Binding Attractions

Chapter 13

Nadiya hadn’t paid much attention to the room she was escorted to after she left the living room. Exhaustion could do that to a person. Fatigue had been clinging to every cell in her body and it hadn’t helped to learn that her brother was missing after a helicopter crash. All she had wanted to do was close her eyes and just shut down.

She really wondered how her life had gotten to this point. What events had been the turning point of no return? Had it been the day she met Su, her friend who had eventually led to meeting Glisson? Nadiya had never fancied herself one of those people who spent hours going through past mistakes and trying to imagine what would have been had she just chosen a different path, but it was hard not to think about it now. At least when she slept, her mind had shut down.

But now she was awake. Well, more like she had been forced to wake up because Riona was awake and needed to feed and change.

Nadiya blinked the urge to sleep out of her eyes and sat up to attend to her daughter. She wasn’t sure how long they had been sleeping, but every muscle in her body told her it hadn’t been long enough. Not that she expected eight hours of sleep with a four weeks old baby. A few more hours would have been great, though.

It took almost five minutes to change Riona and settle her for a feed. She knew they would have at least half an hour on their hands before her daughter was full and ready to go back to sleep. Nadiya decided to use that time to learn more about where she was. She allowed her eyes to roam around the room. Focusing on the details like she was studying for an exam, instead of allowing her thoughts of past regrets to consume her.

Just like the rest of the penthouse she had seen, the bedroom she was in screamed money, lots of money, but with a nerdy touch to it. She didn’t have to be a genius to know exactly whose bed she had slept in. This was Trick’s room. The guy whose system she had stomped through like a wild buffalo.

The room was larger than any she had ever had or seen. It was even larger than the room she had woken up in the last time she had been with Glisson. The night that had started the mess she was in. And also the night her daughter had been conceived.

Nadiya looked down at her breastfeeding little girl. Riona’s pink lips were wrapped around her n****e, sucking with single-minded concentration. Her eyes were closed, but she wasn’t yet asleep. As though to make sure her mother wouldn’t somehow vanish, her tiny fist gripped Nadiya’s shirt.

There were many things Nadiya could regret from her encounter with Glisson Barkley, but Riona wouldn’t be one of them. Even if she was hiding the identity of her daughter’s father from everyone. Nadiya was convinced her decision had more to do with her daughter’s safety and not shame or regret.

Refusing to let her mind overthink things again, she turned back to the room.

The sheets on the bed were gray and very soft to the touch. Definitely high quality and expensive. Of course, both the sheets and the entire room smelled of their owner. It was a warm, dark chocolate kind of smell. Nadiya couldn’t help but bring the pillow closer to her nose and take a whiff.

The rest of the room spoke volumes about the man. There was a bookshelf about a meter and a half tall, tucked in the wall below a mounted large television. Except, instead of it being filled with books, it looked like a shelf in a computer repair shop. Nadiya could see several hard drives, both internal and external, stacked on one level. There were a bunch of flash drives in what looked like an empty fish bowl. She actually wondered if the bowl ever held any fish or if it had been bought for the purpose of storing his flash drives. Was the man trying to be funny, or was it a matter of convenience? Surely people with so much money could use something better than a fishbowl, she mused and shook her head.

Several cables could be seen in a transparent plastic box on a bottom shelf next to three CPUs. Almost surprisingly, she actually saw some books pushed into one corner of the shelf. If she hadn’t been breastfeeding, she would have been across the room checking to see what gene those books fell in. Since that wasn’t a possibility, she focused on the rest of the room.

Instead of a comfortable set of single-seat couches with a coffee table like in most luxurious bedrooms. Or a long settee at the foot of the king-size bed, there was a large L-shaped workstation desk.

On top of the dark wood desk were three large monitors and a black keyboard right in the center. A pair of large black headphones, discarded pens, and a writing pad were on the left side of the keyboard. On the right, she could see a wireless mouse, and under the table sat a large CPU with a transparent case. It looked high-tech, like a super processor. Damn.

Nadiya felt like a kind in a candy store, or maybe a toy store with all her favorite toys. She could actually feel the twitch in her fingers to get her hands on that keyboard. But she knew she couldn’t do that.

