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She sighed, drumming her fingers on the wood. “I saw you three together that night. Before we met in the office, and I thought it was strange that you’d all be together.” Her eyes pinged between the three of us before landing back on Caleb. “So when I saw you in the office going for the same file Dominick wanted, I decided I’d keep it for myself. Seemed it might be useful,” she said, shrugging a shoulder like she hadn’t told us she’d willingly stolen for the don.

Woman had some fucking balls.

“What did you give him, then?” Niko asked, his eyebrows pinched in confusion. A sly smile appeared on her face, like she was about to reveal a secret. Which, I guessed she was.

“Idiota didn’t even fucking know what was on the file. Just paid some random rat for a ‘file on the syndicate.’” She rolled her eyes, clearly not impressed with Dominick. “So I made up some shit.”

Caleb blinked his eyes like his brain was short-circuiting.

“So he doesn’t know anything?” he asked slowly as she shook her head. “Fine. You’ve got a deal, Roma—”

“Don’t call me that. You can call me Scar,” she interrupted.

“Whatever. You’ve got a deal. But know this: if you fuck us over, your uncle’s version of punishment will be fucking child’s play compared to what we will do to you. Bring her up.”

He turned and stalked out the door.

CHAPTER 14

NIKO

“GRAB ME THE FIRST AID SHIT”

She still has secrets.

When I first saw her, she was all fire and fight. Hell, when Caleb claimed her as his wife, she took it in stride but not lying down. My cock twitched, remembering the sinful words she’d spoken against his mouth.

“I’ll be sure and yell Niko and Kenji’s names real loud.”

Logically, I knew she’d said it to taunt him, but my dick didn’t get the message, and he was ready to make that statement a reality. When I really knew she was so much more than what she showed the world was when she was around Dominick. Her uncle was an idiot, missing what was right in front of him. Hell, he treated her the same way our fathers treated us.

Dismissively.

If his head wasn’t shoved so far up his ass, he’d see how she watched his every move. Categorizing and calculating her next comment or reaction. Vitriol for him oozed from her pores, but there was also the acrid tinge of fear every time her uncle addressed her.

Dominick underestimated a lot of things, including us, but I had a feeling his biggest miscalculation was not recognizing the threat clothed in a satin emerald dress. I raked up and down her figure as we walked into our apartment. My hackles rose thinking about the exchange at the party. He’d given us Scar too easily, and it made me wary.

Protecting a woman was a trait ingrained in my soul. I’d grown up doing so for my sisters. Until my father dragged them away, but with Scar, I was torn. Every fiber of my being wanted to treat her the same, but my brain screamed that she held secrets.

Ones that could harm my brothers.

Fuck, the woman was ready to endure torture in order to spite Caleb. Bodily pain wasn’t her motivator, and that was extremely unusual for…anyone. A twinge of discomfort radiated from my thigh, reminding me of how she’d stabbed me right before blacking out. She’d barely broken the surface, but the way a blade was in her hand the instant she felt Kenji sink the needle into her arm screamed that she was familiar with the weapon.

Caleb told us about what had happened during their very first encounter. We thought it was pure luck that she’d gotten the drop on Caleb the night they met. Chalked up the loose bindings to her not knowing what she was doing. But I now thought the beautiful woman was far more capable than we’d originally given her credit for. Ending the don’s life was why she’d struck the deal with us, and it felt like she was telling the truth, but she was such an anomaly. I knew I needed to keep a close eye on her.

She scanned the room. Something she’d done every time I’d seen her. The woman was probably mapping out every escape possible.

Too bad there were none.

Our penthouse was on a private floor above our club. The only way in or out was through our secure elevator, which required a keycard to open and operate. There were also men posted at all the building’s exits. If she wanted to go somewhere, she’d need one of us to accompany her.

She padded across the polished concrete floors on silent feet, following Caleb into our kitchen.

“You better have some food in this fucking place because not only did you roofie me and then tie me to a chair, but the worst part was that you didn’t let me eat the lobster ravioli.”

I shook my head at her complaint, hiding my smile with my hand. Of course she was more pissed about not being fed than being drugged and interrogated. Now that she had my attention, she wouldn’t be able to shake it. Obsession was what I did best. Taking in everything about a person and figuring out what made them tick—what they would do next. People wondered why I could always find my mark. It was because I crawled inside the person’s mind.

The problem with her? I wasn’t sure I’d be able to detach.