It wasn’t that hard to come up with a fake plan that Seth could relay to Rubio. Actually, as I was sitting in my office and revising the plan that was scribbled on a piece of paper, I wondered why we weren’t executing it for real. But then again, it would be really stupid to go to prison because of that moron, not to mention his whole family would be after us then.
We were intending to fake an assassination attempt on Rubio, and that wasn’t that hard since Rubio was quite predictable in his visits to a certain nightclub. Granted, that area was completely under his control, and trying to get to him in there was a suicide mission, but Seth didn’t have to know we weren’t crazy enough to try something like that.
Levi had agreed to go to that nightclub, but without an injection filled with a substance that could kill Rubio. All Levi had to do was get close to Rubio. If Rubio’s guards reacted and grabbed him, then we’d know Seth was a spy. And when it turned out Levi didn’t have anything on him and had in fact gone to that club before, they’d have to let him go.
I wasn’t all that fond of sending Levi into danger, but he’d decided to take the risk. He was certain they wouldn’t hurt him in front of everyone, because the nightclub was quite popular, so they didn’t want any bloodshed there.
The door to my office opened, and Chiara and Levi walked inside. Seth was lurking outside, since he could probably tell something was up. It was time to play our little pretend game.
“I’ve been trying to convince him it’s a stupid idea,” Chiara said as she was closing the door, and I knew Seth would be able to hear that. “But he thinks it’s our best option.”
“Are you sure about it?” I looked at Levi as he stood in the middle of the room, his arms crossed, his chin thrust out. His dark hair was cut so short it was barely visible, and his brown eyes were determined. Since he was really going to go to the club, my question was actually genuine. If Rubio knew he’d be coming, then Levi could be captured and tortured. “It’s a huge risk even if...” I didn’t say anything else.
We’d agreed to keep quiet about our plan, and we’d hatched it out in the bathroom, in my office, and during the particularly loud fights. No one could’ve overheard us, not even Seth. Hell, I’d checked everything for bugs too, in case Seth had planted some.
“I know, but it’s our best shot,” Levi said. “A lot of people will be there. I’ll find a way to do it.”
“Just make sure they don’t catch you,” I said and meant it. He’d have to find a way not to get caught, and I hoped he’d run at the first sign that Rubio’s men were looking for him. Although, if Seth told Rubio everything, including the list of people who were most likely to do the deed, then Levi would be stopped at the door.
“I can do this.” He inclined his head. I glanced at my watch, and a few moments later, Mark burst inside, just as we’d told him to. Only the four of us knew the truth and I was certain none of them would betray me.
“You need to come. Quickly,” Mark said breathlessly.
“Why? What’s...?” I asked, getting to my feet.
“I found something. It might be a bomb.” Mark waved his hands. We’d actually agreed to plant a suspicious cell phone with a few colorful wires near the cage so we’d have a reason to abandon the office quickly. If anyone asked later, we’d say someone had just dropped their phone and we’d panicked for nothing.
Once we dashed into the hallway, following Mark, Seth looked up at me, his eyebrows shooting up.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“Nothing. It’s just... I need to take care of something.” I offered him a smile and jogged down the hallway. As I glanced over my shoulder, I saw him looking through the open door of the office and probably at the paper I’d purposely left on the desk. Would he come after me or take a peek at our fake plan first? I rounded the corner, so I couldn’t see what he was doing.
“It looks like it’s just a phone. Look, the wire’s not even attached,” Chiara said as she, Mark, and Levi gathered around the phone on the floor. “God, Mark, you’re so freakin’ paranoid.”
“We have a gang after us. Who says they won’t pull something like this and kill us all?” Mark played his part perfectly, just like everyone else. Seth finally came running, and if I wasn’t wrong, he’d definitely had the time to check the paper in my office and still get here.
“Mark’s right. We have to be careful,” I said, pretending I didn’t notice when Seth appeared behind my back. “Now pick that thing up and find the owner.”
“Right.” Mark grabbed the phone.
I turned to look at Seth, then parted my lips as if seeing him here had made me realize something, so I broke into a run. Once I got to my office, I inspected the paper, which was still exactly where I’d left it, but Seth hadn’t had to move it to be able to read it. This time, it hadn’t taken him long to come after me, and he poked his head through the door.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“Yeah.” I quickly grabbed the paper, folded it, and shoved it into my pocket. “You didn’t see anyone come in here while I was gone, did you?”
