15. Luke

"He's such a cock."

"You're just jealous because he railed her on his bike," Cian snickers. "It was fucking hot."

"Yeah, it was," I admit grudgingly. "He's still a cock. What do you think he made her sign?"

He shrugs. "That's between them, I guess."

Cian's smirk is infuriating as always, but I let it slide. My friend's a bastard, but I can't fault him for that. We've all got our roles to play. I glance over at him and see the gleam in his eye, the one that's always there when he's plotting something.

"Yeah. Still. I want to know."

"So ask later. You going to get going, or are we going to sit here all night?"

Grimacing at him, I restart the engine and set off back home. I'm thoughtful as I drive. This thing with the Red Reapers is far from over, and while I'm not one hundred per cent convinced that the wanker from the townhouse is related to them, it does beg the question of who the fuck it is.

Time ticks on, and soon we are back at the townhouse, where Victoria and Gianluca are waiting for us on the driveway.

"Scared to go inside without us?" I ask, bring my sass to the table so they know I'm a bit pissed about this little secret rendezvous of theirs.

"Ha, you wish," Victoria says, turning on her heel to unlock the door. "We just got back."

"What was on the paper you signed?"

The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them.

Cian groans next to me and slaps my shoulder. "That's a you problem now, mate. I'm out."

"Thanks," I mutter as Victoria and G share a knowing stare.

"It's not up to me to say anything," Victoria says, following Cian inside. "And it's not really anything to do with you. Are you going to help me tidy up, or are we just gonna stand in the entrance hall worrying about shit that's not our business?"

"Wow," I mutter. "Okay, point made."

She giggles, and the tension is broken.

We head upstairs, but when we get to her room, another surprise is waiting for us.

"You have got to be shitting me!" Victoria exclaims, stepping into the immaculate room. "Who the fuck cleaned up?"

"Beats the absolute shit out of me," I mutter. "I checked the cams while we were in the car earlier. Nobody came in or out."

"That you saw."

"Are you saying my cams were looped?"

"Maybe?" she ventures. "I don't really know enough about that to say one way or the other."

"Fucking hell," I grit out and storm off to my room to get my laptop fired up to get to the bottom of this. Christopher Mullen's face appears as it blinks to life, and I purse my lips. We still don't know who this fucker is and why the Quinns, not even sure which one now, killed him.

I sit down heavily in front of my computer, frustration simmering just below the surface. I try to shake off the feeling of unease as I enter the security files. No one's supposed to be able to get past my systems, and yet here we are with a cleaned-up room and no fucking explanation. Someone's playing a game of cat and mouse with us, and I don't like it one bit.

After a few minutes on the proper system, I find the anomaly—just a brief, barely-there glitch that could signify tampering. Who's got the balls to do this?

"Anything?" Cian asks, coming into the room.

"Yeah, the system has been tampered with. Twenty minutes, give or take."

"Quick enough to come in and clean up. But why? Same person? Different one? What the fuck is going on?" Victoria's voice goes up an octave as she strides in, her face furious.

"Slow down, love," Cian says, holding up a hand to calm her. "We'll figure it out."

I lean back in my chair, eyes closed for a moment. "Someone's sending a message, that much is clear."

"Message received, loud and fucking clear," Victoria snaps. She paces the room as G slips in. "I guess we don't leave this place unattended, then. This is starting to creep me the fuck out and I don't creep easily."

"That's natural," I murmur. "Someone is going through your things, making a mess, putting it straight. It's disturbing."

"No shit," she hisses, shoving her hand into her hair. "So, what now?"

"You go to bed, and we regroup in the morning. It's been a shitshow of a day," Cian says, pulling her close. "Get some rest."

She nods, though I can see the uncertainty still lingering in her eyes. Gianluca stays silent, his gaze fixed on some far-off point. We all feel it—this invisible threat looming over us.

"This is starting to piss me off," Cian growls.

"Yeah, no shit—" I start and then have literally nothing else to add.

None of us do.