Page 29 of Into the Blue (Shades of Vengeance #1)

“Hello?” My voice is tentative in the empty hallway.

I look at my phone as I’m right outside of Milo’s office.

Doubting myself, I look down either side of the hall. There is no way that he could know where I’m at. Right?

I checked for cameras, but I don’t think there are any in the house. I couldn’t be sure. The second phase of my plan was taking full effect and he was back in Colorado chasing down what was more like a Trojan horse.

It was a little riskier than what I had originally planned next and I was on edge.

There were four of his runners in the van we took out, but a large delivery was making its way out of the state.

I would have preferred to take the product, it’s true.

However, there was no way to take on four of Blue’s trained team in such short notice.

I needed to wrap whatever this was up and get the fuck out of here before things really hit the fan.

My heart is racing at the idea of being caught right now. I hope he can't hear that on the phone.

“What you doin’?” Milo’s voice is as resonant as it always is. He might as well be in front of me. The energy that I usually feel from him is somehow still here, but I straighten my spine against it.

There is no way that he could know where I’m at.

“I was watching videos on my phone,” I lie.

“Of what?”

“I don’t know. Random stuff. Makeup, hair… couple dances.”

He grunts an affirmative sound. “Check the door. I sent you something.”

“What is it?”

“You at the door?”

“No…”

“Well, get up and go answer the door.” Just then, the doorbell rings.

Was he also on the phone with whoever is here?

I take my time since I’m significantly closer to the front door from his office.

I would usually be walking from his bedroom or the sitting room in the back when I’m scrolling my phone.

Every small detail counts when you’re making convincing moves.

Looking at the figure on the security screen at the front door, I see a man with a suit and white gloves standing in the doorway. “Um, who is this?” I say on the phone as the guy continues to stand there.

“Let him in,” Milo says. I trust that this man has to be someone he knows well if he’s allowed to be here when Milo’s not.

The guy walks over to the smaller sitting area at the front of the estate and I’m following him. He clearly knows this place better than I do.

Milo’s voice is loud on speakerphone as he explains. “This is Carlton. He’s gonna fit you for somethin’ I got.”

Curiosity flutters in my belly with that response. “What did you get?”

“You’ll see.”

The large case he’s carrying has several numbered locks on it. Carlton makes quick work of entering some keys and then it opens to reveal an assortment of tools that he starts taking out.

He holds his hand out, waiting for me. I look at his hand with curiosity and then ultimately give him my wrist. Carlton sets my arm over a cushion that feels like silk and clouds.

I have no idea what’s happening, but then he opens a smaller box and my mouth gapes.

My heart races in my chest and those curious flutters turn more tumultuous than before.

“Blue… what is this?”

“A gift. You ever seen one?”

Oh, I have seen one. It glimmers and shines in a way that is unreal. I’ve seen videos. I’ve even shared several to my socials that were truly breathtaking. In person, I know for a fact that nothing I saw online could compare to how insane these are in real life.

Somehow, I make my mouth work. “I—Why?”

“Even though we’re not in the same time zone, now we’ll always be on the same time.

To me, time is money. And it will be for you, too.

” There must be over a thousand diamonds encrusting the time-piece, not watch because that word could not fully encompass how luxurious it is, it is a work of art.

Using it just to tell the time is a little silly.

But also, I’m sure that this thing cost more than anything I’d ever buy myself.

“I can’t take this. It’s too much. I can’t even pronounce the name of this.

” Carlton works on sizing the bracelet links until it fits snugly around my wrist, not at all concerned with my protesting or what I’m saying.

I expect it to be heavy with how shiny it is, but it’s heavier than that.

The diamonds on this thing must have diamonds.

The pink gold case is impossibly shiny and the setting even has baguette diamonds to mark each hour. “How much did this cost?”

Carlton begins to tell me, but Blue speaks over him. “It doesn’t matter. Think of it as an early Christmas present. I’ve got one and ours match. I’ll show you when I get home.”

“You have a pink gold AP?”

He laughs a throaty sound and it does something dangerous to the organ already beating too hard to be safe. “Nah. Mine is yellow gold, but in a similar style.”

“Why would you do this?”

“Mine, remember?”

God, no. This is not the moment to suddenly have a conscience. I don’t have one. But… fuck. I cannot accept this gift. There’s too much meaning behind it. “I can’t, Blue.”

He ignores me saying instead, “I’ll be back soon. I’ve just been delayed a little longer than I wanted.”

I could unclasp the watch from my wrist, but I find myself turning my wrist to one side and the other to marvel at just how much it reflects even the low lighting.

There is a final snap of Carlton’s case where he has efficiently repacked his things and stands there.

