learned how to use what looks I do have to get what I want. One day Tino handed me a laptop to keep me occupied and the more I played with it the more I learned. Hacking came easily to me. It intrigued me,” she says, a slight smile on her face.
“You love it?”
“In a way, yes. The things that I can uncover amuse me. I can hack into pretty much anything,” she adds.
“Home security?” I tease.
“All types of them. Medical records, school records, bank accounts.”
“You’re kidding?”
“Not at all. Why do you think your men can’t find a shred of information on me?” She’s smart, I’ll give her that much. The smile that tugs across my face is genuine. She has that effect on me.
“And you ask why I want you,” I say.
“I won’t do it for you.”
“I wouldn’t ask you to. That isn’t what I meant. You’re smart, you’re creative. Those things fuel something in me.” The car comes to a stop outside the club. My driver climbs out and opens the door. I slip out first before offering Tessa my hand. She climbs out as the others pull in behind us. The guys climb out and follow us in the back door. The music is loud and the lights flicker. We’re ushered to the VIP section as soon as we step foot in the door. The waitress takes our orders when I lean into Tessa.
“Do you dance?” I ask over the music. She shrugs with a sly grin on her face. I take that as a yes. Grabbing her hand in mine, I lead her out onto the dancefloor. Our bodies move to the beat, heat coursing through my veins. I’ve been with other women before but none of them come close to Tessa. She’s outgoing, she’s something I’ve never had before.
The music keeps pumping through the speakers as I hold her closer. Time stands still as if the world stopped moving. Something about feeling her this close to me, this moment.
“Enzo,” she whispers my name so softly.
“Hmm.”
“Enzo, fuck.” I start to pull back to see what’s wrong but she holds on tighter.
“What is it?”
“There’s a guy with a gun coming this way,” she says but keeps us moving. I instantly want to pull away and move but she doesn’t let me. Instead, I feel her pull me closer.
“What are you doing, Tessa?”
“Trust me,” she says looking up into my eyes. With our eyes locked on each other, I give in to her craziness. I give her the trust that she so desperately seeks that I’m unsure of giving. Before I even know what’s happening, she has my gun pulled from my waistband and firing. Screams rock through the building as people begin to run and scream. Tessa pulls out of my arms as I spin to look for my men. They are already on the move.
“Damn, darlin’,” Switch says with a smirk as he comes closer to us.
“What? Didn’t think a girl could shoot?”
“Didn’t think you’d get that gun without him noticin’,” he says nodding toward the gun still in her hand. A few more shots are fired breaking our moment. I reach for the gun, peeling it out of her hand before placing my hand on her back.
“Let’s move out!” I call out to anyone that can hear me. Tessa spins around, following me out the front door. Her eyes are wide as she takes in the area, much the same as I am. She moves quickly, very stealth like in her motions. It’s interesting for me to see her like this, in her element.
“What do we got?” I ask Hugo as we climb in the car and take off. With all my guys accounted for, I send off a few texts to local PD that I have in my pocket to let them know about what just went down.
“Give me your phone,” Tessa says holding her hand out to me. I smirk and continue with what I’m doing.
“Not sure, Boss. Didn’t see anyone else,” Hugo chimes in.
“Give me the damn phone, Enzo!” Tessa snaps once more. I don’t know what she’s up to but I see the pleading look in her eyes. I nod once and pass her my phone before sitting back in the seat and watching her work. Her fingers move over the screen, her face scrunching as she does. Switch and I share a glance before we both look back to her. She’s alluring, she’s a magnet yet doesn’t realize it.