In Too Deep

Thirty Six

It was days like these that frightened her, and days like these that she dreaded, but when Nova got that text, she had no choice but to respond. Vicious hadn't come back, despite telling her he was going to be late. There was a chance she would have to see him tomorrow.

When she got that text, a little part of her was relieved she got it at the right time so she wouldn't have to sneak out or come up with a reason to Vicious for getting a text after midnight or that she had to leave because of it.

However, she wanted to be safe, so she dressed up in dark clothes and covered her head with a hoodie, then snuck out from the back door, leaving her phone behind. The location was different this time like he had said. An abandoned auto repair shop. It was the perfect place for a secret meet-up.

Nova waited until she had walked a few blocks before she called an Uber. She was dropped off two blocks away from where she was supposed to go, then started to walk from there. She wrapped her arms around herself in the chilly night, occasionally looking behind her to check if someone was following her. No one was.

When she reached the repair shop, she entered through the door. It smelled of piled-up dust and oil. The ground had oil stains and meandering cracks and the windows were half broken with cobwebs and dust on them. Dead flies and wasps were lying on the windowsill. The place was packed with so much clutter, but the only thing shining in it was the black tinted car inside. Movements caught her eye behind the car, and when she reached over, she pulled down her hood.

"You're fifteen minutes late," the man seated on the chair stated without looking up at her. Three of his men were either seated or standing a few distances away from them.

Nova stood a few paces from the man she looked down on, dressed in all leather. "It's either being late or being caught, whichever you think is reasonable to get mad at," she answered tightly.

The man lifted his head and squinted, glaring at her with those dark eyes of his before he leaped up with a grin on his face, his hands stuffed inside his pockets. "Sorry for calling you out so late." He stood tall, a lean man with a mean look. Dark-haired and blue-eyed.

"What do you want, Keenan? Why did you take the risk to drag me out here?"

"No, don't tell me you've gone soft for the guy. Has the time in his presence made you forget what you're meant to do?"

Nova felt like a volcano erupted right in her chest as she stared at Keenan before she closed the distance between them.  "Is that why you called me out here? To make sure I haven't diverted from the plan? For fucks sake." She pushed his chest and he staggered back, angry sparks in her eyes. "I haven't forgotten. I'm not going to forget that my brother is lying in the hospital with probably no chances of ever waking up because of Vicious, so if you're here to check whether my loyalty still lies with my brother, then you're an asshole for that."

She dragged her nails through her scalp and blew out another angry breath. Vicious. The man she had set out to destroy for ruining the life of her brother. Vicious. The gang leader who set his boys to beat up her brother and left him for dead. If Keenan hadn't found him, he would have been dead. He could still die.

A few months ago, Keenan had approached her with the truth about her brother, Grayson. He was his best friend and he made it his mission to find out who had done that to her brother, and when she did, she wanted to kill Vicious. She wanted him tortured and dead. She wanted his kingdom to crumble, but she had known to do that, she had to get closer to him. She had to be with him to know his weaknesses. What he treasured the most.

"I don't know, you two looked a little intimate. One might mistake it as a real thing. You're either a good actress or a bad liar." Keenan's eyebrow lifted in such a cocky way it made her want to hit him.