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TWELVE

KEIRA

Part Goddess Part Gangster - Madalen Duke

I should have known better. It was delusional of me to think reaching out to my ex would be worth the information we might gain. But I figured two hackers would be better than one. Well, one and a half with my budding skills. Maybe it would have been if Harkin hadn’t leaned into his old tendencies and hunted me down.

Nik pushing his buttons whenever she saw an opening didn’t help his hesitation about the situation. Nik’s always been flirty, and it’s a huge reason our relationship didn’t last. But she clocked his reaction to it the moment she saw him in the hall—their ping-pong bickering since has cut the usefulness of this little adventure short of what I was expecting. I’m done.

My fingers clasp around the knob on the front door when I hear her footsteps slowly approaching.

“Keira, wait.”

My shoulders lift with a frustrated sigh before I swing around to stare her down. “What, Nik?”

“I’m sorry. Come back in and let me help. I’m willing to call a truce if your man is.” She offers with her hands up in surrender.

“Why are you so eager to help us? You don’t even know the full story.” Harkin steps in, asking about the thing that’s been floating around in my head, too.

I wasn’t sure if she’d help me when I showed up here. Nik’s work life was always so hush-hush when we were together. The computer stuff was blatantly obvious. I mean, her setup wasn’t quite as elaborate back then, but that damn laptop had been attached to her hip. The only reason I know what I do is thanks to how chatty she gets after one too many J?ger Bombs.

“Well, I don’t know what Keira’s told you about us?—”

“Nothing,” Harkin says, cutting her off.

I shake my head, realizing we’re almost back to square one, but Nik ignores him and continues.

“—but we didn’t end things on a bad note.”

“And that’s it? You’re just doing this for an old friend?”

“Girlfriend.”

They’re fucking children.

Then I remind myself I wanted to dismember my twin when I saw her flirting with Harkin. Maybe they just need to work through it on their own.

“And no. I’ll admit, it’s not selfless on my end.”

“See, sweetness, I knew this was a bad idea. Let’s go.” He grips my arm and pulls me back toward the front door.

“It could connect to some of my work,” Nikita spits out in the commotion of Harkin trying to manhandle me.

“Personal or the agency?”

“Both,” she answers, but doesn’t expand on it.

“Okay. But you two need to squash the bullshit. No more flirting, Nik. As hard as that might be for you.” I laugh and swing in Harkin’s direction and poke his chest. “And you.”

But his firm hold grabs my finger. He leans down, lips skating against my cheek before resting against my ear. “And you, little one, already have enough to answer for when we get home. So, I’d stop adding to the list if I were you.” His gruff tone sends shivers down my spine. But the quick nip to my ear he leaves me with has my libido springing into overdrive.

He doesn’t acknowledge the threat. The one that has me wishing I would have let him pull me from the apartment so we could be heading back to the house. Instead, he’s leading me back into the living room. This time, he grabs a chair and pulls my body down on top of his. His strong arm bands around my stomach, holding me tightly against his chest.

“Where did we leave things?” Nik asks, facing her computer screens.

“Uhm, my mom. Where she went to school, I think? Which is where my information ends. I just know it was Catholic and in the city. She was fifteen when she had us.”

“Us?”

“Yeah. So, I’m kind of a twin.”

“No shit? I can’t imagine dealing with two of you.”

“We’re nothing alike.”

“They’re very different,” Harkin and I both spit out at the same time.

“Okay, then. Twins would be easier to pinpoint at a hospital. Maybe I can get her real information and do more digging with that? Do you know where you were born?”

“Not at a hospital. I don’t even know if our births were registered.”

“How’s that possible? You have a social security number.”

“Yeah, sweetness. How’s that possible?” Harkin asks, knowing damn well my papers aren’t exactly legal.

“That’s an even longer story. But let’s just say the number I have now is thanks to someone else.”

“Jesus, woman, how much shit were you keeping from me?”

“More than I’d like to admit or get into right now. I just thought that with your work, you might have a little more insight or some contacts who might know more about the families. Considering my dad’s Italian and my mom’s Irish, I hoped that’d help narrow some stuff down.”

“Okay. It’s a start.” She nods. “I’ll see what I can dig up, but I can’t promise anything.”

“We’re not looking for you to have the answers. Maybe something you find will match up with what we know and reveal something we’ve been overlooking this entire time, you know?”

“Give me a few days, and I’ll get back to you. Based on all of this, I’m assuming your number’s changed?”

Harkin lifts me off his lap to stand. He drops the white card onto her desk and shoves it across the surface with a single finger. “We’ll see how good you really are.” He turns without a word and strides to the front door, not looking back.

“Uhm, I should probably go now,” I say, hiking my thumb over my shoulder. “Thanks, Nik. It was really good to see you after all these years.”

“You too, baby girl. Stay safe,” she says in a whisper, probably trying to avoid the ire of my broody man.

