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AFTER A NIGHT WITH only a few hours of sleep because both babies kept us up, I’m already dressed in my black jeans and garnet red sweater that hangs off one shoulder at eight a.m. While we’re seated on the couch, I wrench up Milana’s pants over her cute, big butt. She keeps kicking her legs, so I grab her feet to rub them together, making her giggle as she squirms her tiny body.

At that moment, Luca wanders into the living room, ready for work, buckling his brown leather belt as he goes into the kitchen. It’s still dark, so he switches on the spotlights and presses the top button on the built-in coffee machine. Then he flicks on the electric kettle and grabs two black mugs from the cabinet above.

“I’ll be home this afternoon today. I’m going to the warehouse with Adriano to check the last shipment, but I’m not going to the club afterward since we’re preparing to close it anyway.” When the coffeemaker beeps, he pours himself a cup before grabbing a teabag from the tin on the kitchen island, dipping it into the other mug, and pouring water over it.

“Okay. I’ll be here. Rosalia’s taking the kids because Adam wants to play with them. She’s coming at nine, and I’ll get them from her apartment around noon,” I say just as Milana wraps her fingers around my pinky. “She’s growing faster than Noah. I think she’s going to be tall, like you. Her fingers are so long.”

Luca approaches us, sipping his coffee and setting my tea on the table. But when Milana sees Luca, she coos and charms him with a wide smile, making his controlled expression soften and melting my heart. He places his drink on the table as well before picking her up and holding her firmly against his chest. As he kisses her head and his eyes fall closed, I can tell he feels more serene than he has in weeks. And it prevents me from reopening the discussion regarding the message no one believes I received in the first place. Though the fact that Luca isn’t visiting Club 7 today works in my favor.

When he glances at the kitchen clock, he leans down to hand me Milana, and she begins to bawl as he takes his navy suit jacket from the bar stool.

“I’m already late. I have to pick up Adriano,” he informs yet looks torn as he stares at Milana’s sad eyes, which is adorable. Only the twins have this effect on Luca.

“Go. She screams bloody murder every time one of us leaves.” I chuckle at him, and he sends me a pretend glare as he grabs his gun from the counter and stashes it in the back of his waistband.

Then he walks to the elevator but spins around and moves back to me to bend forward and press his lips to mine, cradling the back of my head to deepen our kiss. A lengthy, tender kiss that solidifies our bond that can never be broken. It might bend when issues arise but will never sever entirely – I hope.

When he straightens, I grin. “I can’t wait for you to get back home.”

Laughing, he returns to the elevator, steps inside, and gazes at Milana and me until the doors close.

I stroke my finger over my mouth for a long while before I decide to proceed with my plan. I need to get my phone checked again. I must have proof, although I won’t put myself or my twins in any danger, so my best and safest option is to have it screened by one of the IT guys at Club 7. I also recall that there’s always a man present in the security room, and since Luca isn’t going to be at the club, this is my window of opportunity.

After Rosalia and Adam come to get the twins, I rush out of the apartment.

***

WHEN I SNEAK INSIDE the empty club, I hurry up the staircase to the balconied second floor and go to Adriano’s corner office, which is locked. However, the adjacent door to the security room isn’t, so I ease it open and see Tez sitting behind one of four computers, dressed in a brown suit.

His gaze whips to me. “Good morning, why are you here so early?”

Since he’s the only man in the room, I have no choice but to ask for his assistance, “I want an IT guy to check to see if my phone has been tampered with this month.”

He studies me but doesn’t shoot me down immediately. “Is this still about that message you claim you received? Didn’t Henry do it for you, like I advised you?”

“Yes, but he didn’t have much time, so maybe he missed something,” I lie, not mentioning that I suspect one of the high ranking men to be involved.

Nervously, I glance down the vacant hallway.

“Okay, give me your phone.” Tez holds out his palm.

Even though I’m astonished he’s willing to help me, I quickly dig through my purse that’s hung over my shoulder until I locate it and slip inside the room to give it to him.

He connects it to the computer with a black cable and reaches for the mouse next to the keyboard. “What am I looking for?”

“Can you see if any sent messages were deleted on January seventh? That’s the day I received a text from someone using Luca’s name.”

“Give me a second...” He clicks away with the mouse and then scrolls down.

All of a sudden, there’s a voice coming from down the hallway, the sound nearing us fast, and before I know it, a man enters the security room.

I swivel around just when Tez slides a piece of paper over my phone to hide it and comments, “Paul, what do you need?”

The beefy guy holds up a set of keys, answering with a thick Italian accent, “Adriano forgot one of his burner phones. He’s coming up but asked me to check his office for him.” Then he speeds to the connecting door and unlocks it, disappearing into the office.

Oh, no! If Adriano’s coming, then Luca could be coming too.

Tez and I exchange a worried glance before I rotate my hand, silently telling him to hurry. He faces the screen once again to type something on the keyboard.

“Do you see anything?” I whisper, keeping an eye on both doors incessantly.

“Nah...” He abruptly stops scrolling. “Wait! You’re right. A message was deleted on January tenth.”

