14. Mia

Chapter fourteen

Mia

T he drive back to LA was much slower than taking a train, but it gave us eighteen hours in the car to get to know each other better. We took shifts driving to get back as fast as possible.

Nobody questioned that we’d return to my house instead of their rental. My front door hung loosely in the doorframe, and it fell off completely when I pushed it open. The inside of my house looked like a small bomb had gone off, and I glared at Hollis, knowing this had to have been his doing when I had escaped their clutches the first time.

“I want my house put back together by the end of the day,” I growled. “We’re on it,” Rome assured me.

I left them to start the cleanup while I washed the road trip off. As I dressed, I looked longingly at my soft, fluffy bed. Tonight, I would sleep the way a kitty was supposed to, but right now, I needed to get to headquarters. It was still pretty early in the morning, and I knew I had a couple of hours until the other employees began to arrive. I wanted to be gone before that happened. If I didn’t go now, I’d have to wait until tomorrow, and I didn’t want to.

“I still don’t like this,” Rome said when I entered the living room.

“I know,” I replied, hugging him. “I promise I’m going to be ok. I haven’t had any weird shifting moments since the implant was deactivated.”

“That isn’t what I’m worried about,” he replied.

“This is for you,” Hollis said behind me. I turned to see him holding a Bluetooth earbud in his hand. “I already paired it to your phone. When you get there, call Theo and stay on the call with him the entire time.”

Rome looked at Theo. “The second it sounds like things are going sideways, you get in that building and get her out of there,” he ordered.

“I will,” Theo assured him.

I kissed my three mates goodbye and returned to the car with Theo. I gave him directions to headquarters, and a short time later, we pulled into the parking lot. As expected, it was mostly empty. I called Theo’s phone and slipped the earbud in my ear.

“Can you hear me?” I asked.

“Loud and clear,” Theo replied. “Be careful, and if you think you’re in trouble, tell me, and I’ll be there in seconds.”

I nodded. “I’ve got this,” I replied, kissing him.

Once I was out of the car and approaching the door, I let myself feel the nervousness that I had kept buried around my mates. “Please let this work,” I whispered.

“I heard that,” Theo replied.

Shit! I forgot I wasn’t completely alone. I pulled out my ID card and held my breath as I held it against the reader at the door. I released the air in a big huff as the light turned from red to green, and I heard the electric lock disengage. I went inside and took the elevator to my floor like always. The best way not to attract the wrong kind of attention was to act normal. I got off the elevator and pulled the door to my department open. As expected, it was empty. I hurried to my desk and sat down, booting up my computer.

“How’s it going?” Theo asked.

“I’m at my desk and logging into my system,” I replied quietly. “Nobody is here yet.” As soon as I opened the program, I searched for Parote. “No way!”

“What?” Theo asked, sounding on edge.

“Dr. Parote already has an unassigned contract on him in the system,” I told him. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” he asked. “Also, people are starting to arrive.”

“It’s a good thing. A really good thing.” Quickly, I worked out a plan and searched for myself in the system. I was relieved that there wasn’t so much as a note in my file to lead me to believe that the Guild caught on to what I did. Hopefully, it stays that way after this. “I’m going to have to hang around a little longer than planned,” I told Theo.

“Why?”

“I have to wait for my analyst to get to the office and log into his system before I can commandeer his computer and assign Parote to myself.” The office door opened, and I lowered my voice as Carol walked to her desk several rows away. She didn’t even spare me a look as she passed.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Theo asked. “Can’t you just download the file to a drive or something so you can get out of there?”

“Trust me, this is a better plan,” I responded. I checked the clock. “Jeffrey should be here soon.”

Since I was there and they still thought I worked there, I checked the board for contracts for my assassins. I might as well give them their next assignments while I wait. When I assigned one to Evangeline, my phone beeped that I had another call.

“Hey, I have a call; I’ll be right back,” I told Theo.

“Mia, no, wait!” I heard him say as I answered my call waiting. “Hello?”

“Mia! I just got a contract assignment. They must have reassigned me,” Evangeline said. “Actually, that was me.”

“What do you mean that was you?” I quickly and quietly filled her in on everything that had been going on, including the fact that the men who were after me ended up being my mates. “Mia, I’m thrilled that you’ve found your mates, but are you sure you should be doing this?” she asked. “I agree that he has to be taken down, but since he’s already got a hit out on him, maybe let someone more experienced handle him. There could be a reason why he hasn’t been assigned to anyone yet. Assign him to me. Me and the guys would be more than happy to take care of the man who did this to you.”

I tried not to be offended by her insinuation that I couldn’t handle Parote or that I wasn’t a real assassin. “Thanks for the offer, but no. He’s mine. My mates need answers; only he can give them.” The office door opened again, and Jeffrey walked in. “Listen, I have to go. I have Theo on the other line, and Jeffrey just walked in. We’ll talk soon.”

“Mia, I didn’t mean—“

I didn’t wait to hear the rest of her sentence. I already knew she hadn’t meant anything by her statement. “Ok, I’m back.”