Right now, her only hope of escaping the claws of death lay in the hands of seven strangers. And as far as first impressions went, hers had been epic in the negative. No self-respecting man took it kindly when his system was hacked, so Nadiya knew if she touched a single thing in that room, Trick would probably shoot her himself.

She turned her gaze back to Riona and realized that her daughter had already fallen asleep. Her mouth hung open, no longer sucking, with some milk spilling from the corner.

Carefully, Nadiya shifted Riona to her shoulder to burp her. And then she laid her on the bed and hastily made use of the luxurious bathroom.

As tempting as it was to return to bed and sleep off a few more hours, Nadiya picked up her daughter and made her way out of the bedroom. She followed the hallway back to the living room, where she could hear voices softly floating her way. But when she stepped over the threshold, all the chatter died and silence fell, heavy and awkward.

It took a few beats for them to attempt to be civil and not stare at her like an unwanted insect that had crept into their home. Abigail was the first.

Nadiya liked the pretty woman with striking gray eyes and beautiful curly hair. Her warm honey complexion made her stand out from the rest of the people in the room, but there was a warm, but firm demeanor about her that made Nadiya feel both comfortable but also on guard.

“I hope you rested well?”

Nadiya gave a nod. “Yes. Thank you.”

“I hope you didn’t touch my things,” Trick muttered without looking her way.

Nadiya had the urge to remind him that she didn’t need to touch his things, to get into his system, but decided not to start an argument just yet. Instead, she made her way to the empty couch and sat down before laying Riona down next to her.

When she looked up, all eyes were on her. Watching. They were observing her like a poisonous animal they hadn’t yet decided if they should kill or keep.

She didn’t appreciate their skepticism, but she couldn’t hold it against them, either. Nadiya wasn’t exactly about to pledge her allegiance to them, either. But someone had to get the ball rolling. She looked around the room until her eyes landed on Lorenzo. He seemed to be the one in charge of the group from what she had observed and the little she had been able to dig up on them before she stormed into their lives. The scowl on his face definitely said he didn’t play games.

“Are we talking or just staring?” she asked Lorenzo.

“I have a question,” Edward spoke up instead. Nadiya didn’t like this man much. He was big, the largest of the group. And he seemed to have an attitude equivalent to a wounded buffalo’s. “I’ve been giving what you said some serious thought, and I was just wondering… What exactly were you expecting your brother to do? With regard to your situation, that is. Gabriel is a doctor. Your research should have given you that much data.”

Nadiya scoffed. She regarded Edward for a moment before responding with as much humor as she could squeeze into her voice. “And you run hotels. Also trained in the military in your early twenties.” She began pointing around the room. “Trey. You are a chef and own several successful restaurants in different cities. Lorenzo. You have too many investments to mention, but you also own one of the largest cargo transport companies this side of the continent.”

“You did your homework,” Lorenzo murmured, unimpressed.

Nadiya dared to grin at him. “I had to know what I was walking into.” Then she turned her head to Trick. “And you are the geek of the family. You create high-tech security systems and companies pay through the nose to have it.”

Trick wasn’t sure how to respond to her words. He still felt the burn of humiliation that she had sneaked into his system like a child opening a candy wrapper, and there she was reminding him how costly it was for any company to get his services. A heated glare narrowed his eyes as he folded his arms and asked, “And your point?”

A small shrug lifted her shoulder. “I was laying down some facts so we can talk openly.” She then pointed at the ladies in the room. “Them… I know nothing about. Someone did a very good job of making them ghosts.”

“That doesn’t answer Edward’s question,” Abigail said, clearly ignoring her last statement. “What were your expectations?”

Nadiya looked around the room once more. “You all are not just simple businessmen and upstanding citizens. Hell, you had guns pointed at me when I stepped off the elevator.”

“For protection,” Trey said in a tone that dared her to argue.

And argue, she did. A scoff flew out of her before she could hold it back. “That was a lot of protection. And I think most rich people just hire bodyguards when they need protection.”

Lorenzo shook his head no. “Not our style. The only people I trust are the ones in this room. Not you included, of course.”