“What was I doing then?” I muse out loud, racking my brain while glaring at the floor before my stare lands back on Tez. “Oh, my god. That’s the day I went to see Henry.”

A crease forms between his brows. “Are you sure?”

“Yes!” I tuck my bangs behind my ear, my mind spinning. “Can you see what was deleted?”

“I’d have to retrieve it—” he begins yet is cut off by Luca’s voice coming from the office.

“Did you find it?” Luca asks as Adriano mutters some curse words, and I inch closer to Tez and point to my phone before crooking my finger to give it back fast.

Tez yanks the cable loose as my palms perspire, and in the meantime, the other guy informs Adriano and Luca, “Your wife’s here.”

“Cam?” Adriano says as Tez shoves the device into my hand.

I pull open my purse.

“No. Fallon,” Paul replies just as I toss my phone into my purse the second before Luca’s tall, commanding frame darkens the doorway.

He looks from me to Tez and back to me, his lips thinning into a hard line, and then he arcs one brow.

Tez pretends to be reading something on the screen yet glances over his shoulder and casually greets, “Hey.”

Luca ignores him and as Adriano stops next to him and narrows his eyes, he demands, “What are you doing here?”

“Got it,” Paul speaks from the other room and comes up behind Adriano, who thanks him and gestures for him to scram.

“Fallon?” Luca repeats in a disgruntled voice while I wonder how to respond as I try to find something to do with my hands.

I can’t update him until I know what time the text was deleted and I have hard evidence. Nonetheless, I can’t imagine that Henry would mess with me, but from what Tez said, that’s a very likely scenario.

“I’m meeting Cam,” I answer, knowing she’s shopping in the neighborhood. “But I had to use the restroom, so I stopped by here.” Since I never use public bathrooms, this isn’t unusual.

“Oh yeah, she’s at the mall.” Adriano turns and goes back into his office, seemingly content with my reply.

And thank god, Luca’s coiled body relaxes as he walks into the room, and I let out a furtive sigh. Though now, I have to call Cam and go meet her. Shit!

Regardless, when Luca approaches me with a slow grin, I crave to hold on to our moments of happiness, for the simple reason that they’ve been fleeting lately.

He cups my cheeks, yet there’s a firmness in his touch that bothers me, and that feeling grows when he orders, “Call me when you go home.”

I frown but murmur, “Okay.”

Then I turn around after fake-smiling to Tez. As I withdraw from the room, I notice that Luca doesn’t return to Adriano’s office, but I don’t hear their voices as I tread down the hallway.

Getting my phone, I call Cam, but she doesn’t answer, so I send her a message that I want to meet her. She replies quickly that she won’t be at the mall much longer, which works out well for me.

Anxiously, I exit the club and hail a cab at the front entrance, and during my ride home in the pouring rain, my brain is all over the place. Why would Henry be behind this? Maybe to move up in rank faster? Yet it doesn’t make sense to me – he will already become the boss one day, and he doesn’t strike me as someone who craves more power at his age.

However, the message was indeed sent, because it was deleted. At least I know I’m not going crazy now.

As I grip my phone, I do an online search for anonymous sending texts. To my surprise, it shows me results for something called spoofing. Swiping down, I read that spoofing allows callers to forge ID information and present false names and numbers so that it looks like the call or text is originating from anyone you want.

My eyes widen. This entirely explains how it looked like the message was from Luca, even though he never sent it. And Henry would know exactly how to spoof since he’s a hacker.

What the hell is going on? The more information I unravel, the more suspicious Henry appears.

After stopping at the Blackhall, I pay the driver and step out, lost in thought, realizing I need to tell Luca what I’ve discovered as soon as he comes home. Tez can verify my story, and then he’ll just have to retrieve the deleted text and I’ll have my proof.

When I pass the reception area, I look up and stop dead in my tracks. Henry’s leaning against the desk and smiles at me, lifting up a package and saying, “I have the streaming box that Luca wanted. I’ll connect it for him.”

Caught off guard, I hesitate before approaching the elevator and regard Henry.

He seems to be at ease as he asks, “Where were you so early?”

“Out,” I answer tersely, as the elevator pings and we move inside. I slide my key in the penthouse button so that the doors will automatically open upstairs. Going up, it’s uncomfortably silent, and once we reach the top, Henry follows me inside to the kitchen.

Unsettled, I turn around. “Why are you really here?”

His brows pull together. “To connect this,” he repeats, assessing me in an intimidating way.

Then, when Henry digs inside his jacket pocket, I sink my hand into my unzipped purse, take out my gun, and raise my arm, aim fixed on him.

His palms shoot up. “What the fuck, Fallon?! I was only getting my phone.”

“Why are you here? You deleted my message!”

“What?! What are you talking about?” He clenches his jaw, gritting out, “Put the gun down!”

Yet all the information I’ve discovered plays through my mind and I’m unable to do what he says. I told everyone that someone was messing with Luca and me, and the perpetrator is in my apartment and one of the most important men in the Syndicate.