“No.” His face was unreadable. Oh yeah, he’d read the plan. Now we only had to wait and see what Rubio would do.
***
The part of the fake plan was for me to go to a nightclub at the other end of the city and wait there for Chiara so no one could find us at my club. Because if our plan worked and Levi managed to kill Rubio but got caught, the Wolves might connect the dots and come after me, so I had to be somewhere they couldn’t find me easily and so I would have time to find a way to convince them Levi had acted on his own. And being in a place with lots of people and cameras would serve as an alibi—in case the cops were involved—that I couldn’t have possibly had anything to do with Rubio’s death.
Yeah, if our plan were real and we actually attempted something like this, I didn’t think things would go as simple as that, but Seth and Rubio would probably find the whole thing believable. Hell, Rubio would very likely assume I was arrogant, cunning, and stupid enough, and that I planned to get away with murder by throwing one of my own under the bus.
We’d waited two days after Seth read the plan to make sure he’d have an opportunity to contact Rubio. I hadn’t seen him talk to anyone, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t snuck out of the house at night or used some secret phone while everyone had been sleeping. Since I hadn’t found his private phone, he must have hidden it under the mattress or somewhere safe.
Tonight was the night, though. And I hoped our plan would work. A taxi was taking Seth and me to the nightclub, but just before we were about to arrive at our destination, I told the driver I’d changed my mind and that he should take me to the park instead. Seth, who was sitting next to me, didn’t even flinch or shown any surprise.
Shit. What if Rubio had figured out our plan was fake? But how could he? Or Seth just wasn’t overly concerned with where I was going since Rubio would take care of the assassin I’d sent. When we were out of the car and in the park, which was a little scary at night, Seth caught my arm, making me jump.
“Careful,” he said, pulling me aside, just as the inebriated man who was sitting in the bushes where I hadn’t even noticed him threw a bottle that crashed at my feet.
“Um, thanks.” I stepped over the broken pieces as the drunk murmured something to himself. We made a few more steps when my phone rang. Levi’s number flashed on the screen and I immediately answered, hoping I wouldn’t be getting a call from Rubio.
“Our plan didn’t work,” Levi said, and I breathed a sigh of relief that he was fine.
“What do you mean?” I put some distance between Seth and me.
“I mean, Rubio had no idea. Only his regular guards were with him, and I literally sat next to him at the bar, and if I’d had a lethal injection, I could’ve stabbed him right then and there. The guards would’ve seen me, but... they wouldn’t have been able to stop me. If I had a death wish... I could’ve done it. I think you were wrong about Rubio having a spy among us. Or maybe you revealed the plan to the wrong people. I don’t know. I’m telling you... I was right next to him. The guards too, but they wouldn’t have been so relaxed if they’d known there was a real threat.”
“Thanks for letting me know. We’ll talk tomorrow.” I pocketed my phone as I eyed Seth, who was completely calm. Was it really possible Seth wasn’t Rubio’s spy? Or had they figured out our plan? But if they had, then surely the guards wouldn’t have allowed Levi to come anywhere near Rubio.
“Everything okay?” Seth asked.
“Why wouldn’t it be?” I tucked my hands into the pockets of my long black coat. “Let’s get out of here. I don’t feel like being outside anymore.”
Seth only nodded and trailed after me. Had he realized the plan was fake somehow? But someone would’ve still been on alert or Rubio would’ve done something. Anything. He was too proud to do nothing about a planned attempt on his life, not to mention his enemies would get ideas if he just let it go.
And Seth could’ve easily taken a photo of the plan and Rubio could’ve come to rub it in my face that he’d figured it out or to make me pay for plotting against him. I hadn’t written the plan myself, so I could always claim he’d invented the whole thing, so maybe that was stopping him from coming. Would he really ignore everything and a potential threat to his life just to protect Seth’s cover? Yeah, I didn’t believe that. And if Seth wasn’t his spy...
Seth wouldn’t worry about the plan at all since I wasn’t directly involved, so he’d be calm, just like he was now. Or maybe he hadn’t even read the stupid plan in the first place. Shit. I had no idea who the man walking next to me was, and that was getting on my nerves. Maybe I should hire a private investigator to figure out just who Seth really was. It didn’t help that he was around me all the time. But maybe, just maybe, if Seth was only a bodyguard, I could actually use his help and count on him to protect me when Rubio made his move, because Rubio wasn’t going to wait forever for the answer he wanted.