“Let him out. I want to make sure he’s gone before I let you go. ”

“You’re going?” I need him to go, so that I can get back to what I was supposed to be doing. But I’m overwhelmed with the gift he’s given me. It was a reckless monetary decision on his part. He doesn’t know how close to ruination he is, but I can’t tell him that.

Since he doesn’t know, it makes the gift even more special.

Shit.

Why is my heart squeezing?

I need to get my shit together. He is a mark!

“Gotta get back to this money. I’ll hit you up later and you can show me how it looks when you’re drippin’ down this drip.”

Despite myself, I smirk at his dirty mouth—on speakerphone no less, he doesn’t care. “Be careful what you wish for,” I tease.

He groans a pained sounded on the line. “Can’t tell me that, I’ll have to leave them right now and head to a hotel.”

“Are you not staying in one?”

“Nah. I’m at Tony’s. He wouldn’t leave Alpenglow Ridge to visit my ass. If I’m here then we can spend at least a little time together.”

I never would have thought that underneath the hard exterior was a man who could be thoughtful and caring. Blue is a caretaker. I never want for anything ever since I was brought to his home. He's even gotten me things that I never thought to get for myself.

It's over the top. It's unreasonable—just like him keeping me hostage here. But, it's sweet… in his fucked up way.

“That’s good. Enjoy your visit. Don’t worry about me.”

He told me that he wanted to keep his brother out of the business. I couldn't know what that cost him to do. What sacrifices he made to let Tony do that. It’s clear to me now how isolating that must be for him.His only true family removed from his dark reality.

He has all these people around him, but he might as well be alone. How can he trust anyone when they’re all employees?

And then there’s me.

When he finds out, I know that it will not end well for us. Us being this relationship that he is cultivating like a rare cannabis strain. So much effort and stepping out of his comfort zone for me .

All of this is an illusion.

But I’m the only one that can see the cracks in it.

I’m not falling for him.

My place is at the top, not under him. It’ll be too late for him to decide if that place is beside him or above him.

The light bounces off of the watch face a few more times and then I see the inscription: My Diamond with the date we met.

Shit.

“I’m gonna be worried.”

I’m going to miss you when I’m gone.

“You’ll be back before I know it, right? It’s just a few days. I’m as safe as I could be at your house.”

“Yea,” he says noncommittally. “Be good, Racquelle.”

“Bye, Milo.”

“I’ll never get tired of you sayin’ my name,” he responds before ending the call.

I’m fucked.

“Everything went as planned. We were able to divert his attention away from the California grab and now he’s following the wreck in Colorado. Do you think he’ll be home any time soon?”

“I don’t know. His lock was more difficult than I thought it’d be for a home office. I’m gonna keep working in here until I get a sign that he’s coming back.”

Difficult was an understatement. It took me two days trying to get this door open to this office. It wasn’t like I had proper tools, so I had to get very crafty with what I could find in the house since I couldn’t leave.

Not just because he didn’t want me to, but because the guards outside each of the entrances were told not to let me.

Ordering food? Acceptable.

Ordering clothes? Also acceptable.

Going anywhere, including a hardware store? Absolutely not.

I’m still proud of myself for actually getting in.

The space was fairly neat and organized.

There were minimal files or anything that screamed important information.

I started looking through drawers and under any of the decor for a secret passageway or something.

But it wasn’t too hard to tell that he must have everything electronically stored.

Then I go to the laptop bag. It had a few pockets and I found exactly what I was looking for in the largest section.

There was a little black notebook that had his crude handwriting on it detailing all the planned routes and locations of drops in the near future. I could have gotten this information on my own, but written out so nice and neat makes my life a lot simpler. I take photos and send them to Liezel.

Now, I can start sifting through this laptop. It was unlocked since I’m sure he didn’t find a need to. Being essentially the monopoly on weed, allowed him to be lax in this area. Caught a lucky break there because going through these files is going to take a lot of time.

Hours and hours of it.

Scouring each one to find something, anything that could point out just what happened between the Lafayette and the Duponts that made them cut ties so quickly. It was a snowball of poor choices and deplorable behavior after that. It was the reason that I was here in the first place.

Then I see it.

A folder that I could only describe as nondescript. I would have passed it, if I weren’t actually looking through every file on this computer.

The name is just a date, but I open it.

There is a news video clip linked in the folder. I open the video and instantly things start to click into place.

There are files from Allen who, I deduced, is working with Milo’s money now. I go back and back and back even further until I find the same date.

And, of course, the date of the video and the moment the numbers become jilted line up perfectly.

I found it .

Here is the reason why Dupont and Lafayette fell apart. I know it and I can fix it.

I send that very thought to Liezel in a text message. I begin duplicating the information and sending it to our account when I hear a voice I very well did not expect to hear.

“The fuck you doing?”