Turning the ignition off, he sits quietly and I follow suit. His spot is next to my empty one and two down from the ones Malcolm keeps for certain clientele. We never host more than one family at a time, and no more than four members of their organization are allowed upstairs together.
A precaution for them. For us.
“Should be out by five. I left everything he’d need today on his desk before logging off last night.”
“Any plans?”
“No.”
“You do now,” he says simply. Just like peppering the weather into any conversation.
But more comical is that I nod and inspect my nail polish. The one nail that I chipped a corner of. “What are you in the mood for? I can stop on my way home and—”
“I’m asking you out on a date, Muñeca.”
My heart flutters inside my chest and I smile, turning my face toward him. “A date?”
“Si.” His grin matches mine and he holds his palm up to me. I place mine atop his, and it’s only when our fingers intertwine that he fully relaxes. “How does a nice dinner with you and me and alcohol mixed in sound? And to sweeten the pot, there will also be some witty banter and a lot of sexual innuendos.”
“You piqued my interest. Booze is muy important.”
“You’re adorable when sprinkling Spanish into our conversations.” Before I can respond, Javi lets my hand go and exits the SUV, coming around to my door. He opens it and leans in, lips a hair’s breadth from mine. “It’s one of the reasons I adore you. Everything you do to me is precious.”
He’s killing me here. “Thank you.”
“That blush is also delicious.” His voice is deeper. Husky.
“And about that dinner?” Because the sweet nothings are making it difficult to breathe and the urge to pull him into the back seat is becoming maddening. “Seven okay, or—”
Javier places his keys into my hand and brings the closed fist to his lips, nipping each knuckle. “Take the car and be ready at seven.”
“Okay.” My expensive schooling has flown out the window.
“Good girl.” Another bite before kissing the slight mark. “I’ll see you in a few hours.”
It’s then I notice another black car parked just behind us with dark tints. It’s my cousin’s car, and before slipping inside the passenger side, Javier looks back at me and winks.
They drive off, and I’m still sitting here contemplating life.
The taillights are out of sight, and I shake my head.
That man was made to disrupt my life.
“Afternoon,” I say, stepping off the elevator and onto a floor below Malcolm’s office. There are three people here today, which surprises me, and a network of computers as they run scans for anything we might’ve missed. But why three of them? “Everything okay?”
“Morning, Ms. Asher,” the youngest of the trio answers. He’s a recent college grad with hacking skills coveted by the government, but he’s protected under Malcolm’s employ as a security expert. It’s keeping them back for the time being in hopes he comes willingly, but there are other plans already in the works for an unfortunate disappearance. Erik takes a sip from his Starbucks cup before turning back to the largest of the eight monitors and hits three keys, the keyboard on his lap almost slipping off but he catches it and then turns to fully face me. He’s a punk, a bit of a smartass at times, but dependable and has earned our trust. “Just going over video footage I swiped from the Fredericks laboratory in Utah dating two years back. Mr. Asher approved this.”
He seems a bit nervous, and I arch a brow. “You found something?”
“You can say that.” Without looking at the screen, he presses a combination of keys and the video changes to a cropped one. The length of time reads just over five minutes with a date stamp of two years ago, and when he hits play, I understand why he’s a bit tense.
Lane is walking into the building with his arm around Mildred and my father to his left. They walk past the security guard all smiles, as if this is a normal occurrence, and my blood boils within my veins.
Not for Lane, but because of my father.
Another betrayal. Another example of how little I mean to him.
“Did Malcolm see this?” My voice is hollow. Monotone.
“Getting the disc ready now.” Again he presses a few keys, and another short clip begins. The date is after Lane’s death and my father is there with Mildred, and it’s his arm around her waist, her lips he kisses. Sick bastard. At once my stomach churns, bile rising to my throat, but I swallow it back and pretend as if I’m not affected. Can’t show weakness.
“Burn two copies. I want one.”
“Of course, Ms. Asher.” The other two don’t say a word and shrink back a bit when I turn to walk over to the elevator. It’s best I exit now and not after I discover someone else from my side of the family is in on this clusterfuck. “Do I take it upstairs?”
With my hand on the up button, I look back at Erik from over my shoulder. “Please.”
“You got it, boss.”
“Thank you.” The doors close behind me as I slip inside, and I allow a single tear to fall. My father being involved is not a coincidence, and the Fredericks have been doing more than testing at that lab. I bet money on it.
But the question now remains on each key player’s purpose?
How many more people are involved?
Why use me?
My reflection in the mirror later that evening doesn’t represent what’s going on inside of me. The things that make the most sense hurt after I watched the burned copy Erik made me.
My father’s involvement. Mildred’s hate toward me.
I’m angry. I feel betrayed. There are more questions than answers now.
And yet, as I watch the girl in the mirror pass the straightener through another stray auburn curl, I don’t recognize her. She’s here, but not. She’s aware, yet a part of her hungers for the one thing that will sever all ties to those who brought her into this world.
Revenge. Blood. Peace.
All these years, I believed my father to be harsh and at times a sexist jerk, but this goes beyond that. He made me a pawn—a movable piece in a game I wasn’t aware of playing.
Another pass, and I twist my wrist when reaching the end, giving the bottom of the strand a bit of wave. It swishes into place when I release it, joining the others as the wild girl from this morning that Javier admired is put away and Mariah Asher takes center stage.
This woman looking back at me is everything she’s been taught to be, but behind the ire is a shine in her eyes that hasn’t been there before. For the first time in a long time, she doesn’t feel alone and the small curl to her lips and hint of a blush destroys all notion of the persona she’s let herself hide behind for fear of:
Love.
A four-letter word that can destroy even the strongest. That if she embraces, will end her.
“It’s just dinner with him. Doesn’t need to be anything more.” A lie. Even to myself I lie, and it’s pathetic because a second later when the doorbell rings and I look through the phone app to see who’s at my door, my heart races and that tiny smile grows at the sight of him.
I know this is fast.