“You better be glad I’m on this mission with you, not Aiden or Hollis,” Theo growled. “They would have torn through that building the second you hung up on them. As it is, I have half a mind to turn that pretty ass red later for pulling that stunt. What if something had happened to you while you were on the other line, and I had no way of knowing it?”

“I was perfectly fine, Theo,” I replied, watching Jeffrey a few seats away as he logged into his system.

“That’s not the point, Mia,” he retorted.

“If you really need to spank me later, fine. Right now, shush,” I ordered. “Please.”

I didn’t know if it was because I told him to shush or because I gave him permission to spank me, but he remained silent. I was happy when I saw that Jeffrey was my analyst. Not because I thought he was good; I didn’t know if he was. No, my happiness was because Jeffrey had a morning routine to which you could set your clock. Right on schedule, Jeffrey grabbed the newspaper he brought and went to the restroom. I knew from experience that he would be there for twenty minutes.

I looked over at Carol, the only other person in the room, and saw she was facing the other way, minding her business. Quietly, I slipped out of my chair and snuck over to Jeffrey’s desk. Staying low so that if she did look over, she wouldn’t see me at his desk, I pulled up the bid board, located Parote’s contract, and assigned it to myself. In for a penny, in for a pound. If I had already manipulated the system to become an assassin, I might as well do it again to assign myself a contract.

I leave as soon as it goes through. “I’m leaving now. Meet me at the door,” I told Theo. I hit the elevator button and tapped my foot impatiently until it arrived. Then, I had to wait for the people to leave it.

“Mia?”

I froze and turned slowly toward the voice. “Teri, hi,” I replied, plastering a smile on my face. “Where have you been? I’ve been worried about you,” Teri replied.

“Oh, ya know, I just took some time off. I met my mates,” I explained as I slapped my hand against the elevator door as it tried to close. I needed to get out of there because I wasn’t sure how long it took for contract cards to be delivered, but since Evangeline’s went through so quickly, mine could arrive at any moment. That is something that would be noticed.

“Oh, congratulations! I love that so much for you! Where are you going now?” nosey fucking Teri asked.

“Walk away,” Theo advised.

“One of them is downstairs. He brought me coffee, so I’m just running down to get it,” I replied. “It’ll just take a minute.”

I let the elevator doors close and sagged against the wall in relief when her arm shot through the crack in the door.

“I’ll come with you. I’d love to meet him,” she gushed.

“Fucking hell,” Theo muttered. “She doesn’t take a hint, does she?” “No!” I yelled as she went to step onto the elevator.

“Easy, Kit. Too much,” Theo chuckled.

“No?” Teri asked, confusion written all over her face.

“Sorry, that was a little dramatic. Maybe you and I should get to know each other better before introducing you to my mate. This is the longest conversation we’ve ever had, Teri. I didn’t even know that you knew my name.”

“Oh! Well, yeah, that seems fair,” Teri replied with a lopsided grin. “And, of course, I know your name. You’re the nicest person in this place. I still remember when you brought cupcakes for everyone on your birthday. They looked delicious.”

“Thanks,” I replied, looking at her pointedly when she didn’t move. Why didn’t she have one if she thought the cupcakes looked so good?

“Right, I should probably get out of your way. Unless you want the company for the elevator ride back up?”

“If she comes down here, I will kill her just for being obnoxious,” Theo warned. “No, no, that’s not necessary. Why don’t we get lunch today?” I suggested.

Teri’s face brightened as she backed off the elevator. “Lunch is a fantastic idea! But my treat! I insist! As a congratulations for finding your mates.”

“It’s a deal,” I replied, smiling until the doors finally shut. “Holy shit, she’s never said more than a few words to me ever, and when she does, she won’t shut up.”

“That’s suspicious that she chose to talk to you now,” Theo replied.

“You think?” I asked, finally reaching the lobby and getting off the elevator.

“Definitely,” he replied when I climbed in the car. He ended the call and pulled away from the curb. “Why is she talking to you today?”

“Maybe because I was gone, which is unusual and made her take notice?” “Maybe,” he hedged, not sounding convinced.

When we got home, I rushed inside, momentarily stunned by how quickly they had cleaned up most of the mess. I ran to the window seat, but there wasn’t a black card. I didn’t even know if they always appeared in the same place.

I walked around the house, checking every surface, and by the time I returned to the living room, I had collected a small train behind me.

“Why are you following me?” I laughed. “What are you looking for?” Hollis asked.

“My contract card. I expected it to be here already,” I huffed as I dropped onto my couch. “ What does it look like?” he asked, “maybe we’ve seen it and didn’t know what it was.” “It looks like a black business card with a name and a dollar amount on it,” I replied.

“I think I saw that,” Aiden replied.

“Really?” I watched as he went into the kitchen and rifled through my junk drawer.

“Ah-ha!” he cheered as he returned and handed me a business card. “Would this be it?”

I took the card and grinned. “Sure is!” I checked to make sure the correct name was on the card and then pierced my thumb on my sharp tooth and swiped it across it.

I tossed it away from me before it went up in smoke and leaned back as Dr. Parote’s information was downloaded into my brain.

When I opened my eyes, I smiled.

Oh, Dr. Parote, you are a naughty boy. And the freak you created will be your undoing.