his mouth.
“You are smart,” Selene said softly. “You saw what the cute Italian man could do. Saw his potential.” She stepped closer to him and the dots slid away from her, one hovering on the side of his head, but none touching her. “If you could dream of greater things, we could be…allies.”
Oscar ripped off the last of the tape, taking the top layer of skin off his lips and half the hair out of his beard as he did so. He dragged in a deep breath through his mouth.
Andrej sighed and his body language shifted. The man was smart enough to know when he’d been out maneuvered. “I’ve never heard your name.”
“Exactly. If I were you, I’d start making sure no one knows yours.” Selene stepped back. “I’m sorry to take your prize, but I want him.”
Rodrigo hauled Luca to his feet and started dragging him across the room. Oscar got up more slowly. His legs were slightly numb.
Luca started babbling in Italian and pulling against Rodrigo.
“He doesn’t want to go with you,” Andrej said mildly.
Good job, Luca, play along.
“I’m sure he doesn’t, but I didn’t ask. Did I?” Selene smirked.
“You’re going to steal from me and leave me nothing? We had a deal.”
“I would, but I’ve been told that’s no way to make friends.” Selene snapped her fingers and held out her hand. Ridley handed her a small tablet. “The plans for his bomb, as promised. We located them. I, of course, kept a copy, but I have no interest in using it in this part of the world.”
She passed Andrej the tablet. He tapped it against his palm. “What if we share him?”
“I don’t share,” Selene declared. “Just be glad I’m not asking for a gift. I like the look of that one.” She pointed at the man behind Andrej’s shoulder.
The man’s eyes widened in a mix of alarm and…interest?
For fuck’s sake, Selene.
Andrej was looking at the tablet screen, his fingers flicking over it.
Oscar made it over to his group, and without any sense of shame stood directly behind Ridley, who was big enough to be a human shield in case things went south. He couldn’t believe they’d made it this fucking far.
“You can have him if we share the Italian.” Andrej tucked the tablet into his pocket.
“I still don’t share. It was a problem when I was in school, I’ll admit.” Selene cocked her head, examining the man in question, then shook it. “No, I have a similar-looking one back home. I’ll be leaving now.”
Andrej smiled, his disposition as sunny as a fucking military anarchist could manage, now that he had the bomb design. Oscar was grateful the bomb wouldn’t work because God only knew how much damage these assholes could do with a true city killer. “It was a pleasure doing business with you, Selene.”
“And with you.” She offered the scary mercenary who now possessed a nuclear bomb a saucy wink.
Then Selene turned and calmly walked them all right out of the building and into two waiting vehicles.
Oscar plopped down in a middle bench seat. Luca sat beside him. Selene had claimed the front passenger seat with Rodrigo, and Owen sat in the back. The others, including people who’d been outside, piled into the second car.
Oscar and Luca looked at one another, then at Selene, who was twisted in her seat to check on them.
“What. The actual. Fuck. Was that!?” Oscar demanded, all his feelings bubbling up inside at once.
“That was not the plan we went over.” Owen sounded hoarse. Probably from repressing the need to shout at someone. Selene, undoubtedly.
“I improvised,” she said primly.
“I nearly shat my pants,” Rodrigo said from the driver’s seat.
Luca started to laugh. It had a hysterical edge.
Selene wiggled her eyebrows. “I am such a good supervillain.”
Oscar leaned back, put his hands over his face, and started to laugh too.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Luca sat between Oscar and Selene in the same conference room far beneath the Boston Public Library where he’d been onboarded as a member of the Trinity Masters. The three of them could have walked onto the set of any zombie movie as extras right now without needing a bit of makeup.
It had been twelve hours since Selene—with the help of the MPF—had bluffed her way into a meeting with some seriously dangerous men and managed to rescue him and Oscar.
As they drove away, Owen and Selene had quickly filled Luca in about how Joli had helped them find him and Oscar. Though he still had a million questions, Selene