There isn’t a blacked-out SUV waiting for us on the curb like I’d expected. Instead, Harkin leads us down the busy sidewalk with his heavy hand and the base of my spine. He doesn’t look down at me or speak, but I follow his guidance. After a few blocks, we stop in front of a small café.

The place isn’t busy when we step inside, but the smell of freshly ground coffee and pastries invades my system, and my mouth waters. Harkin must be on the same wavelength because he steps up to the counter and orders for us. When we have our food and drinks, he nods to a small table in the way back, near the fire exit.

His sulking only builds the anxiety blossoming in my chest as I wait for him to sit with me on the loveseat and tell me what the plan is. I’d assumed we’d head back to the rental, but he doesn’t seem as quick to get out of the city as I’d imagined. I settle in and let the buttery, soft croissant melt in my mouth. The satisfied moan that tumbles from my lips finally gets Harkin’s attention poised back on me—his eyebrow peaks, and I shrug because it really is that good.

“So, will you tell me what’s going on?”

He scoffs and looks down at his phone, typing away. I feel like I’m being chastised via the silent treatment, and I’m seconds away from lashing out childishly. But when his phone rings, and he lifts it to his ear, his face turns serious as he listens to whoever’s on the other line.

“Send me the pin and then clear it. We need a couple of hours to discuss a few things.” His eyes swing in my direction, and his gaze rakes across my body. The fire in them burns so hot I feel it across my skin.

“Who was that?” I ask when he ends the call and drops his phone in his lap.

“Finish your pastry, and let’s go. We can talk when we get there.”

“Get where, Harkin?”

“Where we’re going,” he says, then shoves the small plate back in my direction to emphasize his last request.

I’m getting nowhere with him. He’s on edge, watching the café as if someone’s going to run in and snatch us up in broad daylight. I polish off the magical croissant and wish I had another.

We take our drinks to go and head out the fire exit. A mix of rotten food, stagnant water, and piss fills the air in the tight alleyway. My stomach revolts, threatening to bring up my snack, but I clamp a hand over my mouth and follow Harkin’s footpath out to fresh air. Something most people wouldn’t think about the sidewalk area of the city. But anything’s better than where we’ve come from.

My irritation only rises as I follow Harkin mindlessly. We make it a few more blocks before he heads down to the subway. He ushers me to sit while he stands guard in front of me. He’s scanning the crowd again, and I’m starting to fear something I don’t know made my trip into the city an even worse decision than being slightly reckless. Whatever it is, I need to know. If something’s happened, he can’t keep it from me.

Secrets we share give zero power to those that necessitated them. It’s the secrets we hide that burden our shoulders to the point that we both suffer, usually in silence. We promised no more secrets once the paternity results were aired out. I intend to hold him to our agreement. I’ll just have to see how creative I’ll need to be to pull them free.

The subway stops, sending both of our bodies jolting to the side. Harkin drops his hand from the pole and holds it out for me, which is the only indication we’re exiting here. As we emerge above ground, he surprises me when he heads straight for the curb to the unmarked car idling there. Without checking the driver, he pulls open the backdoor and guides me inside before sliding in after me and closing the door.

It’s stifling in here, with the heat turned on full blast as if we’re still in the dead of winter. I peel out of my coat and cram it on the floor near my feet.

“He sent you the pin?” Harkin asks the man in the driver’s seat.

“Yes, sir. Are we heading straight there?”

“Yes, but don’t take the direct route.”

“No problem. We’ll be there in about forty-five minutes with current traffic.”

“Very well. Excuse us.” Harkin ends the conversation by pressing a button and raising the partition between the front and back of the town car.

His body shifts in my direction, and his shoulders relax. It’s the first time since I saw him in the hall where he looks like the man I’m used to and not the hard shell he puts on for the rest of the world.

“Do you want to tell me what made you decide that coming into the city alone while I was out of town was a wise choice?”

“Do you want to share why you showed up?” I cross my arms over my chest and lean back, creating more distance between us.

“Oh, I know you’re not stupid, sweetness. Don’t ask questions you already know the answer to.”

I let out an annoyed huff. I know how he found me; that’s the easy part of the puzzle, but the reason is slightly unclear, even if he thought it was black and white. Was it simply because he didn’t want me alone in the city?

“You weren’t supposed to be back yet.”

“And you thought you could just slip away to the city, and we’d be none the wiser?” He laughs.

Well, when he puts it like that, I feel stupid. “Did you track me?”

“Of course,” he says without hesitation, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“But how did you know?”

“Your search history.”

“Wait, what? How?”

“Again, with the stupid questions. I think that’s enough from you.” His voice drops low, and his frame grows in the small space. He looks down at the black watch adorned on his inked wrist. “And would you look at that? We still have thirty-eight minutes for you to come clean.” The wicked way his mouth turns up is my only warning before his body engulfs mine.