He met her eyes. “So I’m sorry for this too.”
That was when the alarm began to ring.
Thirty-Three
NITA WHIRLED AROUND, looking for the source of the alarm, some way to shut it off, anything, and in that moment, Fabricio ducked into the adjacent room and locked the door.
Nita stormed over and smashed her fist into the glass surface separating them. “You little shit, what have you done?”
Fabricio shrugged. “I told you, I don’t want to die. When you had what you wanted from me, I figured you’d kill me. Vengeance, tying up loose ends. Both.”
Nita clenched her teeth. He was right, but that only made her angrier.
“You should run,” he said gently. “These glass doors are bulletproof, and you’ll waste a lot of time trying to get in here to kill me. Tácunan Law has a security force on standby for situations like this, and they’re probably on their way. You should go before they get here.”
“And what about when they find you here?” Nita snapped.
Fabricio blinked, then gave her a sad smile. “Me? I’m the son of the owner. Brutally tortured for the password.” He looked down at his hand bitterly, still covered in bandages from Kovit’s “ministrations” three days ago. “I’ve even got the evidence to prove it.”
Her fists clenched at her sides as the alarm rang louder and louder. She’d been played again. When would she learn?
“You’re a traitorous asshole,” she hissed.
“No. I gave you the information you wanted, didn’t I? The computer is even wiped—I bet you didn’t know that one, did you? I set it so once the backup was done, the servers would be wiped clean. Not even Tácunan Law has the information you have anymore.” He gave her a clever smile. “You’re the only one in the world with that information.”
Nita frowned. “Why? Why would you do that?”
He laughed softly, but there was something almost hysterical in the sound, like he couldn’t quite comprehend the magnitude of what he’d done. “To end this company. To destroy it, completely and utterly, so no one will ever hurt me because of it again.”
Nita stared at him a long, hard moment. “I’m going to release all your information online. I don’t go back on my threats.”
“That’s fine,” he agreed amicably. “I don’t see the issue with that now. Martin is dead, he can’t send people to bring me back. Tácunan Law has been robbed—and the computers wiped—so I have no information the black market cares about.” He considered. “I suppose now that I’m eighteen I’ll inherit my father’s fortune, though I imagine the collapse of Tácunan Law will eat up most of it. There’s better rich kids to kidnap and ransom.”
He grinned at her. “Thanks for getting rid of everything tying me down, Nita. After this, I really can start a new life.” His face cleared, and for a moment, he looked like he’d just seen paradise and he wanted to weep from the sight. “I’m finally free.”
“You . . .” Nita couldn’t even find the words to express her anger. Because he was right—she had nothing on him anymore. Nothing. He’d played her like a violin to deal with all his problems, and now she had nothing left to hold over him.
And even now, played and manipulated and furious, she still felt a little bad for him. There was something so utterly pathetic about his situation and his goals that made her pity him.
She tried to push that emotion away, because that was just another part of his manipulation too. But the emotion persisted, mixing with her anger into some new emotion she didn’t fully understand.
Kovit ran into the room, his eyes wide. He grabbed Nita’s hand and tugged her toward the door. “Nita, why are you standing here? We need to run!”
Fabricio smiled and tapped his finger on his wrist, indicating a nonexistent watch. “The more time you waste here yelling at me, the less time you have to escape.”
“He’s right.” Kovit pulled Nita away from Fabricio. “We need to go, Nita. Now.”
Nita hated that they were right, and she let Kovit pull her away. She shot one last murderous look at Fabricio before she left. “This isn’t over, Fabricio.”
He sighed softly, slumping against the glass. “It never is with you.”
And then Nita was running, Kovit yanking her along. They sprinted back down the office hallway, nearly crashing into a glass door they could barely see before they got to the stairwell. Nita grabbed the door handle and yanked the massive metal monstrosity open in