“Of course. I wouldn’t expect it.” Irritation slowly began to build in her and slip into her voice. “What’s all this? Before my nap, you already told me Gabriel was captured by a gangster. That says a lot about the circles you run in.”

It was Trick’s turn to shake his head. “It says nothing. We could have just been unfortunate to cross the path of one. It happens all the time. Criminals have a tendency to target rich individuals.” He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “You see? The thing is, you know nothing about us, but somehow… you came crashing in here with a trained assassin on your tail asking for help. Shouldn’t you have gone to the police? That’s where normal people go with such problems.”

“Don’t patronize me,” Nadiya hissed through her teeth. “I’m a black hat.”

Trick arched a brow. “Meaning?”

“Meaning… I don’t get my employment offers at the post office in town while sipping some cheap coffee. My employers and business environment, if we can call it that, is the criminal realm. Or with people who want to dance on the edge of the law. Once I had a bit of information on you.” She pointed at Lorenzo. “It was easy to catch up with the rumors. A man like you is not feared unless you are dangerous.”

Lorenzo sat back and regarded her for a beat. Tension filled the room. Then suddenly he chuckled. The sound was cold and without humor. It made the hairs on Nadiya’s neck tingle. “Yet you came in here and broke into my house?”

“I have Glisson on my ass. What did you want me to do?”

“It doesn’t bother you?” Talia asked with a frown.

Nadiya looked at the woman in confusion. “What exactly?”

“That we are… not exactly saints.”

Another beat passed before Nadiya responded with a shrug. “I kind of have a different setting on my morality barometer compared to other people.”

“You don’t say?” Trick murmured.

Nadiya’s eyes jerked his way and narrowed. “I do say. I know that sometimes good people do not-so-good things to get by in this world.”

“So you figured you had found a solution to your problem?”

“I had already decided to look for Gabriel three months ago after I had to yet again run from a motel because Glisson had found me. It’s not like I had much choice. I was tired and exhausted. Honestly, I didn’t care or give a f**k if Gabriel turned out to be a lowly paid clerk in a convenience store or barber in the most crappy part of town. I just needed help.”

Lorenzo suddenly stood up and walked over to the minibar and poured himself a glass of bourbon. With his back turned, he asked, “Okay. So you found us and unfortunately, Gabriel is currently unavailable…”

“I can help with that,” she cut in.

Trick glared at her, already knowing what she was about to propose, but still feeling the need to ask. “Help with what?”

“I can help to find Gabriel. I’m good at what I do.”

“You are bragging?”

Nadiya glared back at him. “I am stating a fact. I can hack into any security system anywhere.” Her glare morphed into a smirk directed right at Trick. “Just like I did yours,” she added for good measure in case he hadn’t already gotten it.

While Trick’s hands clenched and he could feel Lorenzo’s eyes on him, she continued talking as though she hadn’t just declared war.

“It’s all just a matter of time. Nothing escapes me. Banks, hospitals, police stations, anything. I can dig up information on anyone. I found you guys. So I will find Gabriel.”

A soft, disbelieving chuckle came from Danielle before she muttered just loud enough for everyone to hear. “Someone is awfully confident about themselves.”

Next to Danielle, Trey hummed in agreement and then added, “She’s so good and yet she couldn’t make herself disappear from one little assassin.”

“Glisson Barkley is hardly little,” Nadiya responded through her now clenched teeth. “And he has friends. Whoever ordered the hit on the girl? They are someone big and they want me gone for messing up their plans.”

“Who are these friends?” Lorenzo demanded.

Nadiya shook her head. “I don’t know.”

Suddenly, Trick burst into laughter. “I thought you just said you could find out anything about anyone. Right down to how many times they shake after taking a piss. What happened? Couldn’t find the person who wants you dead?”

Rage filled Nadiya’s eyes, and her skin took on a reddish tone. Her mouth opened like she was about to tell Trick where to shove his mocking tone. But just then, she swayed to her left before righting herself and blinking very slowly. When she looked up and stared at Trick again, there was no focus in her eyes. Before anyone could process what was going on, Nadiya suddenly swayed again, but this time, she didn’t right herself. And in a heartbeat, she fell back against the couch next to her daughter.